Europe 2015 - the beginning

10 months of planning, a 65-page itinerary, 4 nervous excited travellers, a month off work.

On the trip - Noodles, Kuzin Andrew Bob, Dave @orangedrummaboy and Marina @mlobastov.

Your authors are MaD (Marina and Dave) depicted by initials.

1st April

[M] Seen off by parents and brother in both Canberra and Sydney we flew off on our adventure.

Etihad airways made the trip as bareable as possible - range of entertainment and food were quite decent. But ultimately, 15 hours in the one seat is just frustrating. 

We arrived in Abu Dhabi before 6am, eager to stretch out legs and get a glimpse of where our last stop would be in a month. From a purely observational perspective the airport is very busy and the men in long white national dress stood out. There was also a wide range of female head coverings including the batulla metal masks that I'd only seen in pictures.

We found the airport expensive and noticed the light outside getting darker rather than lighter - a sand storm was coming. A 2 hour delay threw our first evening schedule out of whack. 

Berlin Air was fine but unremarkable. Berlin airport was remarkably efficient.

The area of today's airport originally was part of Jungfernheide forest, which served as a hunting ground for the Prussian nobility. During the 19th century, it was used as an artillery firing range.

Between 1969 and 1982, Berlin Tegel was the destination of several aircraft hijackings involving LOT Polish Airlines domestic flights within Poland. The hijackings were a means of forcing the authorities in communist Poland to let the hijackers emigrate from the Eastern Bloc. Once the aircraft had landed at Tegel, the French military authorities in charge of the airport during the Cold War era let the hijackers and anyone else who did not wish to return to Poland disembark and claim political asylum in West Berlin. The aircraft, its crew and those passengers who did not want to disembark were subsequently returned to Poland. (Wikipedia)

Our taxi driver was our first interaction with a non-English speaker. The lady agreed to bundle all four of us into her average sized car. With luggage. As we stood around awkwardly she gestured that it was up to the boys to pack the car. She then continued grumbling at us in German all the way to the hotel

The Melia was our accom for the night - apparently one of the top 12 hotels in Germany -  Winner of Holiday Check Top Hotel 2012 and the Travellers’ Choice Award from Trip Advisor users as one of the top 12 hotels in Germany

http://www.melia.com/en/hotels/germany/berlin/melia-berlin/index.html

[D] Preparations for the night out were thrown into disarray by the sand storm delay and insanely long flight.

Tapas in the dimly lit but inviting bar downstairs was agreed to after the alternative pub crawl was abandoned. The menu was extensive, and the main event (truffled croquettes) did not disappoint. Other highlights were the tiny Chorizo in red wine and the garlic prawns, but all the dishes were excellent. 

There was a trio playing loose Jazz in the corner.

After dinner, Marina turned in, while I hit the Good Friday eve streets to have an explore. It had been raining and snowing so there were virtually no humans about, making it a prime time for getting street shots.

http://instagram.com/p/0_UI4jxIci/ 

Weidendammer Bridge and Melia Hotel

http://instagram.com/p/0_U7A8xIeH/ 

Berliner ensemble

http://instagram.com/p/1ADMuixIVI/ 

Spree river bridge Fredrichstraße station

http://instagram.com/p/0_Tf6RxIbG/ 

Ständige Vertretung 

2 April

[M] The following morning we admired Berlin out the breakfast window.

 

A brisk morning walk included a short class for Kuzin Bob - how to duck face in front of amazing buildings - 

Soon after we were met by Russell - @orangedrummaboy's dad. 

Having told everyone that he lives and works at Country Music World, I still wasn't truly prepared for the cowboy that picked us up - complete with cowboy hat. 

Noodles and Kuzin Bob were left in Berlin for a few days while we headed onwards.

Russell took us on a drive-by of Brandenberg Gate. Wish we'd had more time for exploring. 

A short drive on we found the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Berlin. A light blue square 2 story building with gold Cupola stands in a yard with a large wooden cross in the corner. Orangedrummaboy and I had a wander, looking in the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse. The front gate had been opened but the grounds deserted. Through the windows we glanced the church hall, a kitchen, stairs... Round the front a metal staircase lead to the second floor. The windows were frosted and quite small. It was only by peering in that I realised there were candles lit - a service was in progress.

We couldn't stay long but the peace and beauty of the readings and the 2-female choir really helped to ground us after the long travel. 

And with that, we were off to the Wild Wild West...

Looking out over the ocean, coffee in hand, crashing waves... I have an idyllic setting to re-engage with a bit of writing, start a new blog.

The aim for these musings is to get some of these experiences out. I am entirely blessed (completely overused word these days) to live the life I do – I travel; work at the best University in the country with the best minds in the country (quiet, Melbourne! - no one’s listening); engage with some fantastic people, communities and organisations; and get involved with projects that make life interesting.

I love getting recommendations of places/things/eatings/drinkings and some kind of record will hopefully grow here that I can share.

Jodi Martin tour

Christmas break 2014-2015 was intentionally quiet and home-bound. At some point I got a phone call from my lovely folk-singer friend Jodi Martin (www.jodimartin.com.au) which I remember starting as a one sentence monologue along the lines of "I've had a bad year and now my house has burnt down and I've given up my job as a teacher and I want to concentrate on touring my new album and I'm touring the mid north coast of NSW in a few weeks and I want you to come and help tour manage so what do you think?"

