Much Hadham

After being stuck in doors last weekend due to the snow we decided to get out and about this weekend.  We drove to a little village called Much Hadham and did a 2.5hr walking loop around the outskirts of the village.  It was lovely as there was still snow in many of the fields.  It was tough going as the snow had begun to melt leaving the grass rather muddy and boggy.  At times the walking path lead us right up to people's houses which I found a bit weird.  After our walk we popped into the local pub for a late ploughman's lunch before heading home.  It is nice to escape the city occasionally, even though in doing so we inevitably get caught in trafiic!

Love the Dogs

See how cheap the burger is!

Last weekend we took part in an English institution - Greyhound Racing.  It was as I had thought it would be - tacky with loads of people smoking and betting. We got a mega cheap deal - £8 for entrance and a  burger and pint x2. I had wondered if the burgers were cheap because they were made from the dogs that came last in the races.  Nath and I dabbled in some betting and on one race won £15.70 (the biggest win of the night from our group) by choosing the first two dogs.  We ended up even at the end of the night. Bit of a mission getting home from Wimbledon as there were train delays, which meant we were waiting 20 minutes for a train, and getting worried we would miss the last tube north. All-in-all a good night out as it was something different, but probably won't do it again.

Scott dressed like a burglar for the trip home

Christmas Roady 2012

We had the most epic road trip over Christmas and New Years.  As usual we traveled with Anna and Borrie (who are nearly as cool as us) and it was good times.  We always seem to want to do the same things, and most importantly, when I am ready for a beer stop Anna is too.  It is going to be hard to write about everything we did as we fitted so much into our 19 days.  You can see from the map above that we covered a lot of kilometers.  All-in-all a summary of the trip would be:

19 days
2 flights
3400km covered by driving
5 countries
9 cities

I have decided just to give one or two highlights for each country we visited as it would take far to long to record everything we saw and did.
Germany - I loved the Christmas markets that were everywhere, but I thought Koblenz had the best ones. It seemed each corner we turned there was another market set up.  They had lovely decorations but I didn't buy any as they were the first markets we visited.  I guess you want to wait and see what other markets in other cities have to offer.   Also, driving along the Rhine river with Castles dotted all about the place has to be another highlight.


Czech Republic - We found an awesome restaurant that was in an underground cellar. They cook their meat BBQ style and we got the biggest, best tasting, and cheapest steaks I think I've ever had.  It was so good we went back a second time.  The boys wanted to do a tour of Eggenberg Brewery. With a little help from tourist information we found the brewery down a little lane that opened up into an empty, deserted (except for a bus of Asian tourists), run down looking place.  It was us four plus one American who wasn't overly obnoxious but was still a bit annoying.  While hanging around the entrance a homeless looking man approached us asking if we were there for the tour.  He told us where to buy tickets and after we had done so he said he was our guide!! The tour through the brewery was eerie - it was dark and empty, no workers around as it was the weekend.  As a result we got to taste beer straight from the tanks.  Best tour ever.  We also got shown where there was a secret tunnel running underground from the brewery to the Nunnery, and also to the Castle. So Royalty and Nuns have been enjoying this beer since 1560.  At the conclusion of the tour we were enjoying our free pints in the bar when we invited our American tourist to have a beer with us.  Turns out he used to be Mayor of his town and we got into a good discussion about American gun laws, as this guy owns 25 guns! While finishing our pint our tour guide returned giving us each a book he has written on the Haunted Houses of Cesky Krumlov.  It turns out this man works at the city archives in the Castle.  Not bad for someone I thought was homeless! Never judge a book by it's cover.

Not my photo - 'borrowed' from internet

Hungary - Eating really nice goulash soup when it is freezing cold outside cannot be beaten! While in Budapest we had our first day of snow.  This day we planned to visit the thermal pools.  Once in our swim wear we discovered we had to walk outside across the cold ground to get to the pool.  The locals were wrapped up in towels and wore jandals.  Not us Kiwis. No towel or bath robe for us, just bikini's and bare feet in the snow.  Once in the pool it was amazing - we were so warm and there was steam rising up, then we could see the snow falling and settling around the pool. A very surreal experience that I don't think I will ever experience again.  I also found the Terror Museum really interesting.  It was used to house prisoners during the Communist era.  I learnt a lot about Hungary's history through this museum and also from the city walking tour we did.  It has been occupied by Nazi's and Communists and has had land taken from all sides. A very sad past but hopefully a bright future.

Danube river cruise - Parliament Building

Slovenia - The Christmas lights in the main square of Ljubljana were amazing. They had planets and shooting stars coming from all over, and plenty of trees covered in lights.  I also enjoyed all the bars and restaurants along the river. We were in Ljubljana over Christmas and we were worried that town would be closed and there would be nowhere to have Christmas dinner.  However, the bars and restaurants were very vibrant with lots of families out and about on Christmas day. 

Austria - Nath and I took Anna and Borrie to a beer monastery that we stumbled across when we first came to Salzburg in 2010.  Our first visit was in summer so we sat out in the beer garden.  This time everyone was indoors, in huge beer halls.  It was de ja vu, but not, all at the same time.  Very confusing! I think I even had the exact same meal. 

2010

2012

I also really enjoyed the Sound of Music tour, with its cheap bubbles you could buy on the bus, and the sing-a-longs we had to partake in. This did not make Nathan's highlights reel. Skiing in Innsbruck was awesome and a real highlight for both Nathan and I.  Each morning we walked to the local bus depot where you board a free bus to the ski field of your choice.  Innsbruck has 11 ski fields near by so we skied 3 different fields in 3 days.  I'm still not convinced it is worth lugging my ski boots around Europe for 19 days to only use them for 3 days.  Lastly, a group highlight was Neuschwanstein castle. We drove from Salzburg to fairly near Munich to see this castle, to then have to drive to Innsbruck that evening. So it was a real detour but worth taking the time for.  The Castle was amazing, with incredible views of snowy mountains out one side, and grassy fields and a lake looking in the other direction. The Disney castle is said to be based off Neuschwanstein castle.

Whew, so that's it. Needless to say when I returned to work I was exhausted and in need of a relaxing holiday.   

Cardiff Weekend

Nath and I traveled to Cardiff where we had a fun weekend in the Welsh capital.  After checking in to our BandB we walked straight to Cardiff Castle, stopping to look at Millennium Stadium along the way.  It's central location within the city is very impressive and yet it is still easy to get too.  Would be awesome to watch the All Blacks play there one day.
The Castle was OK by Castle standards.  Not overly impressive, but not totally drab either.  We spent a couple of hours exploring, climbing up the tower, checking out the castle apartments and walking the fortress walls.

After that we met up with Laura, Boz and Anna to take a bus to Cardiff Bay.  This area wasn't too great. There was a habour with some franchise cafes and restaurants.  Our biggest disappointment was not being able to find a pub with sky TV so that we could watch the All Blacks game against Italy.
We headed back to our BandB in order to get ready for Emma's 30th party - the reason we were in Cardiff in the first place! At the party we caught up with Liz and Tim (who we last saw at Oktoberfest) and they announced they were pregnant.  Had a fun time dancing to 90's music at a club before heading to bed.

After a sturdy Welsh Breakfast Nath and I headed back to London.  We figured we wanted to spend an afternoon at home after being away for the previous two weekends.