Final Blog

The last few days have been busy crossing a few continents. We left a rainy Sweden for a hot Roman summer. Unfortunately we had to wait 45 mins for the so called airport express so it wasn't until 10:30 pm that we were able to meet up with Luigi and friends for dinner. My irritation disappeared as soon as the taxi drove past the lit up Colisseum and the Forum and I remembered why I love Rome so much. The restaurant was in the Piazza Margana, a tiny piazza near San Marco which is often used as a place to film a typical Roman piazza according to the guidebook. It is gorgeous and the meal was superb - stuffed zucchini flowers, delicious pasta and we finished with gelati of course, washed down with Prosecco and a wonderful Brunello di Montaciano to round the meal off. On the way back to the hotel we passed the Theatre of Marcellus and the Baths of Caracalla - they looked very evocative all lit up. The fountains were flowing, there was a party on the Circus Maximus and a traffic jam at 1:30 am. Only in Rome.

Then after a 10 hour flight we arrived in Hong Kong feeling a bit groggy. But we soldiered on and caught one of the old Star Ferries from Hong Kong Island to Koowloon for a fabulous lunch - maybe the best spring rolls of all time and very nice dumplings. Then I faced my fears by riding the tram up to the peak. It was ghastly - Hong Kong is very hilly and I was not a happy girl, but the views were pretty spectacular from the top as you can see. We had another good meal - this time with crispy tofu and a flavour-some vegetable hot-pot. Hong Kong is very good for vegetarians. The humidity is pretty intense so we were glad to return to an air-conditioned room and collapse into bed.

Today was all about the Journey to Enlightenment and walking with Buddha as we visited the Tian Tan Buddha statue, which is the tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha in the world. It is very impressive although I think the Buddha might be a bit concerned about the theme park that surrounds him. We got there via a 5.7 km cable car ride which is amazing. For some reason I am not afraid of cable cars. This afternoon Hugh has his talk at the university of Hong Kong so I had better go and watch. Then we head off to the airport and back home to Brisbane. It has been great fun doing this blog and a wonderful way to record the trip so that anyone who is interested can see what we are up to. You have got to love the internet! Farewell.

Back in the Bog

Yesterday we revisited the scene of the crime (the bog) hoping to see another sort of unusual orchid that was just in bud last week. Unfortunately due to the cold and dampish conditions the orchids hadn't done much in the way of opening but we were lucky to find one or two brave souls that had decided to open. This is a picture of the Broad-leaved Helleborine, Epactis helleborine or in Swedish skogsnipprot. A very pretty pink colour but its head tends to droop making it difficult to photograph.

The other picture is of the forest with no track that I mentioned last post and Hugh standing in the middle of blueberry bushes. We have now officially given up on the hazel grouse as obviously it does not want to be seen. Possibly it is extinct?

It was very rainy for Hugh's birthday on the 21st so we stayed in, drank champagne and had another sauna. Not so bad really. So Last night we went to Lindesberg to check out the nightlife and have a birthday dinner for Hugh as the weather was better. It is a very quiet town after 6 pm but we did find a pub and had a good time. There were these two Cavalier King Charles dogs at the table next to us - one was just like Eddy but obviously not as handsome and the other a nice tricolour. Their owners were very nice old Swedish ladies who helped us with the non-english speaking waitress.

Today is all about packing as tomorrow we leave Sweden for home via a night in Rome, the city of my heart, and a stopover in Hong Kong. The Europe trip is coming to end and this may well be the penultimate blog. I have to confess that I am addicted to travel and am not sure I feel like going home yet. I miss the family and my friends and my own pillow naturally but I like being in Europe although perhaps a little closer to cafes and pubs than out in the forest at Grimso!

Scandanavian Sauna

The last few days have been spent in a so far futile attempt to find a hazel grouse. I am posting a picture from Henrik, of the sheriff and his deputies so you can see how serious this is. I got dragged to a forest on Saturday where there was no track, just lots of bolders, blueberry bushes and moss - I could feel a twisted ankle coming with every step I gingerly took. So I don't think I will be promoted to deputy sheriff any time soon on account of all the complaining I did. Also I don't have big equipment like Johan.

Luckily it started to rain on Saturday so I was let off hazel grouse patrol and as it was cold we decided to try out the sauna that is in the basement at Grimso. The photo of the helpful poster on the wall shows you what you have to do. Normally I dislike enclosed spaces but this sauna has two windows high up in the wall that can be opened and a nice clear glass door so it was OK for we claustrophobics. It was actually really nice and relaxing and I slept like a baby last night so there must be something in it after all. I am still more in favour of spas than saunas but then I don't live in a cold climate.

Today I went north to the town of Skinnskateberg for provisions. It is closer than Lindesberg but no-one from Grimso seems to go there. I can see why now as it is a little grim. It could just be the windy grey day but everyone looked a little depressed. I suppose if this is summer you would be depressed! The town had one bottleshop like Lindesberg but here all the alcohol was behind glass and you had to ask the lady for what you wanted. I know it is supposed to reduce wife-beatings and alcoholism and so on but the only effect on me is to make me feel slightly desperate and to buy more than I needed. But perhaps it is too much of a culture shock for an Australian after all and it is not so bad if you are used to it. I wonder?

