theFoords From aFar

A Taste of Tuscany

2007-06-21T00:22:00.000+10:00

Siena, Florence and San Gimignano

It was another early start today (leaving at 7.30 am) as we travelled north by bus to the picturesque medieval town of Siena. Only local traffic is permitted in the little villages in Tuscany so we always park the bus outside the city, pay the city entrance toll and walk the rest of the way. We strolled up through the cobbled streets to the white striped cathedral. It is a great example of Romanesque architecture. The town originally intended to make it the largest cathedral in existence but after building the east wall the money ran out and the building was never finished!

Siena is probably more famous for its famous Palio horse race which takes place twice a year (in July and August) in the town square. Each area of the town has its own animal symbol and the race is quite a wild and dangerous one. Followed by great festivities. Later on the winning horse is even allowed to enter the church!

This is the “Fountain of Joy” in the Piazza del Campo (there are lots of pigeons to look out for in Italy).

It has been quite warm (30 degrees) so our theme has changed from a daily coffee and cake to a daily gelato – every day we try a different flavour!

We then continued through the cypress clad hills, olive groves and vineyards of Tuscany to Florence. It looks a bit like home really.

Florence (or Firenze in Italian) was once the capital of the Kingdom of Italy but now is the capital city of Tuscany. It is famous for the birthplace of Italian Renaissance and so is famous for its art and architecture. Here we met our tour guide Anna, who spoke passionately about her city. It is difficult to know what to photograph as there are so many beautiful churches and sculptures around.

We went into the Accademia where our guide showed us the unfinished Slaves that Michelangelo had sculpted. You could see how brilliant he was by imagining a person inside the marble and then chipping away to let that person out. Then we saw the beautiful statue of David! First we had to look at his eyes; he had that look of triumph as he had just conquered Goliath. We noticed that his hands, feet and head were out of proportion (much larger) and the guide explained that this work was originally commissioned to be placed on top of a building and so the artist made these body parts larger so that they could be more easily seen. However the work was so beautiful it was placed in the town square so everyone could see it. Now it is protected in the museum and a copy is in the square. Michelangelo studied human anatomy so he correctly sculpted the muscles, veins and other details of a young man.

The town square is decorated with many other sculptures. In the church we saw the crypt of Michelangelo and Galileo which again were beautifully decorated. Not sure how we feel about bodies being buried in the church but it was a custom in those days for famous people!

After that we had a bit of free time to browse through the stores. Most of us headed down to get a gelato and sit down and relax.

We then headed to our hotel (Sheraton) nice and roomy (most Italian hotels have very small rooms and small twin beds)!

The next day was not quite so early start (9am) to visit San Gimignano which is a small walled medieval hilltop town. It is mainly famous for its medieval architecture especially its towers , which may be seen from several miles outside the town.

In Italian medieval walled towns, rich families competed in the erection of high towers , which served as lodgings, fortresses, and prestige symbols. San Gimignano has managed to conserve thirteen towers of varying height which have become its international symbol (sometimes called the Manhattan of Tuscany).

It was a very pretty town with lots of magnificent views of the rolling patchwork hills and many speciality shops. This is where they filmed “Tea with Mussolini”, and “Under the Tuscan Sun”. Our guide (Cyndy) took us into one store where we sampled wild boar salami (YUMMY!) and the local white wine, Vernaccia (OK).

We were pretty pooped so we went back to the hotel for lunch and then relaxed by the pool in the afternoon.

Later we had a special night out to a farm in Tuscany. It was truly a magnificent evening, starting with a appertivo before tasting the local wines (Chianti)

and much food – antipasto, bean soup, HUGE T-bone steaks and veges and dessert. We had beautiful musical accompaniment by a classical guitarist and an Italian opera singer who had just returned from a stint in Melbourne, Andrea Rolo.

Click play button to hear Andrea sing

Our Group getting ready to enjoy the Tuscan feast.

Buon giorno from Roma

2007-06-12T00:39:00.001+10:00

After a 9 1/2 hour train trip from Zurich we finally arrived in Rome. We only had 10 mins to change trains in Bologna and, as luck would have it, our train came in late. We had to find out which platform our connection was leaving from and during that time we heard our train pull away!! :(

After asking at the ticket office we decided to hop on the next train to Rome (without reserving seats and just praying that some would be empty). When the guard came along we found out we were on a train that wasn’t totally covered by our Eurail pass so we had to pay a supplement charge (ouch!). Anyway we arrived at Rome train station called Termini and were swamped by “helpful” people trying to get us a hotel. We had been warned to watch out for pickpockets so we hung onto all our stuff tightly. We just had to find a taxi and get to our Hotel – “The Ritz” ,which is situated in the Parioli district near many foreign embassies. The taxi driver got out his GPS and we were there in about 10 mins.

The traffic is crazy – but not as bad as Kampala (Uganda). There are many, many mopeds that zip in and out between cars and don’t really care if you are crossing the road even if you use the crossing! We were very relieved and exhausted to have finally connected with our tour after being away from home for 8 weeks and travelling through Africa, Germany and Switzerland. We have used 6 different currencies (Australian dollars, American dollars, Dubai somethingeruthers, Ugandan shillings, Euros and Swiss francs)!

The next morning we went down to a huge buffet breakfast. Italians usually don’t eat much for breakfast – just coffee and a croissant or cake, so there were many different varieties of danishes (even some with chocolate) as well as the usual cereal, fruit, bread, cheese and meats. After checking emails (no free wireless here so we had to pay) we decided to walk through a large park and ended up at the top of the Spanish Steps. What a view we had of Rome from here! It was quite hot so we decided to have a gelati which melted pretty quickly. From there we wandered down the steps to the fountain. It was crowded with many people around –even a Japanese couple having their wedding photos taken. From there we walked through the busy shops to the Piazza del Popolo (people’s place) and sat in the shade of the Egyptian obelisk. It was quite large with almost symmetrical churches and statues at either end. We walked up the many steps for another splendiferous view of the city.

Police buildup in the city, waiting for George Bush

We found our way back to the hotel through some little side streets and arrived just in time for our tour induction. We had misread the time and thought we still had a few hours. Anyway we were just in time for a welcome drink and some time to get to meet a few of the other people on the tour. Our tour guide is called Mojca but we can call her “Mumma Mo” as she is our Mumma for the next two weeks! Most of us then went out to a restaurant in the Piazza del Popolo for tea and we tasted all the local specialities including wines!

Next morning we had an early start – 5.45am as we had to have breakfast and be at the Vatican early. President Bush was in town so there were thousands of police around and of course he wanted to meet with the Pope and see the Sistine Chapel! We were very lucky and got in by about 8.30.

We walked through some galleries and then into the Sistine Chapel, which is the Pope’s private chapel. The artwork by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Creation and the west wall of The Last Judgement, plus the works by other artists depicting the life of Jesus on one side and Moses on the other were very moving. After that our guide wanted to take us through to St. Peter's but we were unable to because they were beginning to block things off. Our tour guide then managed to get us over to The Roman Forum, and the Colosseum.
As we drove past the Vatican we were very glad we got in early as the queue to get in was stretching for kilometres. Even though it is an ancient ruin you can still get a sense of what it might have been like nearly 2000 years ago.

After a rest for lunch we headed back to St. Peter’s and saw the Swiss guards. We queued up in the Piazza San Pietro and saw where the Pope gives his blessings and the window where the smoke comes out when a new Pope is elected. St. Peter’s basilica took over a century to complete as it is decorated with marble statues and mosaic paintings. Michelangelo spent the last twenty years of his life here for no pay.

It is very spectacular and words are hard to describe the magnificence of this huge cathedral and the many beautiful works it contains!

We collapsed back in our hotel room in the afternoon. It was decided to cancel our optional evening tour due to traffic problems and concerns over being caught up with any protestors.

The Tiber River

Street parking in Rome!

Just nip downtown in the Ferrari.

Still looking for those shoes for you Angela!

