LONDON TOWN....again

THIS MINI IS COVERED IN SWAROVSKY CRYSTALS

RILEY IN THE WORLDS BIGGEST ROCKING CHAIR

MIA WITH NO LEGS AT RIPLEYS

RILEY AND MIA WITH BIG BEN IN THE BACK GROUND

VIEW FROM LONDON EYE

27th December and 28th

Our first full day back in cold London was a pretty good one. First off we hit the shops in Oxford Street because all the sales are on and we did some serious spending, now we just have to squeeze it all into our bags. The crowds were unbelievable, shoulder to shoulder all the way up the street and inside the stores it got very claustrophobic. I loved walking around Selfridges and i got some cheap books to read on the plane. We caught the bus back to Euston, dropped everything at the hotel and caught another one back to Marble Arch with the intention of seeing a movie at the Odeon theatre but we missed the start. It was dark by this time and that's when we spotted the lights across the road in Hyde Park and remembered seeing the trucks there on our last visit so we walked over. Winter Wonderland is what we found, like a big fair with all the rides and German food and Gluwein everywhere which made me happy. We spent the next 3 hours and a lot of money going on very fast rides and freezing to death but having a lot of fun, i even went on the rides which amused my kids alot to see the look of fear on my face, we have photos that they take of you on the rides, so naturally we look really good in them ! i didn't have my camera so i have no photos of the day but it was a great day.

Yesterday we went up for a ride on the London Eye, nearly didn't because the line of people was so long, like 500m long and i said no way are we standing in that line but then we saw that for an extra 10pounds you could jump the Que and get on straight away, so we did. It was nice seeing everything from that high up but it really isn't worth the money. You stand in a glass capsule and it goes around like a Ferris wheel and takes about 20mins, i wouldn't do it again and i wouldn't tell anyone else to do it, just not that exciting. After this we went over to Piccadilly Circus and fought our way through masses of people and into Ripleys Believe it or Not exhibition. Ripley's was interesting and fun, the kids loved it. The ride on the bus over there was one from hell, i didn't know you could fit that many people on a bus.

Today is our last full day in London, tomorrow we start the journey home, first stop Singapore where we will spend 12 hours before landing in Darwin at 2.30am on the 1st. I don't know when i will have a chance to update this again, might be from Katherine. So till then Cheers from London.

CHRISTMAS DAY IN AUSTRIA

Christmas Day dawned cold and snowless, we were hoping it would be snowing but we had snow on the ground so we couldnt complain.

After ripping off the expensive wrapping paper we found lots of little treasures that we were very happy with, Mia loved her carousel and Riley his little nut cracker man and me my pottery which i hope will still look like this when the plane lands in Darwin.

While the maid slaved the rug rats waited and waited and waited, here they are waiting for me to bring out the rest of the food so we can dig in. They did set the table. The weather at this point was rainy and windy.

We had a quiet but good day and on boxing day we packed to make the trek to the airport. This is what the slopes now looked like after 2 days with no snow....we couldnt toboggan anymore.

Walking to the bus stop. We caught the 150 to Salzburg then it was onto the number 2 to the airport then a British Airways flight to London Riley video'd from the plane and got some great footage of the snow covered Alps and France. Arrived in old London town at 2pm and caught the Gatwick express to Victoria station....It should not be called express, a turtle would have moved faster and we stood the whole way because it was packed liked a tin of sardines. At Victoria station i decided i'd had enough of crowded trains so we caught a London cab to Dukes road in Kings Cross and checked into the hotel which is across the road from Euston station. The weather here is sunny but cold. Customs was again an unsettling experience, lots of personel questions etc delivered in a bitchy tone....i may write a letter to that mob. Austria was beautiful and i'm glad we spent christmas there but it is nice to back where they speak english. Only 3 more sleeps and we will be back home....it's gone fast.

MUNICH OR MUNCHEN, GERMANY

23rd December
Here are some photos of our day in Munich, Germany, it was overcast and cold but we still had a good day on the hop on hop off bus which took as all over the city. It was a nice city, clean and safe with some beautiful architecture, the town hall above was gorgeous and at 12 the bells rang out and music started playing and suddenly everyone stops and looks up, so we did to and what we saw was the statues halfway up dancing, it was great. I video'd it and it is just lovely, we were standing in the christmas market of Marien Platz when it happened. We also spent some euros on some really nice pottery etc for christmas...i know it was stupid because they might break on the way home but i'll take the risk.

Below is the Nymphenburg Palace where the real king of England lives ! according to the tour guide, long story. It is a beautiful building and the garden in the front has a large lake half frozen but full of swans.

Below is a frozen river that a few days ago they were holding ice skating races on, they even marked out the lanes in snow. The ice isnt solid enough now to skate on, it would have been good to see though. We saw the factory and museum for BMW, do you know what that stands for ? it's Bavarian Motor Works...bit of trivia there, Riley loves all that. We saw the sight of the 1974 ? Olympic Games which was interesting.

