Dresden & the Elbe Valley - October 2011

Germany is the 26th nation that I have visited! This is according to my twin brother's rules (i.e. that the UK is one nation - under United Nations rules - and not 4 countries in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). 26 does not sound like a bad number, although compared to my brother's 61 it seems rather paltry!

In any case, my visit to Germany in October 2011 added a new nation to my list of countries visited. Many might seem surprised that in going to Germany I chose Dresden as my destination, rather than Berlin or Munich. There was one reason for my choice and that thing is the Bastei!

Translated as "bastion" in English, the Bastei is a natural phenomenon; an area of pinnacles of rock rising above the River Elbe, just east/south-east of Dresden and close to the border with the Czech Republic. A beautiful book I own lists it as one of the must-see natural wonders of the world. Of course, it is not officially classified as a Natural Wonder of the World and my book includes 501 such places, but its still worth a visit.

The day I visited the Bastei the weather was not kind. However, waterproof clothing spared me the worst of the elements and I made the best of it. Indeed, some of the swirling mist added a mysterious atmospheric deminsion to my visit, even if it did not add to my photos.

The ares is dominated by the Basteibrucke or Bastion Bridge. In years gone by this was made of wood an suspended high above the valley floor between the pinnacles of rock as the photo below atests. Now the bridge is made or brick and rock and is a secure and permanent thoroughfare for the many tourists that visit.

There are also other raised metal walkways between other pinnacles of rock. These give excellent views of the area, provided you can stomach the heights, which I am grateful to say have never been a problem for me.

I'm glad I visited this natural wonder. It is worth the trip. Of course, it would have been better if the weather was improved and if there had been fewer tour groups, but if you get there early you can have the place almost to yourself.

My trip also encompassed time spent in the city of Dresden too. This is a city that was largely destroyed during the Second World War, but in re-building it they have turned its heart into a small yet welcoming city. Some of the architecture is splendid and at night looks particularly impressive when lit up (see below). There are also the typical pubs and cafes on cobbled streets, which make the centre a pleasant way to while away an afternoon or evening. Walks along the River Elbe are also pleasant.

All in all, Dresden is a rather under-rated city. It is not massive, so does not require a long stay, but it is worth a visit, not least for the natural beauty nearby.

Scottish Highlands - July 2011

There are few more beautiful places in the world than the Scottish Highlands; or at least there aren't when the sun is shining! It seems I am something of a lucky charm for Scotland, because whenever I go I seem to be blessed with beautiful weather. This trip to Inverness and the surrounding area followed that fortunate trend.

I opted for the cheap - if not entirely cheerful - overnight coach trip up to Inverness; leaving Birmingham at 2.30am and arriving in Inverness (via Preston, Glasgow and Perth) at midday. I arrived to a beautiful afternoon, with the sun shining and making the River Ness and Inverness Castle look at its most picturesque.

I eased myself into my trip, wandering around the city (which is not large and can comfortably be done entirely on foot) and taking a trip by the river to the little islands that dot the river at one end of the city. It is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. After an evening Harry Potter fix at the local multiplex (a quick bus ride away) it was off to bed for me to re-charge my batteries after my tiring journey up.

The next day was the main reason for my trip. I opted to take the bus to Cromarty on the Black Isle. At this juncture I must say that the bus service in Inverness is excellent. The website gives easy-to-follow timetable information and links to exactly where bus stops are and the buses seems to run on time which is a novelty compared to where I live!!

Although the sun shone in Inverness, the Black Isle had somewhat cloudier weather, but at least it was dry and I was determined to enjoy myself. I took a walk through the pretty little town and along the beach which I shared with sea birds, including gulls and enchantingly oyster catchers.

My trip out into the Firth was with a company called Ecoventures, who pride themselves on their wildlife friendly operating methods. They will voluntarily keep their distance from the whales, dolphins and porpoise they encounter and allow the animals to decide how close they wish to get. Although we all want to get close, this is by far the best option as boats that chase wildlife can severely stress them and it can lead to fewer people seeing that wildlife in the long run. We have to remember that we are visitors in their backyard; not the other way around. Ecoventures are quick to stress that no wildlife sightings are guaranteed, but a quick check of their whiteboard shows that almost every trip encounters dolphins and on the few that did not they saw porpoise instead.

