16-19 July 2009: Luxembourg and Post-trip

Luxembourg - Mir well bleiwe wat mir sinn
(National motto: We want to remain what we are)

The tiny Luxembourg is too often overlooked by travelers. The only reason we were there were because of we did not think we are likely to come to this country purposely next time. Since Luxembourg is on the way to go back to England, so why not?
Luxembourg is a notable European Union member and a prominent international financial centre. The Luxembourgian people have been significantly influenced by both German and French culture.



Luxembourg is a camping paradise.
Two people with a tent and a car cost us less than 15 Euro, including hot shower.



Although as an international banking capital it is home to thousands of frenzied foreign business executives, Luxembourg City is surprisingly relaxed and idyllic.



With medieval fortress perched on a cliff that overlooks lush green river valleys, and high bridges stretching all over the downtown area, Luxembourg city is one of the most attractive and dramatic capitals in Europe.



The 10th century Bock Casemates fortress, part of Luxembourg's original castles, looms over the valley and offers a good view.

Calais, France



Calais is the liveliest of the Channel ports to Britain.
i normally think a port town or city is rather drab, but obviously Calais do have gorgeous beaches and beautiful historical structures.

Greenwich, East London, England



Greenwich's position as the "home of time" is connected to its maritime heritage - the Royal Observatory, site of the Prime Meridian, was founded to produce star charts once essential to navigation.
Many people queued up to take picture at the Prime Meridian, which marks 0 degree longitude.

11 July 2009: Vienna, Austria

The Sound of Music

We did not come to Austria for its brilliant artists, writers or musicians. Definitely not to ski during summer as well. It was just a pass by for us to get to Italy. But the atmosphere of the Vienna coffeehouse made us lingered a bit longer than just to have pastries and coffee.



With the overpowering Alpine landscape, hiking and camping are obviously rather common in Austria. So having a camp site near city centre Vienna is in fact not unusual. But not to expect to get into the nature, it is more about having a cheap place to stay.



Like any other European cities, the horse carriage services are always there to remind you of the rich, grandiose history of the city.



Albertina Museum is the home of one of the biggest graphic collections of the world.



Some of the small souvenirs from the tourist shops.
The price is not 'small' though.



Vienna's most treasured symbol, St Stephen's Cathedral or Stephansdom, under renovation.
The North Tower was originally intended to match the South Tower, but construction ceased after a spooky tragedy...
In the 16th century, during the construction of the North Tower of the Stephansdom, a young builder named Hans Puchbaum wished to marry his mater's daughter. The master promised his consent if Hans finished the entire North Tower, alone, within a year. Faced with this impossible task, Hans despaired until a stranger offered to help him - on condition that Hans not speak the name of God or any other holy name. The tower grew by leaps and bounds until the young mason spotted his love one day and called out her name, "Maria"! Unfortunately, Maria was also the name of the Blessed Virgin. The scaffolding collapsed and Hans plummeted to his death. Rumours of a satanic pact spread, and work on the tower ceased, leaving it in its present condition.



Unlike most of the European cities, smoking indoor is allowed and accepted in Austria. They have non-smoking areas as well, but obviously nobody can control the direction of the smoke.
This ice-cream or dessert cafe had at least 100 people sitting there while we joined the crowd for an ice cream and cake.



The drive from Vienna to Italy was very scenic. We passed by the snow-capped Alpine peaks, lush meadows of wildflowers, thick and dark forests and castles - The Sound of Music in a nutshell. :)

Brugge, Belgium: 5 July 2009

Prologue

When i was in Asia, going to Europe sounds romantic and extremely expensive. But since we are staying just in UK, going to Europe is just like going from Singapore to Malaysia. Nothing 'grand'. However, due to the weak pound stirling, traveling in Europe is indeed more expensive than UK.
This is supposed to be our honeymoon. In consideration with the overall cost and others, we decided to drive from Scotland to as far as Czech Republic and camping all the way. It proved to be quite a good decision. The car did not break down :), we got lost sometimes, but always managed to find our way later. We really had fun, eventhough our 2 weeks journey was not a luxury Europe trip that people would expected for honeymoon.
Well... the 'homework' and preparation for such a DIY trip is very essential. We found all the campsites that we wanted to go and then printed out Google maps for the direction to go from one city/campsite to another. We also had to find out about the driving requirements of different country, such as are our driving licenses accepted and what are the traffic rules. Eg: In Czech Republic, one has to drive with the headlights always on, eventhough it is day time.
We search for visa requirements as well, eventhough we knew that, likely both of us do not need any. This proved to be an extra works, since border crossing by land in Europe does not have border control anymore! We were assuming that, there would be some kind of border control for non-EU citizen, as like in airport, but the fact is, everyone just drive through the border, overpassing the now empty border control offices. The only border control we got is from UK to France and France to UK.

Note: After more than one year of traveling around, we are gradually not very keen in pictures taking. We didn't even use up our 2GB memory card for camera in 2 weeks. I think, after a while, all places look alike, especially in Europe and we enjoy more to soak in the atmosphere rather than snapping around. :)



Our trip started from Scotland. From the last experience, it took us 12 hours to drive from Wales to Central Scotland. So this time, we decided to break our journey to London at The Lake Side District, Morecambe.
Our car is so old that, we do not really mind about it. So we chopped our vegetable on top of the car booth and sometimes even cook on it.