For some reason I have become interested in Life Expectancy tables and see that Australia and Sweden are more or less the same and both above the rest of Europe, other Scandanavian countries and the US and the UK. It really makes you wonder why as diet and alcohol restrictions are quite different. The only thing I can see is that anti-smoking laws appear roughly the same and the standard of health care must be similar. Although I have noticed that the quality and variety of fruit and vegetables aren't that great here but I remember that in Australian country towns people must survive on frozen vegetables too as it can be a bit dire outside of big cities as well. Maybe all this emphasis on healthy food is a bit overrated?

Fare thee well Peter

Todays photo is of the boys having fun at Peter's farewell dinner. Apparently Grzegorz and Peter skipped off together into the woods and gathered blueberries for our dessert. There were enough blueberries to feed ten people rather than four. But they were very yummy and so nice to eat berries fresh from the forest. So Swedish. I spent the day in Lindesberg shopping for the gala event and enjoying the sun - it seems like spring rather than summer weather, but I am not complaining as at least it has stopped raining.

After making all those jokes last post about moose paraphenalia I am now a bit cross with myself for not buying this adorable stuffed moose toy I saw in Lund. I broke the first rule of travelling which is: if you see it and like it, for god's sake just buy it as you will regret it if you don't. Well, yesterday I searched Lindesberg high and low for stuffed mooses to no avail. All too tasteful and not right. That will teach me to break the rules! So I am on a mission now I have actually seen said moose, to buy something moosey.

The other photo is of the attack horses looking harmless (see back in the woods post) but that could have been because they were safely restrained behind an electric fence. Hugh returned a little disconsolate on Wednesday from the woodpecker mission because they didn't see any woodpeckers and its hard to save things you can't see. He has been bugging me to say something for some time so I will kindly give him some space - he really should get his own blog.

Karen has blogger's block so I am stepping in to fill in the nasty white space that could be mis-interpreted as brain failure or inherent lack of imagination. Readers of Karen's witty words may be under a couple of misconceptions. First, that I'm having fun - fun is not a thing that I do. Second, that I drink too much because all photos of me include a glass of alcohol. On that point I would just note that "too much" is a relative term and it is not at all true that my entire cellular system is now alcohol-, rather than water-, based. Back to her highness, my bottle of skåne akvavit is calling me ...

It is true - he has a bottle in his office. Such a disgrace - he will give Australians a bad name. Bye for now.

Woodpecker widow

The last few days have been very idyllic as we have been wandering through the woods searching for orchids and the elusive Hazel Grouse. As you can see Hugh made friends with Bambi who lives in the field with some horses and is very tame. Apparently he was in a research project as a fawn when his mother died and he was taken from the wild and became a pet. He is very cute and followed us through the fields on our walk. I bravely walked past the horses and ponies trying to show no fear. Though they can smell fear I believe.

Another walk took us to the one of the nearby lakes and onto a platform where you can fish or launch canoes or jump in and swim from if you wish. The sunset over the lake was beautiful and occurs around ten thirty now. There were clumps of small wild strawberries growing everywhere which tasted very sweet. It is all very "Sound of Music" like except there are no nuns and no alps but otherwise it is identical!

I am glad we have seen a moose or, if you want to be strictly accurate, an elk because now I can buy some of the moose paraphenalia that covers Sweden - oven-mits, caps, cuddly toys and so on. Or even a tasteful key-ring would be good. I shouldn't laugh as Australia is covered in kangaroo and koala kitsch after all. And what is worse snow-domes of the Sydney Opera House!

Hugh is off on the trail of White-backed Woodpeckers today - apparently there are only two pairs left in Sweden - so sad. That is what he is really in Sweden for, to work on a recovery plan for these birds. Good luck is all I can say. So I get to be able to use his internet all day - he has not been very good at sharing. In the absence of other distractions, I have been doing some writing - the best-selling book is still a long way off I hasten to add, but I have made a start trying to get down some memories and impressions. It is not as easy as it looks this writing thing but I am persevering in case I am Jane Austen in disguise. One can only hope.

A blog from the bog

Yesterday we spent a wonderful day with Henrik and Ingrid who pulled out all the stops and showed us the historical, cultural and natural wonders of their local area. We started by visiting the old mining community of Pershyttan which has preserved mines, buildings and the old water wheel with its beam drive that powered the entire site. I was fascinated by the way of life of the miners. In winter the miners used the frozen lakes and snow to transport ore and charcoal, and in spring they mainly spent time ploughing the fields and putting the animals out to pasture. Summer was the real time for mining, and traditionally the entire household worked the mines. In autumn charcoal was produced in order to fire the furnace. It seems like a lot of hard work and I bet they were cold and hungry a lot of the time.

We were lucky with the weather and were able to eat lunch outside in the sunshine before visiting the town of Nora and seeing an interesting art exhibition by Swedish and Finnish artists. For some 600 years Finland was part of Sweden and the exhibition reflected the two countries’ close links. Then we drove to a small but fascinating bog called Lejakärret. We are not sure that bog is the best translation as it could mean fen, marsh or swamp but we settled for bog because it rhymes with blog!

The site is famous for its orchids because there is limestone (rare in Sweden) and orchids covered the bog like a carpet. It was really spectacular and we saw at least five different species of flowering orchid. Fortunately Henrik had bought the field guide so were able to identify them quite easily. My favourite was probably the purple Epipactis atrorubens but it was hard to photograph due to its drooping head. The photo is of Epipactis palustris which was also very beautiful and present in great numbers. The common English name is Marsh helleborine and the Swedish name is Kärrknipprot. Rather cute I think.