A Few Days in Zurich - Switzerland

2007-06-11T05:44:00.000+10:00

After a 4 hour train trip we finally arrived in Zurich at about 4.30pm. We dragged our suitcases from the station to the Aldstadt (old part of Zurich) where our hotel was. It was called Hotel ZicZac Hard Rock Hotel (we found this hotel after much surfing on the internet to find a comparitively cheap hotel near the train station). Yes we are still a pair of old rockers! We had the Supertramp room and on the walls of the lobby were pictures of Elvis, the Beatles and other famous dudes from our era. It had a bar and hamburger joint downstairs, an Indian restaurant next door and many restaurants all around. Zurich comes alive in the evening and the streets are covered in outdoor eating places. As it is summer and the nights have been very mild the streets are crowded until after 11.

We visited Liane’s auntie one day. We walked along the river and found her place quite easily. Liane remembered it well from when she was there 6 years ago! We spent a lovely afternoon together and her Auntie cooked us a typical Italian meal with Italian wine for lunch as she knew we were heading off to Italy next.

The next day we caught the train to Schaffhausen to see the Rhine falls. Tips for travellers get off one stop before at Neuhausen, then you don’t need to catch the bus down. The falls were rather spectacular very similar to the Nile Falls in Uganda. The sheer volume of water going over was awesome as was the spray.

We walked under a rocky wall and saw this plaque with a quote from the Bible…Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that breathes praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!"

Afterwards we walked back through the shopping area of Zurich and found the Beyer clock (Liane’s maiden name).

Can I have this watch Liane?

What about a handbag Rex? Sorry Liane you won’t get past the doorman!

A new outfit?

Look at this gorgeous handbag!

Too bad it was only window shopping!!

We rested our weary legs at the edge of the Zurich lake where many famous people like Tina Turner have a little home away from home.

The next morning Liane’s auntie met us at the station with a gift of Swiss Chocolates and a bottle of wine for us to enjoy on our next rail trip!

We really enjoyed the café culture of Zurich! (and Germany)

Beautiful modern stained glass windows in the Fraumunster Church. These were created by artist Marc Chagall

We came across all these cows? Well Switzerland is all about Swiss chocolate!

Statues and Fountains

2007-06-08T20:00:00.000+10:00

You've been waiting for it, we've got them and here they are - assorted statues and fountains, weird and wonderful.

Memories of Germany

2007-06-08T19:26:00.000+10:00

Our travels through Germany

Trains that leave exactly on time – to the minute!

Many people ride bikes and Germany is well set up for it. There are designated areas on footpaths for bike riders as well as separate bike paths and bike sections on trains. There is even one day in the year when the close down nearly the whole town in Berlin to allow people to ride their bikes through the city!
Water in restaurants is not free and beer and wine are cheaper. Most Germans drink sparkling bottled water (sprudel) and call still water “flower water” (water that you put in a vase and not to drink).

It is cheaper for many Germans to go on holiday in Spain than stay home and heat their houses during winter.

Fruhstuck (breakfast) consists of brewed coffee, a boiled egg, assorted crisp bread rolls (brotchen), a variety of cheeses, cold meats, and sometimes fish as well as jam, honey and NUTELLA!

We’ve eaten a lot of food starting with B – bread (rye and black), brotchen, boiled eggs, bretzels, beer, bratwurst, buttercake, beesting cake, bananas, biscuits, bonbons (German? word for lollies)

Many wind turbine farms even some now being built off shore.
Colours - everything looking very green as it is spring, red roofs of houses and grey slate tiles.

Pretty little villages

Cobblestone streets in the old parts of the cities

The autobahn- travelling in a car at 200km/hr!!

The ICE (Inter City Express trains) travelling at 250km/hr and not even realising.

Many old buildings that were destroyed during the war rebuilt as close as possible to the original.
Getting to meet some of Liane’s many cousins, aunties and uncles.

Amazingly ornate buildings that were still the original. Decorations include Bible scriptures and depictions of scenes from the Bible mixed with pagan scenes and some quite bawdy scenes.
Marvelling at how early the sun rises and how late it sets.

Thinking it would be fun to live in the Middle Ages but deciding we like our comforts of today too much.
Everything looks very clean and tidy – streets, stores, parks.

Germans strive for excellence in keeping things well maintained and restaurants well presented with tablecloths, bio (organically grown) food is very important to most people.

Petrol is 1.4 Euro ($A2.30) per litre
Coffee is 2.7 Euro ($A4.50)

We have stayed in Hotel Paris in Frankfurt, Hotel Italia in Munich and eaten Irish, Asian, Turkish, Greek and lots of German food (as well as Pizza Hut, Burger King)

“Quatch” = rubbish

It’s ok to say “Blumen” = flowers
We really enjoyed our time in Germany and hope we can come back for another visit some day. At first we thought 4 weeks was plenty but we ran out of time and still have many more places we would like to explore.

Smoking is very common in restuarnts and trains. You can buy cigarettes on the street (as long as you have a credit card)

Tips for travellers
You can stay in a small hotel near the main train stations with buffet breakfast and FREE internet for the same price as staying in a youth hostel in a room for two (about 70 Euros per room).

If you go to checkpoint Charlie near the Brandenburg gate in Berlin take your passport as you can get a stamp put in it.
A visit to Goslar to see old buildings and churches is definitely worth while as the buildings are original.
A Eurail pass is very worthwhile as you can travel in reserved seats and in first class comfort with waiter service – just make sure you know which wagon your seat is in.

Dangers of drinking beer (Click to enlarge picture)

A road sign you won't see in Australia

A Week in Bavaria – Munich

2007-06-04T18:00:00.000+10:00

MONDAY A Travelling Day

We left Berlin and caught the fast train (Inter City Express) direct to Munich (5hours 45 mins). It definitely is the way to travel around Europe.

We booked a small hotel near the train station. We’ve found these are the same price as a night in a double room in the youth hostel and we get a full buffet breakfast and free internet! However they all seem to be in the red light district so you just have to be careful when you go out at night.

It had been raining but it had stopped – it was just cold. We found our hotel easily (Hotel Italia).

For all you history fans (from Mike’s tour guide)… “Munich was founded in 1158 by Henry the Lion (remember him from previous posts?) who got involved in the trading of a valuable commodity known in its day as white gold. This was salt, which was coming from a nearby town called Salzburg. The trading centre was near a monastery hence the name ‘Munchen’ or ‘near the monks’….”

TUESDAY A Rest Day

It rained all day today, and was a high of just 10 degrees, so we just took it easy, caught up on emails and prepared some blog pages. We looked through some tour brochures and decided to stay in Munich the week and forget about Stuttgart. We also walked over to the EurAid Office and booked our trains to Zurich and Rome. We also booked a tour to Neuschwanstein Castle for Thursday.

WEDNESDAY Walking around the City

We visited the hairdresser just down the road a bit in the morning and Rex had a haircut and Liane had some colour and a trim (rather brave of us but we were starting to look a bit dishevelled after 7 weeks from home). We were rather pleased with the results and gave a generous tip.

We explored the city centre after that.

A German selling a fancy do everything knife.

We found the Viktuallen Market where there were hundreds of gourmet food stalls. YUMMY!!

No, this is not a beer. It is a drink called Apfel Schorle (Apple juice with mineral water)

Saw this funny newspaper headline "Five police chase plastic crocodile"

We climbed the 300 + stairs to the top of St. Peter’s church and admired the spectacular view over the city all the way to the Alps WITH snow.

Liane found the Birkenstock sandal shop (they are made in Germany) and managed to buy a pair! Had to have some retail therapy!!

We found the world famous Hofbrauhaus – one of the last authentic beer halls in the world. We tried the Dark Brew (a local brew) which you can only order in .5L or 1.0L jugs! Liane has never drunk so much beer in her life as she has in Germany! And of course we had to have a bretzel with it or did we have to buy a bretzel from the lovely girl who was selling them??

Trying the local dark brew. Wasn't too bad. Can only order 0.5L or 1.0L jugs!