We had a great day and finally got back over the border and up the mountains to Faistenau at 8pm, it was a long day but worth it.

WHITE CHRISTMAS

Hi all you blog readers, this is it till we get back to London on the 26th, the internet access here is complicated and i'm giving up ! We spent yesterday in Munich { Munchen} Germany, it was great, i will put photos up later. Today is christmas eve and their are fireworks going off everywhere....so i'm going to join in. Have a great day tomorrow and i will write again when we get to London.
P.S Clare, you havent read all of the blog because there is a picture or 2 of me in the early days, enjoy your warm christmas everyone. Yes we are european looking, all white and pasty, dry skin.

FAISTENAU, AUSTRIA....22nd Dec

Not much happened yesterday, we woke to see a lot of snow on the ground, it really was a winter wonderland, blindingly white...out came the sunnies. The day before you could see green on the trees but yesterday morning it was all covered in thick snow, above is the view from the window in Salzburg. The traffic was down to crawling speed so it took us ages to get to the bus station...snow plows everywhere but what a beautiful sight...the snow was knee deep on Mia and made walking very interesting. I will not slip over !

It was freezing but whats new....i think we are getting used to it and i dont whine nearly as much.

We caught the bus up to Faistenau and checked into our hotel. Looks like we could be here for Christmas because the public transport system is in chaos at the moment and it's hard to get around Europe.

I have asked about trains to other parts and was told that nothing is certain at the moment, delays everywhere so we may as well stay here. Above is the view from our bedroom at the hotel...taken through glass thats why its a funny colour. Today i left the kids on the mountain....in the village, and i caught the bus into Salzburg alone..it was nice, and i spent the day shopping for Christmas. When i got back they hadnt killed each other which was good, they had walked the 1 mile to the supermarket and shopped for dinner ! Riley cooked a stir fry, it was lovely. Today the temp was a lot warmer which made the snow start to melt in Salzburg which makes everything mushy and wet, but i didnt slip, blue skies all day...so different to yesterday.
Tomorrow, the 23rd we are catching a train, hopefully, to Munich in Germany to spend the day, its only 90min away but it will mean we have to be at the bus stop at 6.45am......till then night night from Austria.

P.S Duana ? do not bet money on seeing a photo of me face first in the snow.....not going to happen luvvy !

Christine ? we tried to text you because we couldnt work out the buses but an english speaking lady explained to me how to read the timetable so all is good now, it's the 155 or the 150 but you have to change at Osterwitz so we stick to the 155 easier. We are staying at that place next to where the bus dropped us when we were with you, near the post office ?

SALZBURG CASTLE

Today we spent a few hours walking around Salzburg christmas markets and visiting the castle. Mia is showing off her snow gear.

We walked through the Mirabelle Palace again and the fountain we saw the other day which had a few bits of ice in it, is now frozen solid and the kids walked all over it.

We wandered through the Christmas markets and Mia and i were mentally trying to squeeze it all into our bags, so many lovely things. We caught the cable car up to the castle. The ride up is nearly vertical and pretty fast, the place was also packed with people.

We walked everywhere and all through the rooms of the castle, very impressive. The kids liked the Marionette room which was full of puppets.

The views from the top were beautiful, Salzburg is a lovely city and not as big as you think when you see it from the top of the castle. The wind up there was so cold, everyone had scarfs wrapped around their faces...we also ran into quiet a few Australians.

On our way home Mia wanted a photo in front of a shoe shop bearing her name, she loved having a shop with her name and selling one of her favourite things.

Have a safe trip to Perth Suzanne and dont worry i will bore you silly with photos of this trip...its going to take a few cups of coffee !

Clare, hope you and yours are feeling better. Thats one thing we have been lucky with so far, none of us have been sick at all on this trip.

SALZBURG TO FAISTENAU...18 & 19th Dec

Yesterday was a great day, the kids cannot stop talking about it, they love the snow. We met Christine, Alf and Iain at the train station where the kids fuelled up on frankfurters...sadly Ross and Karin were not there. It was cold - 17 i think Alf said, you had too eat the frankfurter's fast.

I love this photo, 3 little Territorians in Austria.

We caught a bus up to the village of Faistenau, which is about a 40 minute ride. While we waited for the bus Iain and Riley chatted........Iain talked and Riley listened, and when we got on the bus he continued to talk and Riley listened, for 40 minutes..it was so cute, i can remember Riley being like that at Iain's age.

This is the house where Christine lived. Its in the stunningly beautiful village of Faistenau on the edge of the Alps. I took 275 photos ! lucky for you mob i cant put them all on here. We also videoed 30 mins worth !

This is Mia showing off her new water proofs that Christine got and i still havent paid for, i just realised....she knows where i live, i will pay you. These pants are needed because the kids spent the rest of the day literally rolling in the snow and these pants kept them dry. We headed down to a part of the village that the locals use for tobogganing, Alf stood guard watching the proceedings, i was happy to stand with him but when Mrs Sutherland tells you to do something, you do it and i found myself sitting on a cold black garbage bag full of cold snow sliding down a hill and falling off and face planting into the snow....it was fun, Alf has to do it next time.