Tired but happy we went back to Ingrid and Henrik’s house for dinner which was delicious and caught up with their children, who are of course much taller than I remembered. Their daughter Matilda leaves for Australia this week on a rotary exchange programme for a year. No doubt it will be a wonderful experience and I admire her for being able to leave her comfort zone at her age. On the way home we finally got see a moose by the side of the road. We were beginning to doubt their existence!

Lund in a cold climate

On Thursday we drove some 600 kms south to Lund in the county of skåne which used to be part of Denmark. It was pouring with rain but luckily it stopped when we reached our destination. We stayed the night with Ola and his family in his old farm house. The Swedes were certainly shorter 150 years ago as the ceilings were very low. We sat outside for a while and drank this wonderful elderflower and gin concoction that Ola makes from shrubs on his farm – quite delicious but a little deadly. We had a nice meal with a few other people from the ecology department at the University of Lund where Hugh was giving a talk the next day.

I spent the day trying to avoid the rain by visiting the cathedral of Lund which is one of the oldest Romanesque style churches in Sweden dating from about the twelfth century. It has a fabulous clock (pictured), which I think is fifteenth century, and has two knights hitting each other with swords to mark the hours and a procession of wise men circling the Virgin Mary. Very cute. It also has a crypt but it isn’t very spooky as it has lots of windows and light.

There is also an interesting historical museum with entire preserved houses containing period furniture which I enjoyed. But like Berlin, I think Lund would be nicer when not raining and cold. Slightly wet and woebegone I met up with Hugh in the afternoon for our drive to see Niclas, who was a former post-doc of Hugh’s, and his partner Marlin who was a great favourite at our Brisbane bookgroup. Niclas, in the other photo with Hugh, is recovering well from a nasty operation and it was lovely to see them and their two young blonde viking children.

Hugh and Niclas went bird-watching yesterday morning and Marlin, the kids and I visited the beach which is close to their house. We could see Denmark across the water and Marlin told me she has visited Copenhagen more than she has visited Stockholm. From the car you can see windmills and you can see how influenced by Denmark the area is. We made it back to Grimso safe and sound last night determined to stay in one place for a while.

Joining the Library

That was my excitment for yesterday - joining the library. Lindesberg has a very nice public library with a reasonable English section and a nice collection of CDs/DVDs. I have been missing music so I think I might treat myself to an ipod in Hong Kong on the way home. After all I have been a good girl (more or less). I was interested to see that a visitor can join the library for free but that DVDs attract a charge. It made me laugh to see that they have the same kind of star printers as Brisbane City Council Libaries to tell you when your books are due back. Small world.

It is a small town and backs onto a lake - the first photo is of the cute tourist information office with the lake behind it. Lindesberg has four supermarkets but only one bottle shop. I have got used to buying alcohol in supermarkets in Europe so it is a bit of a shock having to go to the special bottle shop which has restricted hours and is quite expensive. They are all owned by the government with the aim of trying to reduce alcoholism I believe. It is a bit inconvenient so it probably works. I should look up the statistics.

The other funny thing about Sweden is that although not many people smoke, there is this thing called snuss which is tobacco that you place under your lip which is very popluar. It caused a bit of a problem for Sweden joining the European Union for some reason but they got an exemption and you can only buy it here or perhaps also in Finland. I am told it is not as bad as smoking tobacco as it doesn't affect your lungs or circulation but apparently it does lead to increased levels of mouth cancers.

We are not finding it so expensive to live here as when we visited five years ago - luckily the Swedish kronor has got weaker due to the financial crisis. Admittedly we are not dining out in restaurants as much. Tonight we are going to have a pizza party with Peter and a French academic who works here. I am wishing we had a few of our games here as it would be fun to play some cluedo or civilization - no nasty distractions such as phones or work.

The other photo is of a new flower which has appeared - there are more yellow and white flowers than purple now. We had a brief walk yesterday when it stopped raining for a while and tried to identify some of the trees in the forest. The dominant tree seems to be birch but there are also a lot of spruce, pine, aspen and a few alder apparently. I saw my first great spotted woodpecker actually pecking at wood. Most exciting.

Back in the woods

I drove into Lindesberg on Sarurday to stock up on supplies - it is quite a challenge shopping without knowing what any of the ingredients are but I managed. I never thought I would be saying this, but it is quite nice to be able to cook your own food after 2 weeks of rich restaurant food. Today's photo is of the famous Midsummer flower which has nearly disappeared now. The wildflowers are remarkable here - after 2 weeks everything is quite different.

Hugh and I went on a big walk around the lake yesterday and I was very intrepid, walking through bogs and not being afraid of bugs - luckily I was wearing my tropical strength insect repellent so I was mostly left alone. The water is quite warm now (my feet got wet) and Hugh is talking about swimming in the lake - it is not quite warm enough for me however. Unfortunately the weather has turned cold and rainy today so I am starting to think that the sauna might be quite a good idea! I hope there are birch twigs.

On the way back from the walk, these ponies started chasing us - I think they thought we might feed them, so naturally I panicked and ran. Hugh thinks my fears are funny so he says "Save yourself - I'll hold them off". So I ran but felt a little bad about leaving my loved one to the wild beasts, so I bravely turned around to help and found him laughing and being surrounded by ponies trying to herd him. I felt a little sheepish then but you never know with animals in the forest - I've seen the movies.

In the evenings which are not so light now, we head off to the old white house pictured in an earlier blog and watch DVD's - it is good fun although we rarely agree about what to watch. I have a nice stack of books to read thanks to England and Hugh has his computer game so we are all set. I am enjoying this life of no responsibilities and even better no housework!

