Brussels

I recently had my first business trips into Europe, both to Brussels. Brussels one of the administrative centres of the European Union, and therefore has a lot of law firms practicing EU law (mainly to do with competitions investigations, ACCC-type actions as they would be known in Australia). Meetings with some of these law firms took me to Brussels.

The beauty of going to France or Belgium from London is that you get to catch the train. And when it comes to choosing between training and flying, rail wins almost every time. Trains, of course, are slower than planes, but when you factor in the time getting to the airport, checking in, waiting, boarding, taxiing, flying, landing and getting from the airport on the other end, the city-to-city connections trains provide are very attractive. The first and last time I caught the Eurostar train to the continent was back in late 2006, and since then the English side of the high speed train line has been upgraded (from slow to really fast). And instead of going from the seedy Waterloo International station, you now depart from the magnificent St Pancras International. London to Brussels is only 1 hour and 50 minutes!

Brussels is an interesting international city. All the signs are in French and Dutch, although French is the spoken language. Despite this, it seems almost everyone speaks English, and in the law firms there are people from all over Europe, who all seem to speak a selection of languages.

In terms of city sights, there are some really nice old squares and some typical Northern European buildings to look at, but out of the main tourist areas it is mainly office blocks and industry. If you are planning a holiday to Belgium for the first time, pick Bruges instead, but Brussels is certainly an interesting place to pass though. And a any trip to Belgium can be fruitful – with an ever-present selection of cherry beers, waffles and fine chocolates .

Rebirth of the Blog

Although it doesn't look like it, this is actually the first entry in this blog.

I have been keeping a bit of a blog on Facebook of this trip which started in April 2008.  But Facebook notes are not exactly the best way to manage a travel blog, so I have decided to copy the entries onto this blog site and backdate them. I also decided to include my group emails from my trip in 2006, which I used to write before the rise of blogging or the advent or Facebook.  At least this way I can have everything in one place. It has certainly been interesting going through all this material, and reliving the travels.

These are the countries I have covered so far:


visited 27 countries (12%)



visited 13 states (26%)

Rome

Over the past few years I have done a lot of travelling, especially around Europe. I’ve seen some out-of-the-way places, and others right along the beaten track. But there was an exception: I had never been to Rome. I had been to other places in Italy along my travels, Turin, Bardonecchia and Ancona. But not those famous and amazing spots like Venice, Milan, Florence or Rome.

So when I saw a cheap hotel deal for a nice hotel in Rome right around my birthday, I put the idea to V and we booked it. She had been to Rome before but was willing to come and be my guide, and to experience the city in a bit more depth (as much as is possible in a weekend) then the stop on her European bus tour a few years ago.

I went to Rome without too many expectations. I had never been that impressed with Italy, but was mindful of the fact that I should experience this reputably amazing city. And yes, I was amazed. My expectations were exceeded by this ancient city.

The weather was stunning, hovering just below 30 during the day. The sun was shining, the tourists of the high summer season had largely disbursed, and the city was buzzing. I was surprised by how open and colourful the city was. I was expecting it to be denser, dirtier, and more cramped. But I was pleasantly surprised.

We spent much of the weekend walking, walking and walking some more, just taking in the city and sights (and gelato). Everywhere you walked, there was amazing architecture to see, whether Roman Catholic masterpieces from 500 years ago or ancient Roman ruins from 2000 years ago. Just walking along a footpath it wasn’t uncommon to see the remains of some ancient columns just lying there.

The newer part of the town involved walking between many scattered fountains, pizzerias, churches and of course the mandatory tourist shops.

Overall it was 2 days well spent. We managed to fit in a lot of sights in a short period of time (including the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon and more) while still managing to find the time to spend a morning at the hotel swimming pool enjoying those last few strong sunrays, before our lives in London hit the cold, dark winter.