At 5pm we stood in the city centre Marienplatz and watched The Glockenspeil (one of the largest in Germany and all of Europe with 43 bells), which according to Mike’s tour guide… “is by far one of the most overrated shows on earth.” There were a lot of renovations going on around it and the workers even continued to hammer away while it played so I’m afraid we had to agree.

Saw this lovely denim jacket for you Angela. The price wasn't 8.99E BUT 899E. Sorry!!

THURSDAY Neuschwanstein Castle

We met our tour guide, Virginia (an Aussie whose Mum lives in Geelong), just outside the train station for our trip to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. We took public transport – 2hr train to Fussen and then 10 min bus to Hohenschwangau on the Austrian border. I suppose we could have done this part ourselves but our guide was excellent and gave us the tragic background story to Ludwig II who built this wonderful castle (Germany’s most famous tourist icon and a candidate for the New 7 Wonders of the World and used in Disney films).

It was begun in 1869 but never finished only 18 out of 100 rooms were ever completed. It has links to some famous musos apparently Tchaikovsky was inspired here to write Swan Lake after staying at the parental home Schloss Hohenschwangau. Schwan =swan of which there are supposed to be many of them here on the lakes in Summer but we didn’t see any. Richard Wagner was a close friend of Ludwig11 and also wrote a lot of music here. The castle has many paintings of the scenes from his operas.

We walked the steep 40min path to the castle, with some stops along the way to catch our breath and to hear the next instalment of the story.

Virginia, our Aussie tour guide, speaking passionately about King Ludwig

You can also take a horse drawn cart if you want.

You have to pay 9 Euro to actually go into the castle for about 20 mins tour. You only get to see the completed rooms – which were quite spectacular but our castle guide was dreadful. She was hard to understand and sounded very uninterested. Still a rather magnificent castle in a wondrous location built high on the rocks in the snow capped Alps.

A reminder of home, an Aussie tour bus!

FRIDAY The English Garden

Today we went to the Waschsalon (laundrette) where a very helpful English speaking owner helped us work out how to use all the machines. We’ve been lucky so far and been able to wash our clothes at friends and family’s homes so this was a new adventure.

"Believe, Live, Give" A good slogan by International Catholic Mission Work.

We wandered back through the train station which is like a mini city with many different kinds of shops and restaurants on many different levels. We worked out how to catch the train to Garmisch for tomorrow to go up to the Alps and then found a rather elegant Italian restaurant (with the menu in German) and had lunch there (with a nice drop of red).

After getting some munchies at the supermarket (at the station!) we very cleverly worked out (all by ourselves and changing stations) how to catch the trains in the subway to The Englischer Garten. This is the largest metropolitan park in Europe where people often come to sunbake or swim in the nude in their lunchtime break from the office. We didn’t see anyone but we heard a woodpecker and did see a white swan and a squirrel!!

It was wonderful to walk through.

Frolicking in the garden.

We walked about 3km and found out that you could hire bikes. It would have been great to cycle around as many other people were doing. Another great day in Munich!

SATURDAY The Zugspitze

We caught the train to Garmisch (about 1 ½ hours) and then the Zugspitzbahn to a forest lake called the Eibsee. From here we caught the cable car and travelled up up 2000m (as they say in Uganda) to the highest mountain in Germany (2966m). At first Liane wasn’t to sure about the cable car but it was quite big and it was quite a smooth ride through the clouds.

We sort of had checked the weather and thought it might be ok as cloudy weather with a bit of sun was forecast. When we got to the top we couldn’t see a thing! It was 0 degrees and a visibility of 20 – 100m!! It is Germany’s highest beer garden.

You can also catch the cable car to Erwhald in Austria from here (where I have some more cousins) but we didn’t.

Oh well, we had a lovely lunch in the restaurant and took the next cable car to the skiing area. Here the weather was slightly warmer (9 degrees) and we trudged through the snow to check out the highest church in Germany – it was closed!!

We then travelled back down the mountain to the Eibsee through a 4km long tunnel and caught the regular train home. Even though we didn’t get to see the Alps from the top I guess we can say we have been there. It was still a good day and we were very pleased at our train catching skills. We will have to put this journey on the list for our next visit.

Hint for travellers – check the website for weather conditions at the mountain top before heading off!

SUNDAY A Cultural Day

What to do on a sunny Sunday morning in Munich?.... “A visit to the Alte Pinakothek (Art Gallery) is a must. It is one of the largest galleries in Europe and houses an outstanding collection of paintings spanning from the 14^th to the 18^th century…” (from The Rough Guide to Germany). The Sunday special only charges 1 Euro per person! The art works were all collected by the local royal family.

No photos were allowed in the gallery so we can only offer this sculpture on the lawn outside.

We saw many beautiful paintings glorifying God. Some of the artists whose works were on display were Leonardo Da Vinci, Rubens, Raphael, Rembrandt, Botticelli, and Lorrain.

This was a real little treasure. The one by Rubens was 8m by 3m depicting Father, Son and Holy Spirit and was one of our favourites as was Christ Crowned with Thorns by Da Vinci. A series of 6 paintings by Rembrandt showing the Passion cycle was also remarkable.

After a pleasant lunch in the gallery café we wandered back through the town

3D city map with Braille street names

and listened to the many buskers that were entertaining the tourists.

Click play button to listen to these young violinists.

Click play button to listen to these musos.

Click play button to listen to some classical buskers.

Click play button to listen to some funky buskers

Of course we finished the afternoon with Kaffee und kuchen und viel sahne (cream)

In the evening we went out for a final drink in Munich. We heard an amazing classical quintet playing under the verandah of the shops (the acoustics were quite good). This was the first time we had gone out without the camera so we couldn’t take a snap or recording – so we bought their CD instead (we always support the struggling musos).

We enjoyed our time in Munich as it was well set up for tourists with many people speaking English and a large variety of sights to see. Well worth another visit.

In our wanderings of Munich we came across all these different lion statues. Remember we mentioned Henry the Lion on Monday?

Germans believe that rubbing the nose of this lion near the palace brings good luck.

A weekend in Berlin

2007-06-03T06:17:00.000+10:00

Sebastian's parents kindly offered to drive us to Bremen to catch the fast train to Berlin. This was great as otherwise we would have to catch the train from Oldenburg, change trains in Bremen and again in Hannover. On the way we heard of many roadworks on the traffic report on the autobahn so we dodged our way around by taking side roads and just missing being blocked off by an accident. We got to Bremen Station in the rain with just a few minutes to spare! Praise God! At Hannover we were confused because the train that was at the platform where our train was supposed to be had a sign on the door saying it was travelling south to a different city! All the announcements were in unclear German and not all the messages were translated into English but we did catch that the train to Berlin was going to be 40 minutes late. We waited along with other disgruntled passengers trying to keep our stress levels down. Finally the train pulled in but the first class carriages were at either end of the long train and we didn't know which end our reserved seats would be - of course they were at the other end to where we were waiting! In Germany you only have a few minutes to get on the train so you have to be quick. We finally got on, found our seats and breathed a great sigh of relief. Now we just had to meet my cousin at Berlin station. We had never met so we were told to look for a tall young man who looks like my uncle!! We arrived in Berlin along with many football fans as it was a Soccer Grand Final - Stuggart v Nuremberg. We were very pleased to see my cousin Detlev and his two children on the platform waiting for us. It was a warm and sunny 28 degrees in Berlin!

Some enthusiastic fans wanted their picture taken, so we took one for ourselves as well.

The new Hauptbauhnhof is in the background. All the main train stations in the cities are huge! They are multi level and include all connections to a vast urban underground system which in German style is very efficient.

We had the afternoon available to us so we had a quick look around.

As we were crossing a river many fans and others were enjoying the sun and having a beer as usual. We then passed the New Parliament buildings which have a huge dome structure over the top. We were able to bypass the big queue to go to the top of this dome because we had little Johanne with us and were able to go through a different entrance with a much shorter queue! Hint - Always take small children with you to bypass long queues!

Here is an interesting perspective of the dome. Detlev took the picture. You can see him reflected in the view as well as ourselves.