Leaving the dreaming spires of Oxford

Yesterday was spent wandering around Oxford having fun. I had a nice English breakfast in the College Hall which felt just like the one at Hogwarts only a bit smaller. Then I visited the Chapel which you can see in the photo and the organ started playing just after I walked in adding to the atmosphere. Luckily this time I was not looking at a tomb, as in Cambridge, so I did not have another heart attack! I took a turn in the gardens and admired the foliage. Unfortunately Mr Darcy did not accompany me as he had to rush off for a big day of talks and meetings. I think this blog is starting to sound like the Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde!

After getting my toe looked at by a nice Podiatrist who said it was looking good, I hit the shops to celebrate. I visited the holy site of Blackwell's, perhaps the best bookshop I have ever been in. They have a classical studies and history section that makes me start drooling. I also found a book in the literature section that I had been looking for through most of Europe. I had to tear myself away before I lost the plot (ha ha) and remembered that anything I bought I would have to carry through at least three countries before getting back to Australia. They even buy second hand books so I was able to offload a book I had just finished. What a service!

I climbed a Saxon tower (the oldest building in Oxford) and had a wonderful view of all the spires and towers of Oxford. There are a lot. I was able to visit the St John's College library which as you can see from the photo is absolutely beautiful. I got to feel like an old scholar without having to do any of the work involved. Suits me fine! It really is a gorgeous place and I'm not sure I fully appreciated it when were here in the 1980's.

After a little siesta I met up with Hugh and some colleagues for a drink at the University Club and then we met some other colleagues at groovy tapas bar called Kazbar. It was unbelievably warm weather for England and we caught up with Claudio and Jorgelina, an Argentinian couple who we had met, funnily enough, at Luigi's in Tuscany. What a small world.

Today we left England through the newish terminal 5 at Heathrow which is a big improvement on the other terminals, let me tell you, and headed back to Sweden. Although it is only a two and a half hour flight, by the time we picked up the hire car and drove back to Grimso it was 11 pm and the whole trip had taken over 12 hours. We were pretty tired but pleased to be back in the peaceful forest.

Messing about in boats

It was a Wind in the Willows experience Tuesday, as I travelled to Windsor on the local bus that winds through Windsor Great Park. Amazing views. Luckily I had visited Windsor Castle before, as I didn't feel like walking through a no doubt badly ventilated castle at the height of the tourist season. So I got an ice-cream and took a river cruise down the Thames. There was a nice breeze and I drifted along past Eton boatsheds and under bridges and watched little barges pass us by. The view of Windsor castle on the way back was spectacular as you can see.

In the evening we went to a local Chinese restaurant for an enormous banquet. Luckily EJ, who is the workshop organiser, is a vegetarian so we had all sorts of unkown but delicious vegetarian foodstuffs. I had a nice evening talking with Emily who is a former student of Hughs and getting to cuddle with her baby.

I spent yesterday morning walking around the forests of Silwood trying to find the old farmhouse that we lived in when we were here 15 years ago. After achieving success, Hugh and I left on the train for Oxford and our wedding anniversary celebrations. We were just able to get to Oxford University Press before it shut to pick up copies of Hugh's new book which was exciting. We had a drink in the Lamb and Flag pub which is where I had my first job when we lived in England 25 years ago. Lots of nostalgia.

We had a lovely dinner (pictured above) in a quaint restaurant called the Old Parsonage and had lots of fun listening in on the other diners. On one side we had a guy that sounded exactly like Carson from 'Queer eye for a straight guy' and who was beautifully dressed in a sage green linen suit. The other table was full of Hooray Henrys who kept on talking about William and Harry and it sounded awfully like the royal ones. It was really funny and kept us entertained until I had to concentrate on my yummy dessert called "Eton Mess". It is a mixture of crushed meringue, strawberries and of course - double cream! It was to die for.

It is hard to believe but Oxford is even better than I remembered it. We are staying in St John's College Alumini Guest Rooms which are very elegant and located next to the house where we had our wedding reception. From our window I can see the Cupola in the garden where we had wedding photos taken. It is really incredibly romantic and the honey-coloured buildings look beautiful in the sunshine. I am very happy to be back here.

Summertime at Silwood Park

Yes it really does happen - England does have a summer! We are enjoying unprecedentedly warm weather and I can wear all my summer skirts that I so optimistically packed. We had a lovely day in Cambridge on Saturday - the Senior Combination Room was full of Oxbridge atmosphere and fabulous carpets and the food was delicious. Hugh and I have been surprised by how friendly everyone has been - what has happened to the old-fashioned British reserve? Maybe the weather has made everyone happy and chatty.

On Sunday we visited King's Cross station for the last time and I took my obligatory Harry Potter photo, before heading west to Silwood Park which is part of Imperial College London but located near Ascot. We had stayed there as a family about 15 years ago but did not get to visit many pubs being tied up with little kids. So we went to the nice if slightly up-market pub pictured, with Drew one of Hugh's former post-docs who now lives in the US.

We had a great night - I tried a Hendrick's gin and tonic (apparently all the rage here) which is served with cucumber instead of lemon or lime. It was unusual and refreshing. The pub was very trendy and we had groovy salads and organic Chardonnay. At the risk of sounding like an alcoholic I will disclose that we then repaired to the Hotel Bar for some Champagne and a catch up with Eve, one of Hugh's current post-docs who is also attending the workshop.