Cape Town

Mum and I parted at Dubai Airport. She flew back to Melbourne and I back to London. It was an overnight flight and I landed at Heathrow at 7:00am. I got through customs at about 7:30 and the race to get to the office for my 9am sales meeting began. I made it to my meeting only about 5 min late and managed to keep it together that day at work despite having just arrived from another continent.

But business called, and I needed to fly out to South Africa the very next day!  And as luck would have it, that Monday night, my only night back in England before heading to the Southern Hemisphere, happened to have a rare work Monday night drinks. I can't say no to drinks, so I went along and had a couple of red-bull-and-vodkas. Just as I was starting to feel the groove, I thought I better head home, unpack from Dubai and pack for Cape Town.

The next day I was in the air all day, and arrived in Sunny Cape Town on Wednesday night.  I had a chance to look around before going to some business meetings over the next two days.  Most of my sightseeing was spent around the harbour area, enjoying the colonial maratime scenery.  Cape Town is really a beatiful city. Central Cape Town is currounded by mountainous cliffs on one side and the sea on the other.  But when you get out past the mountains and into the suburbs it is a different story. There are vast areas covered by little shacks that look like they are going to fall apart. These crowded "townships" show the massive difference between the rich and the poor.

Even in the rich areas of the city, such as beautiful Camps Bay, things are cheap. I would pay about GB £1.50 for a beer in a bar or £3 for cocktails.

Overall Cape Town reminded me of Australia. Compared to Europe it had that relaxed, beachside, sunny feel. It was the middle of winter but the weather was still sunny and mild. To some extent, cape town had the cafe culture of Melbourne, with lots of trendy places to have a coffee or something stronger.

The highlight of any Cape Town visit would have to be Table Mountain. This plateau is visible from many parts of the city and provides some stunning vistas.  I made it up to the bottom of the cable car station but unfortunately it was too windy and cloudy for the cable car to run that day so I didn't make it to the peak.

I would definitely recommend South Africa as a cheap and interesting holiday. It is far away, so had I not needed to go for work, I wouldn't have gone so far just for a few days. But it would be a great trip combined perhaps with some of the surrounding countries in Southern Africa. One day, I hope to return.

Dubai in July

Dubai has long fascinated me. I have often wondered what it would be like as an expat working there. I promised myself that one day I would take a look at the city and see what it was like. Would it have any appeal?

My mum came to visit me in London in June. It was great - she had never been to England before, and I got to see her for the first time since I last left Australia in April last year.  We did all the touristy things and it was a great excuse for me to see more of London. She had flown Emirates to England, so I thought if I escorted her back to Australia part of the way, that would be  a great excuse to visit Dubai.  So mum changed her flight and I bought one, which gave us five days in Dubai together on her way home.

We flew out on a weeknight after work. It was a red-eye flight, and we arrived seven hours later in Dubai, bright and early at 7am. And it was already scorching!  I had heard Dubai was going to be very very hot in July but they weren't joking!

Mum had booked a hotel on Jumeirah beach - an outer part of Dubai along the Gulf coast. I was worried about how we were going to get there but we jumped in one of the many creamy-sandy coloured cabs and went the entire 30km journey for about £10. Wow, taxis in Dubai are cheap!

Upon arrival at the Hilton Resort we were immediately noticed and given fresh watermelon juice. This was my first time staying in a five star Hotel and wow, what a welcome! The service in this place was excellent, you never had to wait for anything.  I don't know if all five star resorts share this same level of service, or whether it was a Dubai thing - where customer service was always amazing.

During the day it would consistently be around 40 degrees - bloody hot. It was basically too hot to walk around for an extended period of time, so we spent most of our days in and around the pool.  The pool?- I hear you ask. But you were staying at the beach, why the pool? Well, you see, we did try the beach first. The sand was hot, nothing unusual there.... and anyway, there were deck chairs on our fully serviced private beach. The problem was the water. It was clear, blue and beautiful, but it was unbelievably hot. Not warm. Hot. Like getting into a hot bath. No exaggeration. I had never even imagined, nor contemplated, that sea water could be so warm. It was about 38 degrees and although tolerable, it provided no cooling effect and made you feel sick if you were in there for too long. So the pool it was.