There may have been more punctuation in what she actually said but nonetheless, less than 4 weeks later, here I am, with Orangedrummaboy, at the Meridian Resort, Old Bar, hoping that the elusive resident echidna will show herself.

AirBNB

We were joining Jodi in Port Macquarie for her Fri 16th Jan show at the Glass House. It seemed sensible to break up the 7 hour drive from Canberra so we decided to pop our AirBNB cherry.

AirBNB is an app for people to advertise their houses, apartments, spare bedrooms or couches for people to rent short or long term and provide reviews. 

Initially I had all the doubts - what if the host is an axe murderer? What if the pictures of the property are fake? What if the hosts come in during the night and lick our ears?

So I asked around. Turns out many of our friends had used AirBNB and strangely, very strangely, every single one had had a good experience. Every one.

Having downloaded the app there was another concern - the photos of the properties didn't look like the fish-eyed lenses of real estate photos, nor the dodgy photos of old BnB websites. They looked like real rooms that real people might live in (if most of those people were very, very tidy).

Each listing shows many photos of the property, has a write-up of the property by the host with a blurb about themselves, a listing of the amenities and features provided (pool, pets, breakfast - all of those, yes please), an approximate map and reviews by past guests. In return, the hosts review the guests.

Downloading the app and playing with various searches was fun - what's the cheapest/most expensive place you can get? What's the closest place I can find to my house? Can I stay in the same building as Canberra's swishest hotel for a fraction of the price? Why yes, yes I can.

Once you're ready to contact a host you need to verify your identity - email, phone, facebook and id check (by photographing your license - back and front). These details go to airbnb as a one-off verification of your identity, not to the hosts. I was vaguely hesitant about this step.

We chose a property at the mid-way point with a friendly, happy write-up by Cathy, the well-travelled hostess. She had excellent ratings and reviews and offered breakfast as part of the price.

My first contact was a tentative query about late arrivals with a brief introduction. Cathy pre-approved us for a booking and responded within a couple of hours.

Once you've booked you get sent the exact address and contact details for your host.

The place we stayed -

https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1077987?s=SPpT

Chatty hostess, excellent breakfast, refreshing above ground salt water pool and adoreable puppy Indy – 

Our stay was just what we needed. We were very happy with our first AIRBNB experience - Cathy immediately put us at ease. 

My brief review on airbnb - 

Cathy's entire house breathes coastal relaxation - from the beachy touches in every room to the saltwater pool and kookaburras visiting the yard. The well travelled, friendly hostess was very accommodating with our late pre-arranged arrival and welcomed us with a glass of wine.
The morning coffee, juice and breakfast came in an impressive variety of options and was a wonderful start to our day.

AirBNB gives the option of staying with hosts or booking out entire places for accommodation. When staying with a host it pays to remember the obvious - 

• this is their home - respect it
• some hosts run businesses and have family commitments so your wants and needs won't be their only concern
• let your host know your plans as early as possible so they can plan their own life
• if your timing is different to what you initially thought - stay in contact
• be flexible - not every kitchen will be stocked to your expectations
• be tidy - we've all had house guests that leave you shaking your head - don't be that guest

Tip for newbies - prices can change depending on how many of you there are and what dates you choose. And airbnb charges an administrative fee ($11 for our trip)

Our total stay for 2 people with admin fee and 2 full hot cooked breakfasts was $126.

There will be times when you want complete privacy, a concierge or a specific hotel. For all other times I will now be using airbnb.

So we left Cathy and drove north.

Beachside Holiday Apartments, Port Macquarie

I haven’t been to Port Macquarie properly since I was a kid. Back then the ONLY thing of any importance was whether or not there was a pool.

Well this place had a pool. And a LARGE living area. Overall it was very clean, fairly unremarkable, middle of the road holiday accommodation, directly across the road from Flynn’s beach. For a lazy beach holiday of beach and reading this would be perfect.

Upon checkout we asked for breakfast recommendations and got pointed to the “little place under the surf club”.

Purnos, Flynn’s beach

Purnos looks like a hot chips and ice cream canteen take away but the shade of the umbrellas enticed us to stay. We ordered expecting greasy grossness. Instead I was very impressed with light corn fritters (not bulked out with onions as many places do), interlaid with ham and a lovely chilli jam.

Orangedrummaboy had the bacon and egg roll with hash brown – perfectly cooked egg and good bacon. Port Macquarie is looking good for another visit.

Koala hospital, Port Macquarie

Being Wildcare members we couldn’t go past the Koala Hospital.

We really do have the cutest wildlife. The poor critters here have been brought from near and far after bushfires, car accidents and domestic pet encounters. As sleepy and cute as always the proximity of the recovery areas allows for some great close-ups.

Adjacent to the hospital property is Roto House.

Roto House, Port Macquarie

The historic Roto House, built in the 1890’s by John Flynn, showcases the life of his family and through it, various aspects of Australian history. The exhibition is very accessible showing family photographs, correspondence regarding the building of the house, original house fittings, items of clothing and dance cards from balls with mini pencils still attached.

Restored 30 years ago the house is a beautiful example of living history.

I’d be curious to come back and chat to the owner of the Koala Hospital Gumnut café who we’d visited during his first day of trade – his upcoming menu, though small, seemed solid and interesting without being pretentious.

Port Macquarie seems to be made up of manageable holiday chunks – small enough to keep ones interest but not to holiday over exertion.

On the list for our next visit is the Port by Night tour – a walking historical tour run by the Manager at the Glasshouse theatre.