I spent Monday on the little bus that goes to nearby villages in order to find a launderette. I was aided in my search by a helpful old lady who took me under her wing and showed me the way. At Ascot, where I went to do some banking, another helpful old lady told me what to do in Windsor and people were chatting away to me on the bus home as well. Things have really changed here that's all I can say! Hugh is here for a workshop and we all met in the old Manor house at Silwood for the introductory talk followed by dinner. The talk was most interesting describing the global biodiversity situation and typical goverment responses. (basically to hold another meeting!)

We then sat outside under the huge, shady old trees of the Manor and had a yummy curry dinner which was served in the conservatory. The Manor house has a wonderful old photo in the hall showing a visit by the then Prince and Princess of Wales to Silwood Park in 1896 with a copy of the court circular for that day. It is a great house but sadly showing signs of neglect and institutionalisation. Some truly horrid light fittings and ghastly lino have been installed but the stained glass and high ceilings still remain. I don't remember visiting the house on our last visit.

What a shame - only a few days left in England - I am stocking up on DVD's and books for our last 3 weeks in Sweden. Of course the bookshops here are wonderful and it is hard to restrain oneself. I am enjoying English TV as well -I didn't realise how much I was missing it.

Canterbury and Cambridge

We had a great meal on Thursday night in the oldest pub in Canterbury complete with blackened oak beams (as you can see in the photo)and nice pub food. The group was a mixture of marine people and DICE people (university of Kent). There was a good blues band playing and later we sat out in the beer-garden as it was a lovely evening - apparently it is always like this in summer in England! I didn't believe them and just as well, as it poured with rain when we got to Cambridge the next day. But we saw London Bridge and St Pauls from the train on the way through. I love it - sighteeing from the train.

We are staying in a gorgeous set of rooms in St John's college - the other photo is the view from one of our mullioned windows. Our bathroom is in an octangonal tower just like the rooms in my favourite childhood book "The little White Horse". The doorways are all pointed gothic arches and we have a painting of a be-whiskered gentlemen on the wall, no doubt some important benefactor. It is fabulous. I can feel some gothic mystery is about to happen although the punters on the river introduce a way too cheerful note. We cross the Bridge of Sighs on the way to breakfast.

Last night I had a nice girls evening with an old friend from our Oxford days while Hugh chatted with Zoology people in yet another pub. It was great to catch up with Usha and meet her offspring for the first time. She is going to take us to the Senior Combination Room for lunch in college today which should be fun - I hope I get to pass the port.

Hugh and I explored the college a bit this morning and I nearly had a heart attack in the chapel, as the organ started playing suddenly while I was inspecting a tomb of some important long dead person. I jumped about three feet in the air as it felt like the gates of heaven were opening right before me! See what I mean about the gothic atmosphere! I can hear the bells ringing now so I had better go and put on some finery for lunch.

Sweden to Scotland

On Monday we had a rather tiring trip from Sweden to St Andrews in Scotland via Heathrow which was a bit hairy due to security and changing terminals and so on. But Tuesday was a beautiful sunny day and I enjoyed wandering around St Andrews which is of course famous for its golf course (pictured) – the Royal and Ancient golf club - such a great name. It is such a cute little hobbit town with a splendid ruined castle and cathedral. It is also famous for its university which Prince William attended. We heard lots of posh English accents as it is graduation week.

In the evening a sea fog rolled in and the town was enveloped in it – it seemed very much like Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles to me. We had a nice train trip to London the next day losing the fog near Newcastle, and played Monopoly in our heads as we changed from Kings Cross station to Charing Cross. We saw Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey from the train which was a bonus, on the way to Canterbury our next destination.

We had a great evening with Bob and a couple of his friends, Jesse and Susie at Deeson’s – a restaurant specialising in locally produced, traditional English food. It was lovely – I am so pleased to be back in England as there is so much choice for vegetarians. But the best part - aside from the witty repartee of course- was the piano player called Luke, apparently a Canterbury icon, who played all my favourite tunes and I came very close to singing along - I do love a bit of kareoke!

Today I visited some nice churches and of course the cathedral where Thomas Beckett was murdered but my pilgrimage was really to Marks & Spencers’ Food Hall. It is filled to the brim with yummy food for vegetarians (and for everyone else for that matter) and I was happy to see that it still as good as I remembered it. I also got excited going to Boots the Chemist – I don’t really know why – I must just be feeling nostalgic and pro-England.

Hugh is having a big day giving his talk and meeting with the people who are going to re-zone the English Channel (to stop over-fishing) and who are going to use MARXAN, his computer programme, to do it. I think it is very exciting to see how Hugh’s work is so used around the world. Tonight we are going to a ye olde English pub – the oldest in Canterbury – which sounds like a lot of fun – it really is such a hard life!

More Midsummer Madness

Just when you thought it was all over - here are some more snaps of random frivolity. I thought I would include a nice photo courtesy of Henrik, of the lovely schnapps lunch, so you can see that the sun did in fact shine. It is such a pity as the weekend has been lovely - lots of sun and no rain. We have been walking in the woods around the lake and bravely tramping across bogs potentially filled with hostile and disease laden insects (there is lime disease here). Hugh has a list of must-see birds and will not rest until he has seen them all - it makes him a bit fidgety.