Other escapes from the heat included visiting the many fancy shopping malls, which were in themselves tourist attractions, and my favourite day, when we headed off for a desert safari of 4-wheel-drive dune bashing, camel riding and dining out at a desert camp.

By night it was less hot but a lot more humid so a common activity would be drinking Gin and tonic with lots and lots of ice on the balcony while we watched Jumeirah beach by night.

The most interesting thing about Dubai, however, was watching the people. What a mix. Arabs and expats workig and living happily side by side. If you picture Dubai as a place where people cover up - you are wrong. Foreign girls in short shorts and little skirts were not an uncommon site, but at the same time Arab men  in Sheik-like white suits being followed by their harm of women in burqas wasn't uncommon either.

The rich were certainly comfortable in this city hazy city of high rise constructions sites. But these construction sites seed to be manned by poor Indian guys, who were driven to the sites in rickety old buses. These uniformed men worked in their jeans and matching shirts out on the hot construction site all day, and it didn't look like much fun. I guess a city doesn't grow by itself - some poor man has to build it.

The other negative thing that struck me about the city is the strain this place must have on the environment. a huge city in the middle of a very hot dessert, desalinating water, pumping out air conditioning and filling in the gulf with new land mass, all because the rich want a comfortable place to hang out in the Middle East.

I have to say, it was certainly one of the more interesting places I have visited.  Would I work there? Probably not. Too hard to find an alcoholic drink!

Scandinavia

FLIGHT TO HELSINKI

I had wanted to go to Scandinavia for a while. It was definitely on the “to do” list. But it was a fair bit down that list, until my friend Livia from Nova Scotia ended up on exchange in Finland. Knowing someone in Scandi presented an opportunity, and it shot way up the to-do list. I booked my flights at late notice and jetted off to Helsinki the day after I finished my job at Law Firm.

I booked a flight with Finnair (to make it a more Scandinavian experience) out of Heathrow Airport.

Now, London Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport, probably one of the world’s most busiest. Yet it only has 2 runways. They are planning to extend, and I hope they do, despite the protests by the environmentalists. There’s only so much waiting on the tarmac to take off, behind dozens of planes (Finnair have screens in the plane which show you what’s going on ahead of the plane thanks to a camera on the nose) you can do before you get a bit fed up.

Once in the air, the trip was smooth, although I did have my first taste of Scandinavia’s rather conservative attitude towards alcohol. I was surprised, upon ordering a vodka and OJ on this certainly international flight, that I was asked for 5 Euros. It was 11:30 in the morning, I said the OJ will be fine, and enjoyed the strangely un-Finnish hot curry for lunch.

It was a cloudy morning and I didn’t see much out of the plane. About half way through, when I noticed a gap in the clouds, I looked through and was thrilled to see a massive long Bridge, clearly visible form high up. It was the Oresund bridge-tunnel, connecting Denmark with Sweden. As soon as we passed, the clouds reassembled, and we didn’t break through the clouds again until seconds before hitting the tarmac in Helsinki. The moment we broke through the clouds, I was amazed as to just how much white there was everywhere. The land was completely covered with lots of snow, only the runways at the airport were just barely cleared. We landed smoothly and taxied towards the terminal, as snow plows whizzed around us on the tarmac.

We disembarked using the stairs, and the moment I stepped outside, I knew I was somewhere much more arctic than I was used to. As the snow hit my face and the cold breeze chilled my skin, I ran in to the bus to the terminal.

HELSINKI

I caught the Finnair airport bus to the city and the moment I stepped off the bus, I had a bloke talking to me.

“Excuse me mate,” he said, “are you Australian?”

