deejayvee

So I left Aalborg via train, heading up to Hirtshals where the ferry to Norway left from. I arrived with plenty of time to spare so I grabbed a bite to eat. It was only later that I remembered that the class I had booked on the ferry “Catch Me If You Can” was a restaurant, not just a deck. Oh well, I still managed to fit in a nice dessert of chocolate cake and ice cream while on board. And more importantly, my table was at the very front of the ship…. Not that there was anything to see besides ocean. I read my book for the entire journey. Arriving in Kristiansand I was most pleased to see some decent hills. Northern Germany and Denmark were nice enough to look at, but really was very ... read more

So I arrived in Berlin. The first thing to impress me was the fleet of taxis waiting outside the airport - every one was a Mercedes. Sure, they’re made in Germany, but it’s not exactly what you expect. I still like London taxis best though. I reached my hotel and after a small nap I headed out for a quick look around my hotel. It seems the hotel was in the middle of a major shopping district, which has little appeal to me (especially with my already full suitcase!) I was a little surprised by a couple of the places - a Head shop (marijuana paraphernalia) and an Erotic Museum. It was like being in Amsterdam again! But I settled for a delicious dinner of bratwurst on a roll and headed back to my hotel for ... read more

Troy and Gallipoli. Two names of great significance - one has been immortalised in the culture of western civilisation by an ancient Greek epic, the other has been burned into the psyche of the Australian and New Zealand nations. Visiting both in the same day is quite something, let me tell you. Troy was close to the hotel so we arrived after a short drive. We were the first group there, but our advantage was soon eroded by our guide talking and us asking questions. A couple of large groups overtook us, but still, it was fairly quiet. It was interesting to hear the Turkish perspective of Heinrich Schliemann, compared to the Greeks. Heinrich’s first attempt at archaeology (which hadn’t been invented yet) resulted in the destruction of many newer layers of Troy, and the Turks ... read more

I’m back in Athens now, so you will get 3 entries at once. Now, when I last wrote we had arrived at the hotel at Delphi. Dinner was at a hotel down the road and once again consisted of meat and rice. Not exactly the best example of Greek cuisine. The next morning we boarded the bus and headed to the nearby ruins. In ancient days this was a very holy site. The biggest draw for the site is the ancient oracle of Delphi. What I did not realise, however, was that they also held games here like the Olympics. They differed in a number of ways. Firstly, there was no sacred truce where the Greeks would stop fighting each other. It was also held they year before the Olympics. The biggest difference, however, was that ... read more

On Sunday morning I woke early and headed down for breakfast at 6 o’clock. Expecting the breakfast room to be empty at that hour, I was quite surprised to find a large group of French eating. Later on, as I waited outside my hotel the same group came out to wait for something, presumably a tour. They left and I waited for my ride. They were 20 minutes late so I had begun worrying whether I had made a mistake or they had forgotten me. Eventually they arrived. After picking up more people at other hotels we headed down to Piraeus, the main port of Athens. It’s a fair distance from the centre of the city, which made me appreciate how significant the ancient walls must have been, as the road to the port was protected ... read more