With that in mind I was reasonably confident and that confidence was well placed as we had not been going more than 10 minutes before we saw our first dolphins. This pod seemed to be rather spread out, so it's hard to judge how many we saw, but I think it must have been at least 6 dolphins of varying ages. I did my best to photograph and video them, although this is harder said than done, as you never know where they will pop up next! Here's what I got though.



Dolphins

I still had two more days in the Highlands and for this I decided that hiring a car was the most effective way to see the area and get a little further away. My Hyundai i10 and I set off for the Cairngorms National Park with the sun cracking the skies! I headed for the RSPB Osprey Centre at Loch Garten first, which proved to be the only play in the Highlands where I encountered any midges and even there they were not very troublesome. I saw the female Osprey and one of the fledglings on the nest and also enjoyed the other varied bird life at the feeders, as well as a cheeky red squirrel.

From Loch Garten I drove to Loch Morlich for lunch beside the beautiful lake and then onto the nearby Reindeer Centre. Reindeer were introduced to the Cairngorms many years ago and with careful management the herd is flourishing. A small group of us went up on the hill to meet a small herd of about 28 male reindeer (the females and calves were out roaming freely). Here you are permitted to touch and feed these gentle creatures and it is a wonderful way to spend an hour and a half.

My last stop of the day was back to the coast, via Aviemore. I enjoyed my tea by Fort George on the coastline and watched the sun sink lower to the horizon on what had been a hot and sunny day and which had seen me even get a little sun burned!!!

My last day in Scotland saw me again drink in the beauty of the coastline. This time I headed back to the Black Isle and to Chanonry Point, a place renowned for its dolphin watching. This is where two spits of land jut out on either side of the Moray Firth, forming a very narrow channel. I believe it is a good spot for fish, hence the popularity with the dolphins and they can be viewed from the shore. Sadly the dolphins did not put up an appearance while I was there, but it was still a very pleasant place to enjoy a walk.

Heading back to Inverness to return the car, there was just time for me to take an afternoon coach and boat trip to Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness. Although very busy with tourists, this is a very pretty area and definitely worth a visit.

That was all I had time for really, so it was back to Birmingham overnight by coach again, following a very pleasant short break in the Highlands.

The Danube - May/June 2011

Witsun is the ideal time for a holiday; the football season has just ended, its half-term at College and the weather is often very good (not too hot and not too cold). This Whitsun, I chose to take a trip to the River Danube, encompassing three countries and both cities and countryside. This trip included Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, two of which were new countries to me.

I started off in Budapest, where I spent a day and a half wandering the streets in hot and sunny weather. I took the funicular railway (or Siklo) up the hill to look around the palace, Mattias Church and Fisherman's Bastion. St Stephen's Cathedral and a trip to Margaret Island by boat were also on the agenda. I finished off the day with a soothing dip at Gellert Baths, with its beautiful ornate swimming pool and the thermal plunge pool - just what I needed to relax after trudging the streets!

From Budapest, I took an early morning train to Vienna. Another beuatiful sunny day greeted me in the Austrian capital, as I looked around the city centre, including St Stephen's Cathedral, the Hofburg and Schonbrunn Schloss. At the latter, given my short time there, I elected to bypass the palace itself and focussed my time in the gardens instead. The large grounds are beautiful and include a hot house and the oldest zoo in the world. I spent an hour or so looking round the zoo, in which many of the animals were choosing to shelter from the heat in shade.

Vienna was my base for three days, but I got out of the city during this time, including a day trip east along the Danube to Slovakia. Bratislava is a city of two halves in more ways than one. Once occupied by the Communists, their mark is clearly visible on one side of the Danube as high rise flats line the riverbank. It truly is an eyesore and in direct contrast to the other side of the river, which sees the Old Town of cobbled streets and beautiful architecture remain.