From the top of the dome we could see the Brandenburg gate. This is where the infamous wall first came down in 1989. The main area around it was closed off though because of a huge stage setup in front of the gate where a band was playing prematch entertainment before the big game to be shown later that night on the big screen. Most bands we hear are singing in English it seems strange to us.

When we came down from the dome we walked around the gate but we couldn't walk through it.

In all the cities, a convenient way to get around is to hop on a velotaxi. (We haven't as yet though!)

The next day (a Sunday) we hopped on to the underground to go to the city again for a guided bus tour. It was a hop on, hop off one. Many other tourists had the same idea so there was a bit of waiting.

The busy underground system

These enterprising buskers would wander up and down the train entertaining the travellers, hoping to collect a few euro

Click play button to hear buskers

Here we are standing in front of a piece of the wall.

Berlin was mostly destroyed in the second world war but a huge rebuilding program since then has left an interesting mix of old and new.

The television tower is now Berlin's highest building.

This is the dome on the huge SONY center

We also found this restaurant in the SONY center with an interesting menu.

Of course a visit to Berlin is not complete without going to "Check Point Charlie". This was the only crossing point for people visiting from the West to get into East Berlin. After the war Berlin was divided into the East and Western Zones. The Western Zone was fully surrounded by the East (GDR) - a joke goes that it was the only place on earth where all directions are East!

Get your war souvenirs here

And of course the obligatory photo here with the American soldier. (Only 1 Euro per person tip)

Click play button to hear Brass band

Came across this OomPaPa Brass band when we were waiting for the bus.

The highlight was having a tour through Sclhoss Charlottenburg which was commissioned by Queen Sophie Charlotte in 1695 as a country house! She loved art, literature and music so she had many poets and musicians entertaining her. We had an audio tour so you could just press a button and hear for yourself (in English) information about each room. We snuck these photos before we realised that photos are verborten (because they want you to buy up at the museum shop). This is the corner - part of the beautiful painted ceiling.

There is also a room packed to the ceiling with her china collection, also a chapel which was exceptionally extravagant for a Protestant one and includes a portrait of Sophie Charlotte as the Virgin ascending into heaven!!??!!

This is the regalia used at the 1701 ceremony where Friederich III crowned himself King!

This was part of an impressive silver collection - dinner party anyone?

This is the Schlossgarten (not where you get schloshed). This is just the formal part, there are also tree lined avenues and a landscaped park with ponds, canals and bridges. Just perfect for taking the air! But not on this rainy day!

We finished off the day with another yummy grill (bbq).

Cheeky Simon and his bratwurst.

Johanne with her dolly.

Photo with cousin Detlev, Gabi and children.

It was just a quick taste of Berlin. Once again our time was too short. It was very special for Liane to spend time getting to know her many relatives a bit more. Next we head off to be on our own in Munich!!!

To all our friends and family as the Ugandans say, "We are fine!"

The North Sea - Germany

2007-06-02T02:27:00.000+10:00

Schillig

Herbert’s daughter Iris and her husband Olaf and almost 3 year old son Paul, took us up to the North Sea for a picnic today. Iris is a teacher so first we dropped into her school at Jaderberg and had a look around. It’s quite new with large classrooms. School starts at 8am and the students finish at about 1pm. Iris had the last two sessions free so she was able to leave early.

The weather was quite warm so we sat in these lovely beach baskets.

An old fashioned bathing box

It has a big sandy beach.

Many people were sunbaking – a bit strange for us with all our skin cancer education. The shore is very flat so the tide goes out a long way but comes in quite quickly. The sea level rises two to three metres so you have to be on your guard!

It was a very fine soft mud. The kind you pay a lot of money to be covered in at a beauty spa.

This was a very relaxing day ending with a grill (bbq) at their place.

Wilhelmshaven

The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke opening for some yachts, once the greatest swing bridge in Europe, now 100yrs old.

Liane’s cousin Jurgen, wife Sabine and son Sebastian took us to Wilhelmshaven. First we climbed over a submarine at the Marine museum. Then we had a tour of the harbour. It is a very important German Port. During the Second World War it was the main operating base for the German Navy so the allied forces tried to wipe Wilhelmshaven off the map and managed to destroy two-thirds of it. Today it is still the main naval base as well as a large port for oil products.

Dive! Dive!

Full Steam Ahead!

We visited a nice little aquarium with native animals from the North Sea including seehunds (seals).

After that we returned to Oldenburg and wandered through the city. We had “tea” in a tea room. In North Germany it is quite a ceremony when you have your cup of tea. First you put in a lump of sugar, called candy, into a dainty little cup. Then you pour the tea (each person has their own pot or flavour) then you pour your milk or cream but you mustn’t stir. It sort of gives the tea a three layered effect. First you taste the milk, then the tea, then you get the sugary syrup at the end.

The day ended with a lovely grill (bbq). The next morning we had the most magnificent breakfast I have ever seen.

Ammerland - Visiting Relatives

2007-05-31T02:33:00.000+10:00

Rastede

We stayed the week with old family friends - Herbert and Rosie in Rastede. This area is called Ammerland and includes the town of Oldenburg where Liane's parents grew up. Herbert speaks good Aussie/English because he had lived in Australia for 10years previously and enjoys having a joke. They have a beautiful home and garden. It is the only flat roofed house we have seen in Germany.

The neighbours even had a welcoming Australian flag flying for us!
Every morning we had a lovely breakfast on the terrace. Was it the north/south or east terrace? It was a topic of discussion each morning. We nicknamed it Hotel Rosie as she certainly looked after us very well. Rex and Rosie managed to communicate even though both didn't speak each other's language - everything was schon (lovely).
We visited an amazing farmer's museum where an old farmer had collected thousands of old farming and household items.
Then we had a lovely walk in the evening through a rhododendron garden and almost lost our way. Check out the height of these bushes!We also visited a newly built Beach Club which had a fantastic water skiing machine. It looked so cool we wanted to have a go! Reckon it would be a great thing for the Gold Coast or even Geelong for any entrepreneur out there.

Cloppenburg

One day we looked through an old village museum which had examples of many old farmhouses and mansions. It is amazing to think how they built these houses with massive wooden beams. The animals were also kept in the same house with the hay stored in the attic. Many did not have chimneys and the smoke filled house preserved any meat hanging from the rafters. They would also sleep 3 or 4 people together in small sleeping cupboards. Very cosy indeed, but neccessary in winter.

Rosie swinging the pot of stew around for serving

Oldenburg

The next day Herbert took us to visit one of Liane's aunties who lives in her dad's old house. Her cousin also arrived and so the family photos began.
One day Liane's Uncle Ernst picked us up and did a fantastic job of taking us all around the Stalling side of the family (Liane's mother's side). First we visited Oma Rosskamp’s old house (which has been renovated), then the oldest church in the area (950yrs), then the graves of Uncle Alwin, Oma and Opa Stalling. We had a quick look inside the church too. We then visited Auntie Marianne for Fruhstuck (2nd breakfast of bread rolls and cake).

We visited a farm that sells produce straight from the farm. The owner was a good friend of Uncle Ernst. They make a lovely non alcoholic sekt from some flowers so of course we had to try a glass. It is asparagus season so everywhere there are huge amounts of asparagus for sale and it’s featured on all the restaurant menus. Wiefelstede
We stopped off to admire the lake with three hills (Bad Swichenahn??) and then drove out to Auntie Annie’s where we were expected at precisely 3pm. All the cousins were waiting and of course the table was beautifully set. We had strawberry cake and rhubarb cake. There were cousins Helga, Heiner and Helmut as well as their wives and two of their children.

Heiner gave us a tour of his dairy farm. He has all new sheds. One for new calves and one for milking - all with a massive amount of solar panels on the roof of which he sells the electricity back to the system. He has two state of the art robot machines which milk the cows – as each cow steps on the platform it is scanned and those who don’t need to be milked are sent off. Those that are milked have the teats all washed and cups put on by laser. Some of the cows can now be milked 3 or 4 times a day!