Chocolate, Channel, Romance ...

The only thing that came across my mind with Belgium is: chocolate. That is all i knew about this country. i don't even know that, people here speak Flemish and/or French as their first language. When i left the country, i knew, besides from chocolate, this country has delicious Belgian waffles (gaufres) as well. :)



Chocolate in different shapes, designs, tastes ...



Brugge is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and the largest tourist attraction in the country. Canals carve their way through rows of stone houses.



The dizzying 88m Belfort towers high at the center of town, presiding over the handsome square of the Markt.



The Burg Square is dominated by he flamboyant Gothic facade of the medieval city hall. Around, there are many restaurant and bar for dinning.



Small enough to be thoroughly explored by short walks and lined with the gorgeous canals, Brugge is best seen on foot. The best nightime entertainment is wandering through the city's romantic streets and over its cobblestoned bridges.

Snowdonia, Wales, UK: 11-12 April 2009

Eryri (Snowdonia in Welsh) - Eryr (Eagle) or Highlands

The English name for Snowdonia derives from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales and England at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft). Many of the hikers in the area concentrate on Snowdon itself. It is regarded as a fine mountain, but can become quite crowded, particularly with the Snowdon Mountain Railway running to the summit. There are many path from easy to difficult, which takes from 5-8 hours return for the hikers to walk up to the summit. Unfortunately, i wasn't well on that day and the railway had too many people, so we did not go to the summit.



We did camping at one of the camp sites at Llanberis. At this time of the year, it is still quite cold and the camp sites had suprisingly many campers. At night, it was very very very cold. We had to bury ourselves in the blanket totally. The camp ground we got was not flat and sleeping on a slope wasn't that comfortable as well. But the views were good.



Snowdon Mountain Railway on the way to the summit. But in fact, at this time of the year, the steam train did not go to the summit, it stopped a few miles below. Some hikers think the rail track and train spoiled the natural views, but i think this is actually a good way for some people who aren't fit to walk up all the way, to enjoy the view and the feelings of "top of the world".



A small walk to some of the smaller hills could provide quite a good views of the surrounding as well.



Snowdonia used to be a mining place for slate. The slate mining closed down due to the running cost. It is said, the slate from this region can last as long as 200 years. The slate museum provides interesting displays of the tools and technologies people used years ago in the mining. The museum staff, an ex-miner, showed the visitor how the miner separates or cut the slate.



People holding advanced diving license can don into the lake to explore the old mining facilities now hidden under the water.



Snowdonia was our last tourist stop before we moved away from Wales. I was a bit disappointed with the views. In my mind, i always imagining trees on the mountain, but for almost all mountains or hills that we had been in England or Wales, there are basically no trees, just grassland for sheep or cows grazing. Even at the cold North East of Canada, there are still many trees on the mountains. So i suspected that, weather is not an issue. All the trees here probably had been chopped down long time ago to support the energy needs of the mining industries.

Chapais, Quebec, Canada: 29June - 3July 2008

Chapais is Mathieu's hometown. He completed part of his education here and had his childhood here. It is a small town 8 hrs drives from Montreal. It is a town grown from mining and when the mining stopped, the town inevitable becomes quiet. Currently, it serves as a stop for the logging trucks between the Northen and Southern bigger city.
This place is so far-north-in-the-middle-of-no-way that, it gets really cold winter and even no maple trees can survive such a harsh weather. We see only small leaves trees, such as pine trees.



A small town near to Lac St Jean. (On the way to Chapais.)



One of the lake at Chapais.
When we were there, a waste dam used during the mining time was broken and some waste water polluted the lakes near by.



The place is pretty much wild that, there are quite many outdoor activities to do, such as, camping. Years ago, the people here can just roam around the wild and "choose" a piece of land to be registered with the government for rental and built their own camping hut.
This one that we went belong to Mathieu's father's friend.



Mathieu and his brother went fishing in a weather like that.
I didn't like this idea at all (i mean fishing), but i went with them.
Then i so called used my "mind power" and dowsing and whatever i can manage, to prevent them for getting the fish.
It ended up that, they got only two "victims" for the whole trip, at that so called best fishing spot.
But they released a few small fishes as well.
They said, never to go fishing with me again.



Cooking becomes a tricky thing when it rains!
So a small "tent" was setup so that we could cook the meal.
i feel the camping was "real" when we had to cook with lake water (no tap water).



Due to the rain, the lake areas were flooded.
So during the return trip, the truck had to cross almost 10 inches deep of water.



Before the White people came, the land around Chapais is occupied by the First Nation (like Malaysian, bumiputra or orang Asli).
The government bought or took over the land, built the First Nation a village called "reserve", so now most of them stay in the typical Canadian kind of house.
There was a "display" or musuem kind of facilities showing what a First Nation's house used to be.
There are still tensions between the First Nation and the other Canadian.
Some First Nation think they were driven out from their land and marginized, while other common Canadian think, no tax if the first nation is living in the reserve and no limit for the first nation to catch fish (eventhough they are living a modern life now) ... are kind of unfair.
Well, it is just a complicated issue.