Another day trip was in the other direction from Vienna, west by train to a town called Krems. This was the only part of my trip that did not go entirely to plan; my train was cancelled and replaced with a bus service instead. Given that I speak very little German, I think I did rather well to figure it all out and get to Krems in time for my boat along the Danube. This boat trip was along a section of the Danube known as the Wachau. A relaxing 3 hours spent crusing gently down the river and enjoying a cheeky apricot cake was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. The boat docked in Melk, site of a beautiful Abbey.

That was the last full day or my holiday. The next day saw another early start to get the train back to Budapest and from there I flew home, after a lovely relaxing trip.

Stratford Butterfly Farm

It's not exactly an intrepid expedition to go to Stratford-upon-Avon - more a short jaunt down the road - but there are some lovely sights to see in this picturesque town and this time I focussed my time on the Butterfly Farm.

It was half-term and I had taken a few days off from College. The weather was not exactly great, but at least there was no rain and in February that is often as much as you can hope for.

I enjoyed a short walk by the River Avon and also went into the nearby Butterfly Farm, where I was immediately something of a lure to my winged friends! No more than 5 seconds passed before I had a butterfly come and land on my shoulder. Indeed, shoulder, hands or even my head were all suitable perch points for these beautiful insects.

I also saw parrots, fish, an iguana, a chameleon and even a snake and some spiders there (not so keen on the last couple). As you can see from my pictures below, this place is well worth a visit and it's somewhere I find myself drawn back to time and time again.

Paris & Versailles, France - December 2010

There are all sorts of different holidays ... shopping holidays, walking holidays, golfing holidays ... this trip it seems was a queing holiday!!!

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying this was a bad holiday - far from it, but it was a very busy time of year to visit Paris. Lots of other people - from all over the world - seemed to have the same idea as me, to make good use of the time between Christmas and New Year. The huge queues at Luton Airport were just a taster of what was in store for me.

It was a flying visit, just a few days in Paris, but I was determined to make the best of it and visit places I had missed on previous visits. Top of my list was a visit to the Louvre. Inevitably this attraction had one of the longest queues to get in, but once I got in I was able to enjoy not only the wonderful works of art inside but also the exquisite building itself. Inevitably the Mona Lisa attracts the biggest crowds, although for me that is one of the least impressive things on display. I especially enjoyed some of the sculture and the Richelieu wing was my favourite.

Day one also saw me visit Notre Dame Cathedral and walk around the Pompidou Centre area of the city. I finished my first day my sore feet and made my way to my hostel to catch up with fellow travellers for a good old chat!

My second day saw me getting out of the centre of Paris and visiting Versailles. This of course is the site of the famous Chateau, formerly the centre of political power in France, which was turned from an ordinary palace into an extravagant and opulent monument to the then French monarch by Louis XIV.

My enjoyment of this magnificant Chateau was somewhat diminished by a foot injury, which pained me and spoiled my day a little. The Chateau does at least have places to sit down and enjoy the paintings, chandeliers and other grandeur, which given my injury was something of a life saver. The extensive and beautiful gardens also have plenty of seats, but such was the cold that I did not want to sit for long. Indeed, while a heavy snowfall before Christmas had disappeared from Paris city centre, there was still a signifcant accumulation at Versailles.

I spent much of an nejoyable day in Versailles, before stopping off at the Eiffel Tower on the way baack into Paris to visit the city's most famous landmark. I have been there before and gone up the tower. I chose not to queue yet again this time around - visibility was very poor (indeed, it was hard to see the top at all!), so the queue seemed a little much for little reward. I did, however, enjoy the Christmas market at the foot of the tower and enjoyed a cup of hot mulled wine (to warm me up you understand!!!).

The evening was spent in the very heart of Paris, enjoying the lights at the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysee.

My last day in Paris included a visit to Sacre Coeur and a walk around nearby Monmartre, including past (but not inside!) the numerous erotic shops and the famous Moulin Rouge. I also went back to the Champs Elysee to enjoy the Christmas market there and to walk around le Place de la Concord and up to Pont Alexander.

Finally my feet could take no more and it was off to Charles de Gaulle airport to fly home just in time to see in the New Year with my family.