Helmut then gave us a tour of his Wholesale Nursery. He now has 10 hectares of plants after buying some land further down the street. It is a very busy time for him as they were just taking all the plants out of the hot houses and replanting them into bigger pots. It is an enormous set up and he now employs about twenty people. He says he has so many orders he can’t grow enough plants to keep up!

We then drove to the hospital to see Uncle Georg. He looked very well and was coming home the next day. While we were there we came across a lovely lady who had volunteered to look after a small Angolan boy who was recovering from an operation.

We then went to a restaurant at Bad Swichenahn, which was on the other side of the lake, with Auntie Annie to have tea.

View from the Restaurant

“So…Finally” said Uncle Ernst, “We get something decent to eat!!” We had schnitzel and beer!

Back to Oldenburg
We took Auntie Annie home and then visited Auntie Hanna (by this time it was after 9pm) where cousins Helmut and Walter were waiting with beer for us!

We eventually got home at about 11pm. Liane was totally kaput that at the end she was beginning to translate into German for Rex when someone spoke English!!

A very big day indeed!

The next day we had a more relaxing day out with another of Liane's cousins from her dad's side. Sebastion, their son, had stayed with us last year for a few days.

Rastede - Medieval Festival

2007-05-30T00:27:00.000+10:00

We went along to this Middle Age Festival. At first we thought it was a festival for middle aged people but then we realised it was really a Medieval festival!!!People were all dressed in costumes and there were many stalls, battle scenes and some crazy entertainers and of course plenty of food and beer! If you bought anything you received a golden taler for change. You could only spend talers at the festival. These festivals rotate around Germany every weekend for the whole summer - perfect for all the palladins out there!

We found a stall that was able to give us some details on both our family names. We both have a shield and come from quite royal heritage.

The weapons stall-no damaged returns allowed!
Sorry Julian we won't be allowed back into Australia with these.

Which hat?

This one?

or this one?

Yes this one!

Battle scene - Does this look like anyone you know?

70 stunt men and women having fun!

Some girls kindly posed for this lovely photo.

How to keep your man in line!

A folk band performed.
Click play button to hear band

The highlight of the afternoon was a band who played old medieval bagpipes. A very energetic performance, particularly enjoyed by the punks in the audience.

Schelmish-Bagpipe Band.

Click play button to hear band

Bremen (Upper Lower Saxony)

2007-05-29T04:28:00.000+10:00

On Friday we travelled east on the autobahn to Bremen (a large city of about 500,000 people, dated back to 789) for Liane’s Aunties 80^th birthday the next day (we went at least 150km/h with many cars passing us at a much faster speed!!!). Bremen was an old port built on the Weser River. We walked around the old part of Bremen, in and out of the tiny streets, Böttcherstraße (built in the 1920's by the person who produced the first ever decaf coffee-many specialist shops)

The Sögestrasse (an old quarter where they used to drive the pigs through the streets)

had coffee and cake, walked through the market place and listened to some Russian buskers (they come over during their school break to earn money for their studies).

Click play button to hear the buskers playing

We listened to the famous glockenspiel which had a rotating display showing the history of the merchant trading in Bremen. We looked through an old church and the ratskellar (town hall) which had a display of a huge bunker where they hid the German U-boats with walls 4-1/2 m thick!!! We found the statue of the Bremen Town Musicians and a few other versions of them as well as an impressive 10m statue of Roland (part of Bremen’s royal history). All in a couple of hours!!

We then had tea (ambrodt) at Liane’s auntie and uncle’s place and had a tour of their well- maintained garden. To finish off the evening we dropped into a local hotel for a farewell beer (with Anne and Heiner) and ate peanuts and were told to throw the shells onto the floor!!!

We stayed in a small hotel near the river. The next day was the big birthday party. It was held in an old German renovated farmhouse. We met all the relations and had Wedding Soup, red cabbage, beef and pork, vegetables, salad, potatoes and Liane’s favourite dessert - mixed berries (Rote Grutze) with custard sauce. After that we had coffee and cake (strawberry torte, bee sting cake, apple cake).

Brake

Liane’s uncle and aunt then took us to north to Brake where we stayed with Liane’s cousin Anke and her husband Stefan and their daughter Annabel. (Both of which are pastors of the local Lutheran church).

Anke preached from the high pulpit. As it was a special service she spoke on God's covering, hence the coloured umbrellas.

It seems to be that where ever we go there is some special event happening as the next morning we enjoyed a confirmation service before we were picked up by some old family friends to go to their home in Ratstede for the week.

An interesting poster that Anke and Stefan had in their house.

Lower Saxony - Germany

2007-05-23T18:52:00.000+10:00

Since we last wrote we’ve had a very busy but lovely time staying in a small village with Liane’s cousin and her family (Anne, Heiner and their daughter Johanne). It has been great getting to know our relatives a bit more and the people here are very friendly and helpful. Many speak very good English and all have tried to speak some English which helps both of us. Liane’s German is improving (as is Rex’s German – especially his food vocabulary) and generally we are able to be understood. We have been out every day seeing the sights – old churches and houses, walking through forests and meeting many of the locals.

Alt Wallmoden

Anne and Heiner's House

Alt Wallmoden (old Wallmoden as opposed to new Wallmoden) is a beautiful little village of 500 people on the edge of a forest. They even have their own fair dinkum Earl (who we met as we wandering through his grounds one afternoon and has his own ornately carved pew in the church).The Earls's Mansion

There are no shops or schools there now – only a church and fire brigade. The houses all have older style exteriors but many are renovated and quite modern inside.

We went to the annual Fireman’s dance on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun with lots of beer and German food (red cabbage, potatoes, dumplings, beef roulades) being consumed (and the occasional Schnapps). We listened to the funny stories from the older firemen and danced till after midnight. Then the Mother’s were all called to the bar for a Mother’s Day Schnapps!!!

The next day we attended the local church. It was a traditional Lutheran service with the pastor preaching from the high pulpit! We even managed to work out the German hymns which had a very nice pipe organ accompaniment. There were only about 15 in the congregation and you had to be quick to get your offering in the bag because the usher who has been doing the job for many years delights in fanning the hymn books as he sweeps the bag (which is on the end of a long pole) past!

Click play button to hear the Church Bells playing on Sunday Morning

Click play button to hear the Church organ

The Pastor preaching from the "High Pulpit"!!

Later on in the week we went for a long walk through the forest, it is beautiful and green at this time of year (Spring)! Anne showed us some plants that you can use as herbs.

Our week concluded with a neighbourhood bbq. It was a National Holiday for Ascension Day (which they claim as Father’s Day). It is tradition to undertake a family hike through the woods in the afternoon. Again much bratwurst, red wine and a special brew of May beer were consumed. The men introduced Rex to a new card game called Skat (a complicated card game like bridge) which is not advisable after having had a few beers!!!!!

Braunschweig/ Salzgitter

Today Heiner & Anne took us to Braunschweig (Brunswick) which was the chosen residence of Henry the Lion (one of the most powerful princes in Europe) during the twelfth century. The historic part of the city is still completely surrounded by water but damage during the war means there are now modern shops mixed with the old buildings. Right next to Henry’s castle is a modern day “castle” (shopping centre)!

The St. Martini church (founded in 1190) had some beautiful sculptures including the Wise and Foolish Virgins and St. Martini dividing his coat with a sword to clothe a beggar.

Later on we went to visit a festival at a museum (Museumsfest) in Salzgitter where Johanne was doing some face painting. There were people dressed in medieval costumes, jugglers, blacksmiths, bakers and many different market stalls where you could taste many different kinds of mustard (senf), chutneys, pesto and jam.

Harz Mountains/ Brocken

Today we drove past the old East West border with Heiner and Anne to catch the narrow gauge steam train (the longest and most scenic in the country) 19km up to “The Brocken” (1142m). It was used as a military area for border surveillance but now, of course, it is open to all and many people walk or hike up along the many paths through the beautiful forest. We had coffee and cake on the train and it was fun trying to drink it with the rattling of the train! It was freezing cold at the top (10 degrees with a chilly wind) so we warmed up with a meal of pea soup with bockwurst.