Turns out he was an Aussie too, and had been working at a farm in somewhere in Finland, doing something with horses. He seemed excited to see the Aussie flag, pointed me in the right direction, and recommended the local Aussie Bar. I went on to the station to meet Livia (who had visited London just a few weeks earlier) and we hiked through the snow to our hostel at the Olympic Stadium.
The next couple of days were spent wondering Helsinki, checking out the buildings and taking in the rather different atmosphere of everything being snow-covered. We caught a boat through the frozen harbour to the islands of Suomenlinna, where we wandered in the peaceful, quiet villages, enjoying the sights of the frozen sea all around.

We visited the Swiss embassy to take care of Livia’s passport business, and enjoyed frozen supermarket meals, the words on the packing of which we could not understand. We went out to a number of bars, from Aussie to Irish to metal bars. Not sure what a traditional Finnish bar is like... didn’t really see any. The bar crawl was largely inspired by an Aussie girl we met in our hostel who was trying to find a bar job. I thought she was really brave, having decided to move to Finland and make a living, without speaking a word of Finnish. Naturally I was happy to help out by coming along to a few pubs.

TAMPERE

Livia and I headed North of Helsinki on a train, and the density of civilization soon thinned out. On the train we saw snow, frozen lakes, trees and more snow.

Upon arrival in Tampere, a small city a few hours North of Helsinki, we were greeted by Livia’s English and Dutch friends who had come to hang out with us in the town for the day. We explored the city, but soon the freezing cold was too much for us and we headed to the train station.

I was impressed by the consistency of the snow; I had never seen snow like it. All the snow I had experienced in the past melted or at least became muddy slush when it was trampled over or driven over lots. Here, it was so cold that the snow stayed powdery, even on the roads. It just turned a strange shade of light sandy brown.

JYVASKYLA

We caught a train further up north, to Livia and her friends’ temporary home of Jyvaskyla.

It was a pretty small city and all of the international students seemed to live in one of 2 student villages composing of a series of high rise buildings. The apartments were tiny but more than adequate. Livia and her network of exchange students made me feel right at home, and invited me to all their social gatherings, including a reggae party at the uni the first night. The next few nights were spent partying with the international mix twenty year olds and spending the days hiking through the snow to the uni or to the town’s sights.

Ice skating seemed to be a big part of life here. Probably, because there is not much else to do when everything is covered with snow and ice. The huge lake in the middle of the town is one giant ice skating rink, I think 3 kilometers in distance around. But smaller icerinks are everywhere, including right in the student village. I borrowed some skates from a Dutchman and gave it a go as well... third attempt this winter but still no good!

TURKU

After 3 nights enjoying the student lifestyle, it was time to move on. I boarded a train to Turku and four hours (and a lot of snowy scenery) later I was on the Southwest coast of Finland.
Upon disembarking from my train, I had a few hours to kill before I had to be in the port. I could catch a bus from the station to port, but that would leave me just sitting there. So instead, I strapped the backpack in, and went on a long walk through the city centre, along the frozen, snow covered, river and eventually to the port. It was a nice evening for a walk, after all, it was about +0.8C.

VIKING BOAT RIDE

The ship was a large ferry and the crossing was overnight. The actual ride was very smooth and it was barely noticeable that we were at sea. So no sea sickness! I had my own cabin and after dinner and some duty-free shopping, I soon retired to my cabin to rest, exhausted.

I had expectations of it being a bit of a party boat, but it was mainly just families and middle-aged couples, who weren’t doing much partying at all. I imagine a Saturday night in the summer might be quite different. It was probably a good thing I got an early night, because at 6am the crew woke me up by banging on the door, as it was almost docking time!

STOCKHOLM

I disembarked just as the sun was coming up. We were at a port somewhere in the city, and there were buses waiting to take passengers into the city centre. I didn’t have any Swedish Kronor and couldn’t be bothered negotiating a solution so I just decided to walk. My backpack was starting to get heavy (thanks to a recent addition of a one litre bottle of Finlandia vodka from the boat) but what the hell. So I walked and walked and, after getting lost and getting directions, I eventually found my way to City Backpackers.

