Grattis pa fodelsedagen

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Another travel day, but this is a special one. Grattis pa fodelsedagen Jules!

We start the day with a short jog around the local park and Deaks joins us on the host's bike. It's bloody cold! We run passed Enskede school and Deaks manouveres the Saabs, Audis, BMWs and Mercs with trepedition. The locals stare at us as we run through school drop-off. Who can blame them as I am wearing shorts and it's 5 degrees. We saw a rabbit the size of Dotty in the park and cut the run short as time was limited and our snot was ice.

Milla bought Jules a birthday breakfast brioche from Gamla Enskede Bageri to go with her swedish candle from Mags. We switched into packing mode and got out the door before 10.

Milla will miss Mono (the cat) but I don't think Mono will miss Milla.

The Arlanda express to the airport runs like clockwork and the airport experience was super quick with no queues or crowds. This phenomenom was short lived as we felt heathrow stress all the way from Stockholm. BA777 was delayed by half and hour due to runway wind making our 2 hour 40 minute flight at least 3 hours and that's notwithstanding further delays when we join the heathrow queue in the sky.

I see our time in Copenhagen and Stockholm as spring training for the behemoths that are London and Paris.

Gulp!

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There were further delays and we circled above Heathrow for half an hour. We were due in at 14.00 and disembarked at 15.00. And I think it would be better if the cabin crew prepared you better for Heathrow, They announce as we land that we should follow the yellow signs to arrivals and baggage reclaim. They make it sound so simple and easy. They fail to tell you about the swamp of humanity queuing at imigration that you're about to sink in. There's another hour gone in the non UK/EU passport queue. Now that's a multi-cultural melting pot. We're kidding ourselves if we think Australia is multi-cultural. There was people of all races and creeds and all creeping slowly and patiently towards the UK border. This poor couple - I assume they were American - spent an hour in the queue to realise at the immigation desk that they didn't need to be there and should instead be at the flight exchange for in-transit passengers. Ouch! I hope they didn't miss their connecting flight. And also, if QE2 is our head of state, why the hell do we have to wait with all the other plebs? Remind me again, why aren't we a republic?

Anyway we Heathrow Expressed it to Paddington as we were already over an hour late for our AirBNB key drop and orientation. It cost a few quid more but saved us an hour or so on the tube/overland train. This is easily the best London flat we've ever stayed in but it lacks the warmth of the Copenhagen and Stockholm AirBNBs. It is clearly a commercial arrangement and feels like a big hotel suite. Great location and clean and compfy.

It's an amazing feeling to be walking the streets of London again. The pace of London really hits you in the face. It's buzzing! And there's an avalanche of memories raining down on me. Even just walking passed the Boots, Williams Hill, WH Smith and Sainsburys gets me a bit emotional. It's an incredible city with plenty of fond memories.

Jules and I head to Sainsburys for a grocery shop. I take my own bags like any self respecting scandinavian would (Bags from the copenhagen Kiwi supermarket) but the geezer who serves me seems a bit bemused and asks "you know we don't charge for plastic bags?". I say "I know, but where I'm from (scandinavia) we recycle!".

We grab a few old favourites - chocolate digestives and a 4 pack of Kronembourg 1664s - and some provisions for breakfast. I'm not cooking tonight! I'm in London and I'm going to the pub!

We find the closest pub - The Pride of Paddington - and settle into a table. Fish and Chips, burgers and lamb chops are in order and a few pints go down nicely. Jules orders a cheeky french Rose for her birfday bevvy and we feel real english right? Wrong! We are surrounded by Australians. Every table in our section of the pub is Australian. A couple from Adelaide and a dozen grey nomads from Tasmania. This table of Aussies are as loud as Americans and in more ways than one could be Keith, Chris and their golf buddies. The gaggle of grannies debate the time of their flight to Dubai and joke about Kathy's birthday present. They wouldn't show us in case it offended the kids but the girls got a look and it was an apron with the "important" bits of the statue of David. Deak's even said 'those ladies laugh like nana". Even half the staff were Aussies!

The aussie guy behind the bar suggested I might like a pint of Sharps. An exceptional pale ale. He asked where I was from and was also surprised by the number of Aussies in tonight. The vibe of a London pub is something else and it really is a social hub. After 3 pints I'm feeling a bit tipsy. Those cans of Kronembourg will have to wait if I'm to finish this blog tonight.

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Comments

[Katrina Wilson]

Keep the blogs coming Geoff, I feel like I am right there with you. They are great and can't wait to read the next one...