Hildesheim

We had a beautiful sunny day for our visit here with Anne. Some of the finest buildings in all of Germany are to be found here. Most of the town was burnt during the war however many have now been recreated. To help visitors you follow a trail of white roses along with your brochure to tour the streets.

The Butcher’s Guild hall (Knochenbaueramtshaus), originally built in 1529 is supposed to be the most beautiful half-timbered house in the world.

In the Dom cloister we found the famous thousand year old rosebush to which the legend of Hildesheim’s foundation is tied. Apparently in 815, Ludwig the Pious hung the relics of the Virgin on the tree while he was out hunting. When he tried to remove them later they would not budge so he decided to build a church on the spot. The bush has flowered every year since, even when the Dom was flattened during the war (but it was not in flower while we were there).

We visited several beautiful churches. The Basilica of St. Godehard had a stunningly huge wheel chandelier representing the adoration of the Lamb according to Revelation.

Goslar

Today Johanne took us into Goslar. As it was a day where Volkswagen was exhibiting a new model to some clients we were unable to go inside the castle and difficulty getting a parking spot. We walked in the rain in the morning but it was fine after we had some coffee and cake and in time for our afternoon tour which Heiner had especially arranged with an American colleague from the school where he works.

Goslar claims to have more old houses (from1500, with 168 dating from before 1550) than any other town in Germany. Silver was discovered nearby in the tenth century, and the town immediately prospered, soon becoming the treasure chest of the Roman Empire, and a favourite royal seat. As a free imperial city in the later Middle Ages, Goslar ranked as one of the most prosperous communities in Europe, with lead and zinc also being mined.

The houses had many interesting features - Bible scriptures, lavishly decorated with ornate carvings and symbols depicting all aspects of medieval life and folklore.

The modern Glockenspeil in the town marketplace (Marktplatz) has a window with characters that come out and explain how the horse of a knight pawed on the ground and uncovered the silver and miners hacking away through the ages.

The hall of Homage (Huldigungssaal) has a beautifully preserved interior from the Middle Ages. The ceiling has gold stars and chandeliers with antlers and carved figures of emperors. It has richly decorated panels which show scenes from the life of Christ and various citizens of Goslar. They are now preserved in a climate controlled room but you can watch a short video about it (in English) and peer through a window.

We also had to visit the musical instrument museum ( Musikinstrumentemuseum) which had many odd instruments from around the world like a violin with a trumpet horn attached, trombones shaped like saxophones (not true trombones according to Rex as they had valves like trumpets), a bass guitar from Paul McCartney, many old lutes, harps and miniature instruments. We were not allowed to take photos so we bought some postcards.

We had a lovely time in this area of Germany and have many many fond memories and photographs.

The Old Town Wall

Frankfurt - Germany

2007-05-15T02:06:00.000+10:00

Grusse aus dem Vaterland / Heimatland

Well after a marathon effort of travelling from Mbale to Entebbe airport ( 5hours of which we had quite a good run) and dealing with Ugandan customs officials to get the parcel of pencils, we finally left Uganda an hour later than expected, arriving in Dubai at 1.15am (local time). We found a place on the floor to sleep then moved to a lounge chair, then to the free internet station and then finally to our boarding lounge to depart for Frankfurt at 8.30 am. The Emirates planes are cool because they have a front camera and a downward camera so we could view the take offs and landings. We arrived in Frankfurt 1.15 (local time) and managed to purchase a train ticket to the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) from the ticket machine for 3.50 Euro each. We were quite pleased with ourselves! A total travel time of 34hours since leaving Mbale!

Our hotel (which we had booked via the internet in Uganda) was only a hundred metres away so we wheeled our cases along the street like all the other tourists. Our small hotel was quite cute, with an English speaking manager, it looked a bit like Fawlty Towers. Our room had free internet access (Whoopeee) and a buffet hot breakfast was included. However the room was very small. When you sat on the toilet you could rest your chin on the basin! And no tea or coffee making facilities.

We spent the rest of the time planning our days by looking at tour options and reading emails and blog comments. Frankfurt is very multicultural with many different restaurants –Polish, Turkish, Indian, Italian, Irish so we ended up having a kebab and beer (Donner) in a little restaurant.

Liane having a coffee with her favourite cake Beesting

The next day we went to book into a youth hostel but everything was booked out because their was a trade fair. So back to our trusty laptop to check the internet and we found another small hotel that had a room free near the train station. We packed up our things and wheeled our cases just around the corner!! It turns out this hotel was managed by the same man and when he heard our story he gave us his best room!! It had two chairs and a much nicer bathroom, a much better room but Rex had to carry the cases up two flights of stairs!!

Twin beds - How romantic!

We decided we needed a big walk so booked our Rhine tour for the next day and headed off along the Main River to walk through the old suburb of Frankfurt called Sachenhausen. It was a very pretty area with many museums (which we didn’t bother going into) and many old timbered houses (like a picture postcard). Everything was very neat, clean and well maintained – quite a contrast from Uganda! Which Way?

This area is famous for its applewine so of course we had to taste some. A quote from the guide book…. "Although it's an acquired taste, many find Frankfurt's favourite drink, applewine, to be a better thirst quencher than beer. Apparently Frankfurters are the only Germans with this opinion, so you will only find it in Frankfurt and the surrounding areas. Juice from pressed apples is fermented (read: left to rot) for 8-10 weeks to produce that unique applewine flavour......." We found it to be a bit sour.

As we headed back slightly light headed it started bucketing down rain. They have had no rain here for three months but it certainly made up for it. We arrived back at our hotel soaking wet even though we had coats and an umbrella. We changed and decided to go to the Irish pub O’Reilley’s for tea for some English food. We could even order in English from a very friendly Irish lass - Bangers and Mash for Rex and Guiness Beef Stew for Liane. As we wandered back we were amazed by the evening twilight. It is still light till about 9.30 – a surprise after the sudden light and dark at the Equator in Africa.

The next morning we met at the Booking Office for our eagerly awaited Rhine tour. We travelled by bus to Rudesheim, saw a magnificent monument built to symbolise the reestablishment of the German empire in 1877 and then by chairlift (yes Rex managed to get Liane to go onto the chairlift) down the hill to the Rhine. Our tour guide, Willy, was a bit of a comedian. He told us he was giving us the Rhine tour – yesterday’s tourists had the rain tour! He also set the expectation with punctuality, for example, we had to be back at the bus in precisely 17 minutes.

We had a meal in a typical German restaurant (chicken and chips to cater for all religious beliefs). We sat with some lovely people from Maryland USA who gave us some important tips on tipping (a strange concept for us) while we shared some of our Ugandan stories.

The afternoon was spent sitting in the sunshine on the boat, enjoying the spectacular views of 1000 year old castles, vineyards, churches and drinking beer.

A short movie of the Rhine tour

We were then taken by bus back to the same restaurant where we had a “wine tasting”. We had 4 thimbles containing a couple of mls in each. The ice wine was quite nice but very pricey. He also took us to a souvenir shop where there were many knick knacks to buy.

Cuckoo clocks (click play button to hear them ticking)

A movie of the Cuckoo clocks (Sorry I forgot to hold the camera horizontal)

The next morning we did our own city tour of Frankfurt (the city of banks), found we were staying near the Red Mile!!??!! And had a frankfurt in Frankfurt!

We then caught the very fast train (ICE-Inter City Express) to Hannover where we were very glad to meet Anne (Liane’s cousin), Heiner (her husband) and Johanne (their daughter and Jochen’s sister).

Final thoughts of Uganda

2007-05-11T18:21:00.000+10:00

The colours – green for the lush plant growth, red for the soil and mud bricks, black for the colour of their skin.

The weather - not as humid as we expected as the temperature was moderated by the altitude (380m) and closeness to the mountains.

Frustrations – to hear of sick people referred to hospital still waiting for operations while a price is negotiated with a surgeon, people who are very sick but too scared to go to hospital because the practises are so risky, kids asking you for money, power failures and the unpredictability of.

Corruption – if you want anything quickly through government agencies you need to pay a bribe and wait, wait, wait while papers are shuffled around desks.