It was one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. The main reception shares its space with the cafe, which serves strong coffee and delicious sandwiches. Beyond the cafe reception area is a courtyard which I imagine would be great in summer. The rooms were nothing special but the common areas were plentiful and very social. And the location was perfect, right in the city, near shopping, eating and public transport.

I spent my few days wandering the city and the old town, going from island to island (Stockholm is apparently a third parkland, a third water and a third developed) and riding the tunnelbana.

VIKING SAUNA

I didn’t think I would be capable of getting into the water of a frozen lake through a hole in the ice. It was an interesting challenge, and if the Finns can do it, so can I, I decided. I was a bit scared but descended the ladder into the water, and it was surprisingly bearable. For a few seconds anyway. I wasn’t as brave as the German blokes who went in butt naked - they weren’t even worried about shrinkage!

This was in the middle of a forest near t he outskirts of Stockholm. One of the hostel staff took us to this forest on some local buses, guided us through a 20 minute walk through the woods, to find a beautiful frozen lake with an old wood-fired sauna hut on the banks.

We spent hours hanging out in the sauna, jumping into the lake, and chilling out in the sunshine on the banks, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the sparkling icy lake in the woods. After enduring the freezing water, it felt like nothing could make me cold. I even walked happily bare foot on the snow on the lake It does help knowing you have a hot sauna to warm up in!

JUMBOHOSTEL

I left City Backpackers and caught a commuter train and bus out to the airport (I was to cheap to pay for the airport coach or train), where I checked in for a night in the very unique JumboHostel. I was a bit annoyed about leaving my newly found friends and heading out to the airport where there was nothing to do but I had promised myself that if I was ever in Stockholm I would stay in this Boeing 747 which has been converted into a hostel.

It was actually probably the most luxurious hostel I had ever stayed in. I booked a 3 person dorm but got a 2 person room to myself. The sheets were made, there was a towel waiting for me and there was a flat screen TV on the wall. You don’t get that in hostel dorms every day!

Overall though the place (despite being sparkling clean and new) was dead! It didn’t really have any charm once you got over the novelty of being in a plane, and there wasn’t really anyone around or anything to do. Would be perfect for a first night after flying in late, though.

INTERNATIONAL TRAIN

I checked out of the Jumbo and headed back into the city. I boarded an X2000 train and spent the next 5 hours watching the scenery go from white to green as I headed to Denmark.

The final part of the journey was going over the Oresund Bridge, which I had seen from the plane days earlier. You couldn’t see much but it was certainly an interesting way to cross an international border; crossing a strait half way by massive bridge and half way by tunnel, with a man-made island in the middle.

COPENHAGEN

I thought it would be warmer in Copenhagen as I was significantly further south than Stockholm. But as I emerged from the station I was hit by piercing cold wind and drizzle. I was happy to get to my surprisingly high rise hostel. It was a massive building with some 14 floors and many rooms on each one. It was no typical backpackers; with families, conference attendees and big groups of Germans amongst the typical backpacker riff raff.

As it turned out, I ended up in a room with 2 other Melburnians. One was working in a classy hotel in London and full of stories of celebrity guests, and the other was a guitar playing making a living in Copenhagen busking. So although Being with Melburnians posed to be uninteresting, it was actually quite the opposite.

My days were spent sightseeing, and I even took in a museum (due to bad weather of course). My nights were spent drinking though somehow I managed to end up in an Irish pub both nights. It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, you always seem to pulled in by those Irish.

Overall, Copenhagen seemed the most relaxed of the Scandinavian cities I had seen, and had a really good vibe about it. It wasn’t as pretty as I had thought. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really amazing sites, but you do have to look for them amongst a surprisingly industrial city.