Niagara Falls and Kingstons, Ontario, Canada

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada: 2-3 September 2008




i never imagine Niagara Falls will be a place look like Las Vega or playground.
In my mind, it should be a place like Taman Negara or National Park.
To our surprise, around the Falls, the town is just look like a big playground, with things like: hunted house, different theme of wax musuems, casiono ...



At night time, spot lights are "shot" on the falls. (The greenish thing at the left side of picture.)
One of the building at the right is a Casino while the other one is some kind of viewing tower.



The fall at the left is called American Fall (at the American side) while the one at the right is called Horse Shoe Falls.
Horse Shoe Fall forms the misty clouds at its "curve" and it is the famous "Maid of the Mist".
In fact, i was a bit dissapointed because the falls are not as huge as i imagined.



Across the Rainbow Bridge is the American side.



In the boat heading to the "Maid of the Mist".
A close encounter with the American Falls.
Most of the people wore the blue raincoat which came with the boat ticket, but we prefered to get the showers from the falls.
This is where is got my engagement ring as well, right on the boat, in front of the falls.



The American Falls.



The boat drove right to the middle of "Maid of the Mist" and everyone took a real shower from the falls.



Horseshoe Fall, which forms the Maid of the Mist.
Beside from boat for you to get near to the fall, there are trips to walk behind of this fall as well.



Seeing the speeding water "falls" down.
The sound and the height and the speed of water gave a very powerful imprint in my memory.





The nearby small town, Niagara-on-the-lake (it is beside of one of the America 5 big lakes, Ontario Lake).
In contrast with the Las Vega liked Niagara Falls, this small town is touristic yet peaceful.
We feel almost like in Europe.



Niagara-on-the-lake is famous with its ice wine, thanks to its weather and soil.
There are many fruits farms and vineyard along the way to the town.
But the grapes to make wine don't taste good to just eat like that.



i do not remember what river is that, but the opposite side of the river belongs to the America.
At this point, i think i realised that, Canada and America do share a very long border!
There are many rivers or lakes or parks which are shared by both.
i haven't really get the "feel" of this in Montreal.


Rockpoint Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada: 3-5 September 2008



Erie Lake, one of the big 5 America Lakes.
We had 2 days camping at Rockpoint Provincial Park.
We arrived from Niagara Falls to there at 9pm. Basically we just drove around the wood in the darkness, trying to find our campsite.



One of the interesting of Rockpoint Provincial Park is the fossil by the lake.
The lake is so big that one would think it is the sea.


Kingston. Ontario, Canada: 7 September 2008




The beautiful and historical town hall.
Kingston is a small town by the lake (or river, couldn't really remember now), between the big city, Toronto and Montreal.
Many of the old buildings are made from limestone.



The Sunday market.
There are some street performance as well.



There is a large prison in Kingstone (i suspect that is due to the limestone produced by Kingston, the material to build the prison.)
So, there is an interesting small prison museum.
Things display in the museum, including the weapons and equipment created by the inmates using very basic material, such as tooth brush, fork ... , for the purpose of escape or "self protection".

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: 31 July - 2 Aug 2008

Flags-all-around-capital

Some Montrealers that i have met said, Ottawa is boring. Yeah, maybe in compare to the colorful and cultural Montreal, Ottawa is just a boring government city.
In fact, i don't see more than 30 of Malaysian flags at downtown Kuala Lumpur or Singaporean flags near Singapore downtown as well, but it is just bizzarre or drive you crazy to see so many maple left flags around because all the major government offices are just near to the parliment hills, downtown. With all the flags, you can't forget that you are at the place of federal government!
i guess, Ottawa "need" to be boring so that it looks exactly like a government place. :)
Well... i like here though. It is slow and kind of quiet as a city.



Byward Market is a colorful, bustling area where activity peaks on Saturday. Outdoor vendors, mostly farmers from West Quebec and the Ottawa Valley sell Vegetables, fruit and flowers.
You can find craft, meat, seafood, baked goods and cheese around too.



This old market building from the 1840s lends its name to the adjacent neighborhood.



National War Memorial.
Reminded me of the "unmoved" soldiers we saw at Taiwanese Jiang Jie Shi's memorial.
It seems like a pair of "not moving" solider is a kind of international "respect" to the deceased military personnel.



Rideau Canal.



The supreme court of Canada.
Completed in 1946 and is partially open to the public for visit.



Parliament Hill.
The Peace Tower at the Centre Block and the eternal flames right in front of the courtyard.
There are free guided tour to the internal building.



Downtown Ottawa from the Peace Tower.



The memorial inside of the Peace Tower.
A big books with people's name is inside of the coffin-liked structure.



Rideau Hall, where the Governor stays.



National Gallery, one of the finest in Canada.
i like the big spider.



The Canadian Civilization Museum at Gatineau.
It is right opposite to the parliment hill.



Fritzroy Provincial Park. It is just an hour drive from Ottawa.
We went for a day of camping.