Cutting the visitor's cake at Bushikori church

Warmly welcomed and treated as “heroes”. There are over 7,000 registered non government organisations (NGO’s) many who are Christian who are educating the people here with schools, sanitation and hygiene, health and better farming practises.

Main street Mbale with the prominent clock tower

The dark side- living in a guarded compound because of burglary and violence/ armed guards at the bank, supermarket, chemist, and all official government buildings. Not wearing a necklace down the street as it could be ripped off you. Evidence of witchcraft with “charms” placed in houses and beads on children.

Hearing kids call out “Muzungu! How are you!” and laughing at their fascination with Rex's hairy arms.

Sadness at seeing the large bellies of malnutrition on the children in the villages, the poverty, the many orphans being cared for by very elderly grandparents or older siblings, the effects of malaria treatments in the red eyes of the Ugandans.

Enjoying eating somasas (John’s favourite take away food).

Waking early to the sound of the rooster who crows at four different times during the night. Being ready to be picked up at 7.30 by the Bushikori Bus.

Saying grace fervently before every meal not only as thanks but also for protection.

Washing hands before eating and after being in the villages and shaking hands.

Open air Butcher stall

Eating matooke (cooked green plantain bananas steamed in banana leaves) and liking it!

Our serving size! not their's

Marvelling at the size of the serves of food the Ugandans can eat!

Four wheel driving on/through village roads and tracks, bone jarring and bottom numbing!

Being a Millionaire when taking out 1,000,000 shillings out of the ATM (about $A720). Everything is paid in cash, no mastercard or visa here.

Christianity – Christian slogans on matatus (mini buses that are taxis) like “In God We Trust”(and surely you have to by the way they drive and overload with passengers) / “Jesus Saves”. Christian music being played in the cafes. Saying Praise the Lord when you greet someone. Meeting other Christians who have dedicated their lives to live here long term.

Laughing at funny sayings like “Would you like some passion?” (meaning passionfruit or passionfruit juice, which is very popular here) “Are we picking you?” (Are we picking you up?) “Use some colours” = Use your colour crayons/pencils. “Do you want a bite?” = Would you like something to eat? Their understanding is literal, so if you say “I need to see you” they lean forward and look at you!

Being amazed that the power is off because someone stole a length of the main cable.

Liane being scared stiff when riding on the back of a boda-boda (a taxi bike – a highly efficient means of transport and an easy way for them to earn an income) even though she was straddling not riding side-saddle like most of the women! (Sorry no pictures of that!!!!)

Facing the oncoming traffic.

Learning a few words in Liguisu (the local dialect) “Melembe” = Hello, “Orienna” = How are you, “ Kali Kali” = ok, “Wanyallanarbee” = Thankyou very much, “Watchenyala” = Well done. (Apologies for any incorrect spelling)

Rejoicing with the African singing at Church/when a new baby is born in the clinic/ when the power comes back on/ when you get an email or blog comment (don’t forget to check out the blog archives on the side bar for previous entries) / playing “cooking” with Annie and Emma/ with Lyn when a parcel arrives that has been in transit for two years!

Why did God send us here? Perhaps to see the awesomeness of His creation and that the needs to be wanted and loved are universal. Perhaps to show us how much He loves us, as we were treated as honoured guests, and that is how we will be treated (no matter our circumstances here on Earth) when all believers are seated at the wedding banquet up in Heaven. Rev 19:9

Jinja - The start of the Nile

2007-05-11T06:33:00.000+10:00

Had a touristy day and travelled 2 hours back toward Kampala to Jinja, the start of the Nile River.
Jinga sits on the edge of Lake Victoria and is a better maintained town with a lovely streetscape.

Went also went to see the baby orphanage where John and Lyn found Emma and Annie.

We then went to see Bujagali Falls. The photos speak for themselves. Truly spectacular! Unfortunately a dam is going to be built shortly and these falls will be gone.

Not a bad beer

A visit to see some Jenga Projects

2007-05-11T06:02:00.000+10:00

Pastor Vincent (a Ugandan) from Jenga picked us up in the bus and drove us out to Mooni (pronounced Mornay) another very poor area. Without any land on which to grow a bit of food life here is very hard. At night the “hotels” open (an outdoor bar) and other occupations become prevalent.

Herbal Medicine

Vincent then took us up to his house, a little further up in the hills, and showed us around his wonderful garden. He is also a herbalist and has such a wealth of knowledge about which plants can treat which illness. One tree, called the madina tree, can be used in many different ways. The seeds can be used to purify water, the pods can be crushed to add fibre to the diet, the leaves can be dug back into the soil to add nitrogen and also make a tea for stomach complaints. He grows lemon balm to reduce high blood pressure, other plants can be used to treat malaria, leaves can be rubbed on the skin to repel mosquitoes and some can even be used to soothe patients with mental illnesses. He encourages the villagers to grow these plants in their gardens also.

Educating Women

His wife Grace has set up a café in the town and is training some people in basic catering skills. Any that show some aptitude they then help them to set up their own small business. She is also training the women in the villages how to use more fuel efficient stoves (provided by Jenga) so that they don’t have to gather so much firewood each day. Also she teaches them basic hygiene like washing hands and to boil the drinking water.

Goats

We drove up the hill (actually Mt. Wanale) further to see the Goat Breeding Project – quite a rugged trip! We saw the male breeding goats which they breed with the local ones to produce a higher milk production. The first female kid is then returned to be part of the breeding stock.

Lots of little children came out to see us and enjoyed the antics as we tried to reverse the van out and back onto the road. The children were tiny – one boy was 4 but looked like a one year old in size!

Water

After much scraping and mucking around we headed “up up” to see the Water Project. Jenga has installed water tanks and guttering at many of the houses to collect fresh rainwater for the villagers to share. Then they don’t have to walk as far to the village tap to collect water in their jerry cans and balance them on their heads as they walk back. We then headed to the source of the tap water. We parked the van and walked “a bit” to where the water was coming out of the ground. We saw several spectacular waterfalls on the way. There was an original government project using gal iron pipes which had fallen into disrepair (maintenance is not a word in the Ugandan government vocab) so Jenga replaced them with plastic pipes. A rock wall had been built and the water is diverted into a settling tank. Water runs then by gravity to a storage tank before running into the pipes down to the taps. It is not treated and contains high amounts of contaminants from animal and human waste further up the mountains. Jenga has trained a local committee to now look after it all.

It was a very interesting morning up in the beautiful Ugandan countryside.

Working at Bushikori

2007-05-09T02:06:00.000+10:00

Our time at Bushikori has just flown so I guess its time to think about what we did in the short time we were there.

Visiting our sponsored children was of course our highlight. Not only did it make it real for them that they had sponsors in Australia who were supporting them, but it also made it real for us and were able to give them a big Western hug.

We were able to take many photos of sponsored students at BCC and see where some of them lived. We trekked up hills, drove along many small tracks to small villages and even helped ferry sick people back to the nearest clinic.

BushBashing to pick up a sick mother

We felt that up to date photos and information were important and saw this area as a high priority (have also stressed this point again with Dan).

We have followed up on last year’s work party projects including taking photos of the house built for Paul Tiboti (A child-headed family).

New library books were donated to Joshua Primary School from the students of Drysdale Primary School. We hope that teachers will use these and read the books to the students so that they acquire a love of reading and learning. A large box of pencils was also a gift from the students.

Some letters from students in Liane’s class were handed out to some P4 and P5 students. With teacher Lyddia’s help these children have now written back and we hope to continue a letter exchange program.

As it was the end of term, many children were going on holidays and so it was difficult to view normal classroom sessions. Some children came in the holidays for extra coaching, so Liane was able to observe some revision classes and assist a few students. Most of our time was taken up with taking photos of students, events, buildings and downloading them off the camera and making sure they were correctly labelled.

Rex also looked at the computer setup. He was able to network the computers and setup general web access from all computers.