Yesterday we had another fabulous dinner party at Ella and Grzegorz's house - I include a photo of them in their midsummer finery - they had very pretty wildflower wreaths as well. They have a lovely house in the forest surrounded by meadows filled with wildflowers like Johan and Johanna. They insisted we had to drink Polish vodka for our health - I think it was the best so far but you can only buy it in Poland. Pity. Grzegorz is as crazy a bird-watcher as Hugh and hooray - we finally saw the Black Woodpecker and the Scarlet Rose Finch so now we must stomp around the forests of Grimso only for the Hazel Grouse. Although it seems the more you see the more you have to see. Luckily Johan (another birdo) found a Great Gray Owl for us on Friday so that has been ticked off.

We are still getting used to driving home at midnight and seeing the sun setting - it was lovely last night as we saw it setting over a lake. So romantic. I am writing this in the Arlanda airport as we are en route to Scotland for a couple of weeks in the UK. I am really looking forward to seeing England again and catching up with old friends and spending time in some ye olde English pubs. However I am glad to be returning to Sweden after that for some more meadows and wildflowers and fun with our Swedish friends. We only have 5 weeks left of our trip - I can't believe how fast it has gone.

Midsummer Madness

Well - it started out a nice day so I optimistically made some things for a BBQ and when we got to Johan and Johanna's house, the sun was shining away and I was regretting that I wasn't attired in a flowing goddess gown. We had a lovely traditional lunch of pickled herring and about 6 different sorts of schnapps. I had a vegetarian version of caviar which was delicious. The table and house were filled with flowers from the meadows and we sang traditional Swedish schnapps songs. It was a lot of fun. But we had a weather prophet with us who took a dim view.

He was right - just as we arrived at the village to dance arround the Maypole it started to pour with rain. Then came the hail - it became incredibly dark and cold. The Maypole looked very threatening against the sky as you can see. Maybe the Swedes should start burning a wicker man instead and then the weather might improve - you never know. I was the only person over the age of seven wearing a wreath of flowers but I was laughing so much that the back of my head started to ache - maybe the schnapps played a role. It was so sad seeing all the kids and the lady with the piano accordian being washed away.

Luckily we were able to huddle around a nice wood burning stove back at the ranch and break open the red wine so it seemed really more like a winter solstice than a summer solstice. Johan bravely went ahead with the BBQ but I did not move from the warm kitchen. Nevertheless it was a wonderful evening and we finished with strawberries and champagne. It was weird driving home at midnight when it was still light even with the mist and rain and grey skies.

Today Hugh and I walked around the lake through the woods and it feels like every fairy tale you have ever read - these are the forests of Grimm that is for sure. They even have wolves here apparently. So spooky. Although Luigi from Tuscany who is a wolf expert, reckons that wolves have got a bad press and they are gentle, misunderstood creatures. That may be so but I still don't want to meet one and I'm definitely not going to wear a red hood in the forest!

Orebro

Yesterday I met up with Ella, the wife of a colleague of Hugh's and we went off castle searching in Orebro, a large town about 50 kms away. We visited an old village with lots of 17th century buildings - many of them had grass growing on top of their roofs - very quaint but they must have been rather short in those days as the ceilings were low and the rooms rather small. One of the houses belonged to a famous Swedish cook called Cajsa Warg- kind of an early Mrs Beeton I suppose.

The castle was of the classic kind - four towers surrounded by a moat and a nice little internal courtyard. We went on a funny guided tour of the inside of the castle and learnt all about the famous castle ghost and the prisoner who kept on escaping from the dungeons. There were some beautiful portraits of fairly ugly moustachioed kings, chubby ladies and sweet princesses playing with dogs. The castle is a popular place for weddings.

Ella and Grzegorz (they are Polish) live in a lovely house surrounded by meadows and woods. We had a nice girl time talking about herbs and flowers. Ella collects plants from the woods and dries them and makes all sorts of different teas with various health benefits. I have been steadily drinking some nice herbal tea infusions that I bought in Lausanne but I don't think it is quite the same thing!

Today I am afraid to say it was a bit rainy and miserable and I fear for the midsummer festival tomorrow. I met up with Ingrid for lunch in a nice pub in her town and joined the vast queues of people buying Schnapps and strawberries afterwards. Apparently Midsummer is the most important festival of the year in Sweden. Lindesberg seems like a pretty town, overlooking a lake and I look forward to exploring it more when the weather is better.

The other photo is of our little cottage and our trusty VW polo. It is quite relaxing driving in Sweden after Italy as the roads are wide, there is not much traffic and peolple don't speed so much. So I am quite enjoying motoring around even on the dirt roads around Grimso. We are off now to have dinner and watch a DVD so bye for now.

Grimso Forskningsstation

Yes that is what the research station is called - makes me laugh anyway. Hooray today the sun is shining and the rain has gone away. Maybe it will start to feel like summer now. We have had a nice few days catching up with old friends Henrik and Ingrid and getting to know the new people who are doing Hugh's course. Apparently there is a ghost in the old house in the photo that used to be a hunting lodge, so we scared each other with cross-cultural ghost stories. Luckily it is light till about 1 am so although we had to walk to our little cottage which is surrounded by the woods, I was reassured by Hugh that ghosts need the dark to properly thrive and haunt people.

We had a lovely meal with Ingrid and Henrik who have visited us twice in Brisbane and started to plan the midsummer festival for Friday the 21st June. As many of you know I like to celebrate the solstices and equinoxes as part of what my daughter calls my "pagan cult" so I am gleaning material for festival proceedure. I was fascinated by the remnant pagan festivals that the Swedes celebrate and learnt a lot for my cult. So now as I walk among the woods I am looking for the 7 flowers that I will need to decorate my wreath and particularly for the purple midsummer flower which is apparently the essential element.