RETURN TO LONDON

Copenhagen airport is a quick train ride from the city. The airport was undoubtedly the nicest airport terminal I have ever been in. Once through security, you are greeted by a huge terminal area with boutique stores, dim mood lighting, quiet relaxation zones, and even a teenage lounge. Not a bad airport to have to wait for your plane.

My BA flight back to London was great. Despite the rain I had endured in Copenhagen earlier that day, it was a completely clear night, and as we flew over Denmark, Germany and Belgium I had a clear view and stared out of the window at all the lights of the various cities passing underneath.
Once we crossed the English Channel, the lights became more compacted and brighter, showing the dense population of Great Britain.

Unfortunately, once over the Thames estuary, we started circling. And did so for about the next twenty minutes, as we waited for our turn to Land at Heathrow.
Environmentalists object to the building of a third runway at Heathrow, but I wonder if they’ve considered the pollution caused by the repeated circling of planes waiting to land?

Eventually we broke the cycle, and approached London to land. As I was getting ready to watch the light-up sights from the sky... cloud cover! Typical London!

NEW LIFE

The day after getting back I started my new job in a great company. Not working in a law firm makes for a more relaxed life, and I’ve finally got a job that is both interesting and really utilises the things I am good at. It allows me to use my legal education and experience with some of my more techy skills, and best of all, involves a bit of travel. I am finishing writing this blog instalment on a train from Newcastle in the North of England, as I had back to London on a sunny day, enjoying the sights of the green fields, and the trees finally starting to go green after a long, cold winter.

Easter in Scotland

Four days off work! A perfect opportunity to get out of London!

I wanted to go somewhere outdoorsy, and had a preference for the UK rather than Europe (mainly due to the unpalatable Sterling-to-Euro exchange rate). So the obvious answer was Scotland!

On Thursday night I left work, headed to the train station, and caught a train up to Luton Airport. I checked in on my easyJet flight and headed to the departure “lounge”. There wasn’t much lounging to be done, because there wasn’t even one chair! Rather, just four enclosures where they herded the passangers like cattle. Had I gotten spoilt flying BA all the time?

Upon arrival in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, I made my way to the Castle Rock Hostel. It has an appropriate name, being situated on a cliff in the city centre, right next to fantastic Edinburgh Castle. The town is old, with cobble stone streets and many old pubs that ooze of history. But I wasn’t there for Edinburgh; I spent Easter 2006 there. I was off to the Highlands this time.

I checked out of the hostel and into my tour. It was a four day tour of the Scottish Highlands. We were greeted by our tour guide / bus driver, Ewan, the long-haired, bearded, kilt wearing Scott from Dunde, who reminded me of a cross between a crazy version of Ewan McGregor and Billy Connolly.

For the next few days we drove for miles and miles, all around Scotland. Lowlands and highlands, inland and coastal, lochs and mountains, and the highlight: Isle of Skye.

My favourite thing from the lowlands were the towns and villages. St Andrews was one of the most picturesque cities I have ever seen, but the real charm was in the small villages on the rivers, lakes and seasides. They all had little white houses, and when contrasted with the blue water and green grasses, it made a perfect scene. The country life was great. Slow, friendly, and the polar opposite to London!

In the Highlands and on Skye it was the natural scenery that was amazing. The scenery ranged hugely, from baron orange rocky glens to fertile green rolling hills. From quiet little bays to huge cliffs with castles on top!

We went moster spotting in Loch Ness, whisky tasting in destilleries and learned about many bloody battles, of which there were plenty in the Socts long history.

Overall it was a great holiday and a perfect way to get out of London. I felt like I was overseas, it just felt nothing like the South of England. Yet I was still able to use my pounds, make phone calls without roaming charges and didn’t have to go through passport control. The Easter mission was a success! And as a final bonus, when I got back to London I was greeted by a much greener and colourful city as the trees had finally sprouted fresh leaves, and flower beds were covered in colour from a variety of flowers. Winter, was finally over!