With the money raised on the grand Final Day last year and some other donations we were able to allocate these at our discretion. We fixed the ventilation in the kitchen which was causing a large build up of smoke. Five blankets were bought for some boys under Pastor George’s care that live high up in the mountains. (We bargained the Indian storekeeper down from 35,000 UGS to 20,000 UGS - not bad, he tried to charge muzungu price!)Some money was allocated to Paul Tiboti’s household to purchase some bunk beds. The remaining money was donated for the purchase of mosquito nets for sponsored children that do not have any.

We were able to gain a better insight of the basic functioning of BCC. We met with the Chairman of the Board, Tom Odoi (twice). We learnt the bus pick up route each morning, participated in their Morning Glory sessions, shared the Muzungu office with other volunteers, formed a relationship with the staff, learnt how the Childcare Department operates, met some of the patients in the clinic,

First time mum with new baby in Maternity wing

learnt to eat Ugandan food at staff lunchtimes, Rex learnt how to drive Ugandan style (forget which side of the road to drive on just find a way through the potholes, boda bodas, pickies, matatus, and watch out for the buses and trucks!) and watched as the students prepared for the holidays and came back for extra coaching.

Dr Lervett

We attended a Chapel Service run by the students, the Youth Empowerment Seminar organised for the Secondary Sponsored Students as well as the First Ever Sending Off Ceremony for students who have completed their tertiary or vocational training studies where Rex was privileged to be able to speak to the Graduands on behalf of the committee. We also attended a church service at Bushikori Church.

All of which we have enjoyed very much.

When you write it all down it seems quite a lot. No wonder we came home tired each night!

From what we have seen we are very impressed with the important work BCC is doing in serving the community in this area. We thank God for giving us this opportunity to visit Uganda.

A Special Celebration

2007-05-06T00:08:00.000+10:00

Youth Empowerment Conference

All the sponsored children who were in Secondary or Tertiary school were invited to Bushikori for the conference on Friday and slept over at the school that night in readiness for the Sending Off Ceremony the next day.

The students began arriving early with their mattresses and began setting up the chapel for the opening. The children were all registered and given a set of guidelines or rules for the weekend. Linus went through and explained each one carefully. Many students were still arriving late as they had to come from a long way away.

Three of the girls led us in a praise and worship time (one of them was Phebe our sponsored child)! What a thrill for us! Her mother was to be the guest speaker. The theme was “Be careful how you live/ walk” from Ephesians 5:15.

After the usual lunch of Matooke, rice, meat stew, greens we sauntered back to a presentation by a group called the Daughters of Zion. They performed a skit about smoking and drinking leading you away from God and those leading a Godly life and believing in Jesus going to Heaven. They also performed a dance and sang a song. The students then broke up into age groups for their workshops.

We were able to locate a few more students to take photos of and then went back to the office to download the pictures.

Sending Off Ceremony

The program for the Sending Off Ceremony was exactly timetabled from 7.00am to 2.50pm. We arrived at 10 when the Guest of Honour was also due to arrive, but when we got there we were the first of the guests that had arrived and they were still putting up the two marquees. Finally at about 12 we started (the guest of honour the LC5) had still not arrived. We had opening prayers, welcoming remarks interspersed with singing. John then spoke to the Graduates. This was followed by the official speeches from the BCC Child Care CoOrdinator, BCC Director, Australian Representative ( a fine speech by Rex), Probation and Welfare Officer of Mbale and the LC1. These were all translated into English or Liguisu (the local dialect). This was again interspersed with singing. It began to bucket down rain so umbrellas were bought out and the event continued. Finally the Guest of Honour arrived at about 3 pm so apologies were given because we had started proceedings without him (however no apologies from him as to why he was late). We were past being hungry by now! All the formal introductions were once again made and then the LC 5 gave his speech. All the graduates were then presented to the LC5 by Dan (Child care co-Ordinator who declared himself the Vice Chancellor and also wore a gown – he looked quite comical).

All the graduates looked very colourful in their different coloured gowns and with their mortars on. We were very proud of them even though we had only met a few. The other students sat patiently through all the proceedings. These were the first sponsored students from Bushikori who had made it through and had completed Vocational Training or Tertiary studies. As sponsors it was very inspiring to see how the life of a small orphan child, like the many we had seen on our travels through the villages, had been changed with the assistance from a kind heart all the way over in Australia. What a mighty God we have! We then had a formal cutting of the cake! All the graduates were then presented with gifts of blankets, mattresses, sheets and an item related to their profession like a sewing machine or bag of tools and a new Bible!

You can see what a great importance an occasion like this is in their culture. We finally had lunch at about 4, which was all set out in special “bain maries” (even the matooke), and were then free to leave after that, a little stiff and sore.

What a marvellous day!

Visiting our Sponsored Children

2007-04-30T04:23:00.000+10:00

Meeting Phebe

The Bushikori bus dropped us off at a corner of the main road through Mbale. We followed Dan, the Childcare Co-ordinator, to a hair dressing salon (called saloons here) where some young girls were practising braiding hair. In a typical Ugandan understatement he said, “So, we are here!” This was Phebe’s place! We walked in and met a lovely lady with a huge smile on her face who was very excited to see us. We did the usual handshake and “you are most welcome” routine and then Dan told us this was Phebe’s mother! Then there were hugs and more, “you are most welcome” and “thankyou so much for coming”. Dan then told her to get Phebe. She came out from the back very shyly. It was hard to believe we were finally meeting her. She had grown so much compared to the photo we have of her on the fridge at home. We were all overwhelmed by the moment. As she had just completed her term 1 school exams she was able to show us her school report. She is 15years old, in Senior 3 and doing very well. She attends the local secondary school.

Teddy, her mother, then ushered us into the backroom of the salon (where they live). It was so small, just a tiny sitting area with an area curtained off where Phebe sleeps. Her mother sleeps on a mattress in the sitting area and packs it away each morning. She told us a bit about her family circumstances and how she trusted God through all the hardships which she encountered bringing up several children on her own. She seemed to be a well spoken, strong Godly woman. She was so thankful for Phebe being sponsored. We then gave Phebe a small gift (blouse and necklace) which she immediately went and put on. It was a perfect fit!

A couple of days later at the Bushikori Youth Empowerment conference, we met Phebe again. It was wonderful to have such a special bond with her. She also is a great singer and led some of the worship. Her mother Teddy was also the guest speaker! She spoke on Ephesians 5:15 – “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.”

Meeting Martin.

As we left in the Bushikori bus to meet Martin, Dan said, (in typical Ugandan style) “We drive a bit, and then we walk a bit. It is up in the mountains. (UP UP!)” We drove for an hour on horrendous roads (click on player to hear road sounds)

, through many tiny villages and even a village market. Dan then said, “So now we walk!” Dan had organised for a man to guide us up the mountain. We walked on a rough road again passing many small villages. The scenery was breathtaking.(Click player to hear the Ugandan Chatter)

We saw many different types of crops being grown, onions being planted and fields being hoed and weeded by the women. The men sat around in groups talking. It is a time of not much food as it is still growing season. The farming here is subsistence only. They need to be taught how to grow their food more efficiently and proper means of storing their surplus food. Dan started calling out to a woman sitting outside her mud hut preparing some food. She was Martin’s mother. How pleased she was to see us. She ran out to welcome and thanked us for coming and she laughed and laughed. She followed us up the road. We then veered off onto a skinny “goat” track which certainly went UP UP! Liane needed to stop and catch her breath. Our guide called out “Mummy, are you bad?” (White women are often called mummy) “But you must do it!” Mother Womono chuckled, took her hand and started pulling Liane up the track. Around every corner we thought “This must be it!”

Finally after an hour and a half walk we reached a small group of huts (Bulamununyi). Some chairs were quickly produced and we were ushered into them. One of the young men called Michael told us that Martin was at school. Oh no! Out came a mobile phone! And Dan made some calls to get Martin and Fred (Jan and Big H’s sponsored child) released from school. It was an hour’s walk for them to get to us, so we sat and enjoyed the serenity and picturesque scenery amongst the dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, pigs, cows, goats and many curious children. (Click player to hear the animal sounds)