The kids and Christine went up and down that hill, i dont know how many times. I got some great video of their tumbles. Mia and Iain laying in the snow doing snow angels made a good photo, Riley going air borne on the sled and crash landing made good video, so did the slide Christine did down the hill at a 100k's on the garbage bag and into a mound of snow.

The only draw back to going down is that you have to come back up, which is very tiring but good exercise. We all slept well last night.

Sadly Christine, Alf and Iain had to leave early but we stayed on for awhile. We had some yummy goulach in the cafe for lunch.

Then we hit the hills again. We spent the next few hours falling, face planting...i'm good at that....and walking up hills until just on dark when it really started to get cold, so we headed back to the bus stop.

It's like a postcard isnt it ? so beautiful.

While waiting for the bus i took this sunset photo.

We got back to the hotel about 6-6.30pm, tired cold but we had a great day and it was lovely to spend it with Christine, Alf and Iain. Thanks for showing us your village it was beautiful.

Today we slept in and didnt get going till around midday, it was snowing and it was great laying in bed watching it fall on the window above the bed. Walking to the bus in the snow was different but we loved it. Because of our late start and my need for waterproof pants we decided to catch the train to Freilassing in Germany, just across the border, its also where Christines aunty lives. Christine had bought the kids pants there very cheap so i figured i would be able to find the shop and get some for me. We walked around the town and into every shop and saw lots of ski pants that were cheap but they were all way too long for me so i will have to freeze ! I'll just have to wear Riley's track pants which are made from similiar stuff. It was nice in Freilassing, and by the time we got back here tonight it had stopped snowing....but i've just noticed that its started again, it was -13 today. I'm not sure what we are doing tomorrow but i think it will involve a castle ,a chair lift and ice skating, shopping in the markets and some of that hot drink Christine gave me....i dont have to drive.

Enjoy Noosa Clare....you thinking of buying that caravan park in Longreach ?

Are you still reading Suzanne ? i havent heard from you in awhile, you must be in Perth having a good time.

" THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS "

We are in the beautiful and chilly...-11, home of The Sound of Music...my favourite movie when i was 10. Salzburg is like a postcard, picture perfect. we rugged up and went to explore with the Mirabelle Palace gardens being the first stop. We've seen pictures of these gardens in the summer and they were beautiful and still beautiful now covered in snow. Mia became very good at making snow balls.
A river runs through Salzburg and its called the Salzach

This is the fountain were Julie Andrews sang"Doe a Deer a female Deer, Rei a drop of golden sun, Me a name i call myself, Farr a long long way to run......" i'm a nerd.

The water in the fountain was frozen which fascinated Mia.

Look who we saw hanging around the bridge that crosses the Salzach...Mrs Sutherland, she pretended not to know us but we were persistent. It was great seeing her in one of her favourite spots in the world. She played tour guide and showed us through the Salzburg Cathedral which was built in 774 of wood i think and then rebuilt in 1628 after a fire, in 1944 the dome on the top, about the spot this photo shows, was hit by an aerial bomb and it wasnt until 1958 that the dome was finally finished and the cathedral opened for business again, it's absolutely beautiful.

We had a great time with Christine walking around the markets and having this wonderful drink which i cant remember the name of and my first German beer and then i couldnt remember anything, added to that was not having slept in 48 hours ....i slept well last night !

Today we spent the day in the Alps with Christine, Alf and Iain....but i'm going to sleep now so till next time, Aufweidershen from Austria { i have no idea if i spelt that right }.

LAST DAY IN VENICE

We spent today walking all over Venice after leaving our bags at the hotel. The tide was high again which causes flooding in parts.

Mia is sad to leave, she loves all the handmade masks and glass, i wish i could buy it all.

The navigator got us all over the island again, he is a legend with the maps. Venice is a bit like a maze and they do have good signage which made Riley's job easier.

This was a sculpture we came across, it was very fresh and there was no explanation as too why it was sitting there ,Riley thought it was cool.

The Gondolas are all out working, this is the parking spot for some of them.

Sunset in Venice looking towards the causeway. At 9pm we got on the train for a 7 hour journey to Salzburg, Austria. We had a sleeper compartment with 2 other travellers from South Africia, lovely people...they went to Vienna, everyone tried to sleep but they didnt get much and i got none but i had a nice time watching the snow on the ground outside and the views...our carriage was up the front and the headlights on the train lit the countryside up for miles.

Snow on the ground at Boscaverdo, 11pm at night, the kids jumped off the train when it stopped to change engines for the 10th time.

So happy to see the snow.

This is the view from our room in Salzburg, its beautiful. We arrived at 4am and spent 5 hours at the train station waiting for the hotel to open, it was freezing. We caught a cab to the hotel and checked into a really lovely room with a small kitchenette. The temp this morning was -9 at the train station.