Now the weather is better I am looking forward to exploring the lake and the area around Grimso which is in the centre of Sweden basically, 200kms west of Stockholm. Apparently there is a nice castle for me nearby, and some churches and old villages so I should be pretty happy. Today I might drive to Lindesberg the nearest town to start stocking up on Schnapps which is apparently the key ingredient to the Midsummer party along with herring of course. I think I might skip that part! Swedish is a bit tricky for me but hopefullly I shall learn a few words to add colour to the blog.

From Saxony to Sweden

We heard my favourite Bach piece played in the church where he worked on Friday night for the Bach festival- it was so beautiful tears came into my eyes and the sun came out and brightened the colours in the stain glass windows. It was a wonderful moment and even better it only cost 2 euro to get in. On the way home we took a photo of a statue of Goethe which stands in front of the old Stock Exchange, a lovely neo-classical building. A lot of the big names in German culture spent some time in Leipzig - I visited Mendelssohn's and Schumann's houses but didn't get to the house of Schiller.

Just my luck - it was a beautiful day as we passed through Berlin but no time really to stop and enjoy the city as we were en route to the airport. However Sweden is quite cold and wet and I am still wearing my winter clothes. It was a 2 and a half hour drive from the airport to Grimso the research station where we will be based for the next 7 weeks. Our new car is a blue volkswagen golf which I will have to get used to as the nearest town is 30 kms away. Hugh is happy because he is in the forest and plans to see many new birds.

The other picture is of Hugh and his post-doc Peter doing field-work! Luckily Peter has some DVDs and I stocked up on books so I will have something to do out here in the woods. It was light nearly the whole night which will take some getting used to but the research station looks really pretty and overlooks a lake. Apparently there are a lot of moose about and no doubt many bugs for me to complain about. So now I have to learn a bit of Swedish for goodbye - hej då!

Berlin and the Brandenburg Gate

It is quite cold and wet here in Deutschland and I am wondering where is summer? I had a very damp trip to Berlin yesterday and got a bit grumpy. I went to Museum Island to see the famous Pergammon altar removed in its entirety from Turkey and reconstructed here along with the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. The Ishtar gate was particularly awesome with its bright blue tiles and strange dragon-like animals. I am not sure how I feel about this removal of entire ancient buildings thing - I think really they should be returned to their country of origin.

I had to queue for a half an hour to get in and the museum was terribly crowded so I didn't enjoy it as much as it deserved. Then I went to the Egyptian museum to see the famous head of Nefertiti which is so delicate and beautiful. There were two rooms full of ancient jewellery which was amazing and a collection of ancient Greek and Roman silver which I have not seen so much of before. They are in the process of up-grading these museums and no doubt it will be even more magnificent then.

But it kept on raining and I resigned myself to a wet walk to the Brandenburg gate - luckily it stopped raining for a bit so I could get the photo I needed. But I do not think I saw Berlin at its best. I only felt better after a hot bath and some wine back in Leipzig. I bought Faust - in English which is cheating I know- so I can start to understand Goethe and to continue the cultural theme we are going to hear a reproduction of an 1843 concert that Mendelssohn staged to pay tribute to Bach tonight in the the St Thomas Church (if the weather is clement).

Hugh is loving Germany and the order and punctuality. He is off birdwatching this morning with some colleagues and hopes to see many rare birds. I am thinking of seeing Mendelssohn's house this afternoon as it is just around the corner. We are flying to Sweden tomorrow so this is my last Auf Wiedersehen!

Faust and freedom

I visited another nice church today called St Nicholas which has a beautiful pink and green neo-classical interior filled with columns like the one pictured on the outside of the Church. It played an important role in the collapse of the GDR, the former east Germany. People had been coming to pray for democracy and change for some time but thousands came and prayed for peace in October 1989 despite the church being filled with secret police and party faithful. Tens of thousands of people were also outside the church holding candles despite the presence of troops. The non-violent movement contributed to the fall of the GDR and a member of the GDR said before his death "we had planned for everything but not for candles and prayer". I think that this is rather wonderful.

Leipzig is a nice, flat city which has a long history from about the 10th century and was an important trading and book printing town as well as having a famous university. I visited the old town hall pictured with its weekly market in the square and the new town hall which is built on the site of the original castle. Goethe lived here for a few years and we had dinner last night in the very cellar that is mentioned in Faust. I have to confess that I have not read Faust and this is something that obviously I must remedy. But I was pleased to be eating some kohlrabi, a weird looking root vegetable that I had seen in the market and to my knowledge had never eaten before. It was delicious - I am a fan of root vegetables- and so was the riesling that accompanied it. I am glad to be in the land of the riesling - my favourite sort of white wine.

My German is coming back,albeit in a fairly basic way, and it is good to be able to understand a bit of what is going on. I must look a little bit German as I kept on being stopped to answer surveys yesterday. I think it must be because I am wearing socks and sandals (because it is cold)! Bye for now.

Bell-towers and Bach

Yesterday we spent the day in Florence and I have to confess that Florence has not been my most favourite Italian city as I have only been there when it has been hot and crowded. But I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it can be when cool and fairly empty of people. We visited Orsanmichele which was just beautiful and had a nice holy feel (I like that in a church). We also saw an interesting Bronzino fresco (one of my favourite painters) in the church of San Lorenzo and a nice fresco by Botticelli (another one) in the Organissanti Church. Hugh got a groovy Italian haircut while we waited for the last church to open. I found a wonderful English bookshop and traded in some old books for some new ones. I was getting a bit twitchy without anything to read.

