Mum's Visit
Fast, thanks of course to Chris pride and joy - it was that moment when he said to Mum, well Helen how fast do you think we were going then? And said to her that you didn't think I could send you home without having travelled at more than 200km per hour now did you! Well it went something like that. Speed is fun in the Audi but only in the front seat - in the back, cramped in with Lucy and Ada it is just noisy and a bit bumpy!
So we started our time with Mum by taking her to the Reichstag for Breakfast. A great way to view Berlin, avoid long long queues and eat a lovely meal at the same time. The Reichstag is the home of German Parliament and right next to the Brandenburg Gate.
As well as touring some sites in Berlin, most significantly for me was the Holocaust Memorial and plenty of what Potsdam has to offer we made sure Mum got to see and do some of what makes up our daily life here too. Her first trip to our lake to watch the girls swim will remain with her for a long time. It didn't matter that she forgot her bathers. They are not necessary here.
We travelled to Hamburg for a night, an inland port city - the worlds third largest port in fact, with more canals than Venice, then on to Denmark and Copenhagen. Our first car ferry ride in a long time. It was so efficient. We drove up to the check in booth, were waved onto the boat, doors closed, sailed for 45 minutes, drove off the boat and headed into Copenhagen, two and a half hours later. Copenhagen is a beautiful city, possibly viewed best from a canal tour. As well as seeing the sites as best we could in only two days we took the girls to Tivoli Gardens, a traditional, locally famous, amusement park - that for me on that day rivaled Disneyland - no queues (lucky for us), plenty of rides for both girls and not a traditional character or branded food chain in site. Oh, except Build A Bear at the Exit Gate!
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Chris and I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Danish Design Expo too. That was a treat. Food was pretty good but we struggled to do lunch under 100euro and dinner for under 200euro! Denmark and in particular Copenhagen is not for the faint hearted when it comes to paying through the nose! We stayed at the Copenhagen Island Hotel, a new place, up high on the design persons agenda, designed by Jørn Utzon, architect for the Sydney Opera House.
On leaving Copenhagen we took a detour to Malmo in Sweden for a quick walk around in the rain! Strange thing to do but the Bridge crossing in itself was worthy of the outing - 80euro return! The Øresund bridge is almost eight kilometres long and connects two countries and provides a home journey for 25,000 Danes living in Sweden - obviously to escape the amazingly high sales tax on cars among other living expenses.
Home again for a night or two then we trekked south via Prague (for a lunch stop! and a whistle stop walk of the main sites) and on to Bratislava. Chris could not let Mum get so close to Prague and not drop in for lunch.
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and 700km from our home. The driving conditions were mostly excellent bar an hour long crawl outside Prague where heavy traffic had to merge from five lanes to one and then just watch the workers on the side of the road having a cuppa! The best site had to be the big blue bus that came speeding through with sirens blaring. I saw them again a hundred or so kilometres later and realized it was just a family touring through Europe in a big blue bus with a siren!
We were all delighted with our choice in hotel in Bratislava. The Kempinski is a luxury hotel chain mostly known in Germany and much of central Europe. They recently opened and we got a Wotif mystery deal that meant we had five star hotel and service for three star price. We all enjoyed the lavish surrounds, excellent breakfasts and views of life on the Danube. Chris loved the gym and the girls found the spa, sauna, pool and particularly the crushed ice body wash area to be heaps of fun!
They call Bratislava the small big city - a slogan that I do not think translates well into English - but - it really does fit the place. The city is very clean, easy to get around and full of lovely historical sites. Of course the towering communist type accommodation that houses most of the residents is not concealed from view and there is a certain perspective here that is not felt so easily in other European cities - as a tourist at least.
We took a day trip to Vienna that went like clockwork. A fast cat covered the 70km to Vienna in an hour and a half - running upstream and the river flows FAST. We took a lovely horse and cart tour (do not laugh - when there are no cars allowed in the city centre and you have three generations to consider then a relaxed trot around the major sites with some broken English commentary is the way to go!). Next stop into St Stephens Cathedral and a chance to hear a choir in full voice rehearsing for a forthcoming performance. Lunch was at Angelo's Trattoria - I will find it again when I go to Vienna next time - the food and service were great and we got by with my broken Italian and German language skills which was all the better.
The rest of our day in Vienna was spent seeing sites from a bus tour, again perfect for our three gen. group, and a great way to get perspective on this huge city with so much to show. A leisurely hour long train ride home capped off a good look around some of the Austrian and Slovakian sites.
We had another day in Bratislava but after our girls had done so much sightseeing it had to be more about play and shopping. Chris and Mum got to see a little more through tours and walking and both enjoyed the Castle and the views from same.
Our drive back home, another 700 km, go figure! We stopped in Dresden, a huge festival was on, but again that did not stop Chris from ensuring Mum saw as much as possible in the short time she had with us. I had not yet been to Dresden but know I will return. It is only two and a bit hours from home and an amazing city with such a big story of rebuilding to tell. many of the stories from there give a unique perspective on World War Two and all that went on before and during and even after that do not feature in many European trips.
So thanks Mum, you got us out and about seeing much more of our home lands for now and we had the joy of sharing it with you. It was full on but worthwhile!