We then crammed into a six berth sleeping car on the overnight train to Germany with in fact 7 other people (2 were smallish kids) which made taking off your shoes tricky and led to worrying about snoring (yours and theirs) but in fact it wasn't so bad. Germany looks completely different to Italy - no weeds anywhere and all the buildings are well-maintained. Leipzig train station is incredible - you could eat off the floor it is so clean. Our hotel is very hip - lots of colour and designer chairs. The reception is a bar.

Today I am off to explore Leipzig and maybe get a haircut myself. There is a Bach festival starting later in the week which looks interesting (he was choirmaster at the church pictured) and hopefully a castle of two for me to get my teeth into. By the look of the place (compare the towers in the photos) I guess we have moved from the Renaissance to the Baroque. A new period of history to learn more about which I will enjoy. Now we say Auf Wiedersehen!

Last day at Luigi's

Today I managed to drag Hugh away from his computer and we drove to the walled town of Monteriggioni - it is maybe 10 kms north of Siena. It has 14 towers and is mentioned in Dante's Inferno. It was cute but very touristy. We had a bit of a shock as we have been relatively free from other tourists like ourselves in our small part of Tuscany. We also saw a nice church to add to my church haul. This afternoon will all be about packing and getting organised for our next 2 months in Northern Europe (mostly Sweden). Unfortunately Europe seems to be in the grip of rain for the next week so our week in Germany first may be a bit damp. Hugh is wondering why the Romans wanted to leave Italy.

Today's pictures are my last pair of castles and churches for the mission and what a nice pair, hey? The Church is a little gem and I am slowly starting to see the differences between the styles of bell tower and the arches and so on. The castle is pretty impressive too I think. I didn't put a picture of Monterigioni in today as I think an aerial photograph would be the only way to do it justice. So I have a postcard instead.

We are currently girding our loins for the drive into Florence tomorrow to return the car - these big old Italian cities with their one-way streets and Italian drivers are a test of nerve for us. I always pray (in a pagan way) for roadworks to help us out and slow everyone down. Luckily there does seem to be a lot of them around! Hugh is pouring over his google maps so as navigator I'd better attend my briefing - this is my last ciao for the trip!

Tombs and Towers

Yesterday I visited the birth-place of San Galgano (see previous post) and observed his preserved skull (fortunately encased in some sort of helmet thingy) and the mark his horse made in the rock when it kneeled in front of the apparition of the Archangel St Michael. No kidding! I am wondering whether he might be the origin of the Sir Galahad story given the similarity of their names and the whole Arthurian sword in the stone stuff. His medieaval hilltop-town is called Chiusdino and is very cute with lots of steep steps and arched gates. As it was a weekday it was also terribly quiet and empty, and I appeared to be the only person in the old part of the town, barring a few cats and an old lady or two sweeping their steps and shaking out their mats. Rather pleasant really.

Today I gaily drove off in search of Etruscan tombs. Tombs for me are like childbirth - I forget how awful it is each time and then it is too late! Naturally I am all by myself in a deserted area, naturally the word tomb means I have to go underground where it is dark, smelly and scary because dead people were there for millenia. Little creatures scuttle away on my approach and nasty spiderwebs are strung up in front of the entrance as a warning. Moreover I remember half way into the tomb that (a) I don't have a torch and (b) I hate tombs! But it was a new adventure to add to my growing list of creepy crypt/tomb tales.

After the fear factor faded somewhat, I stayed out in the sunshine and drove along dirt country roads, through tiny villages to view a few more castles and country chapels. It was really delightful although some of the roads were a bit hairy - a 4 wheel drive would have been nice. Except for the time when there was me, the rock wall and the man in the tractor on a tiny track. I was pleased to be in the baby fiat panda then I can tell you. So I can report that I am doing reasonably well in my mission to see as many castles, churches and hill-top villages within a 20 km radius except that as Hugh pointed out (he is a stickler for accuracy and apparently knows the difference between diameter and radius) my quest turns out to be within a 10 km radius and I have not got to a few of them. Some people are very critical! I told him that I am leaving some for next time and there will be a next time!

Cloisters and Dante

We have had 2 days of steady rain but that does not stop me on my culture trail! Visited the abbey of Torri yesterday which was built in 1069 and has a gorgeous Romanesque cloister that you can see pictured. The village built around it is lovely too and I bought some food from the little van that sets up shop in the square and sells vegies, fruit and other staples from the side of the van. Lots of old ladies in slippers were buying away. I was wondering what you would do in these villages if you didn't drive and now I know. I don't know how often the van comes mind you.

Today was drier so we ventured out along the Old Massetana route (a medieaval road) to the Ponte della Pia, a romanesque bridge which is mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy (Purgatory, Canto V: Lines 130-136). We were also trying to find an old Augustine convent which is now a picturesque ruin on this road apparently but failed due to muddy conditions and bad signage. We will prevail on another day though as I have promised to leave no stone unturned in my quest(as previously mentioned). We also explored our local village of Rosia and climbed into the old part of the village which is up a fairly steep hill - there is a nice castle at the top and a panoramic view of the countryside. So I am planning a quiet afternoon - bye for now.