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Fiona Ferrar

Fiona Ferrar

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    • Europe with Trisha 2023

      Day 4 Nurnberg

      3. september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      We were up early and out the door by 8am. Took a tram, train then bus to Doku-Zentrum at which we were supposed to find the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. After walking around a bit we found it and followed some of the stations. The one thought I had was that it was all so HUGE. It appears that they started building this massive arena with huge paved roadway to it but never actually finalised or used it. The road was 60m wide and 1500m long, they didn’t finish the last 500m of the road. Since then there has been a lot of discussion about what it could be used for. We also saw the Zeppelin Grandstand and Zeppelin field. This was the scene for mass parades to assemble before the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. It was a surprise to be standing somewhere that Hitler had once stood.

      There was also some sort of photo shoot with race cars which seemed a bit odd there, but lanes were marked out for races so it must be a normal thing.

      It took us a couple of hours to walk around, and pictures will not do it justice. Then it was time for Trish to have her first beer here - before midday even! She had a sausage dish for lunch while I had a cheese salad. Her beer didn’t cost much more than my glass of tap water!

      Then it was a tram then train to Nuremberg Palace of Justice where the allies held trials against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries and atrocities against their citizens in WW2.. We visited the museum here and courtroom 600 where the actual trials were held. There was a very good simulated video of the actual trials and a lot of different information to be accessed through the auto cues. Interesting for me was that the Nuremberg principals were to be applied for any future genocide or where atrocities were perpetuated. The recent Ukranian war featured in here too. It did strike me that yesterday we were talking about 500 years of executions in the dungeons, and that the Nazi Germany period was just a small fraction of that time, but what has been remembered the most.

      After that we went back to the hotel for a wee rest. Then later went to walk a part of the old town we hadn’t been too with lots of lovely bridges and photo opportunities. We had a gelato and then back to the hotel for our dinner which we ate off the plastic top of the salad container and the empty grape container. We are still using the wooden forks that we got from Trisha’s drawer at home and used with oranges on our flight. We intend to visit Decathlon tomorrow and might find some proper utensils.

      So winning today is our ability to catch trams, trains and buses. Trisha is totally the expert in working that out.

      There are lots of dogs walking around here, most ignore each other but occasionally there is a bit of barking. When we were waiting for a tram, a child went up to a dog which had a bit of a go at the child. Didn’t look like it connected but everyone seemed to ignore it except the father and grandfather who laughed and told the child that he shouldn’t have gone over in the first place. Child was about 4 ish.

      20,458 steps and 24 degrees.      Les mer

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    • Europe with Trisha 2023

      Day 3 Nurnberg

      2. september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

      Both had wonderful sleeps and were ready to go at 8.30. We walked down to the square. There is a rather big hill between our hotel and the main train station and the old city area is in between. So good that we are close to it, but always have to walk that hill.

      Breakfast was an apricot, fig and nectarine from the market. The nectarine was divine! Trish had a coffee from the cart, which had long life milk, guess they didn’t have a fridge handy.

      Then it was off to the information centre which was very useful. We bought a train ticket, was 13 euros which is normally for 1 day, but will cover Sunday as well. Also it is a family ticket so will cover both of us for trains, trams and buses.

      Then we wandered around the old town for a while checking out a few shops, visiting a McD's for a pit stop and then had an awesome chicken salad and roast veges plate from a kebab shop.

      Then it was time to try out the trains. We got off one stop early to start with but easy to get back on the next train. Then caught a tram to very near our hotel. Off to the local supermarket for some fresh food. And then for a wee rest for a couple of hours. We have a mini bar fridge which we have emptied out to put salad stuff in.

      Then it was off to check out the castle which was great to walk around with stunning gardens and good views. The wall around was around 2m wide at the top. It took a while to walk around but we had to leave to get our tickets for the dungeon tour - ie we had to walk down the hill again, and the castle was up a big hill too. After getting the tickets we wandered around for a while and checked out a big church.

      The dungeon tour was pretty good. They were actively used for 500 years until the 1800s. One of the executioners had documented his life thoroughly in the 1500s which gave a good insight as to why people were incarcerated there, why they were tortured and the good dinner before they were executed.

      Then we waited a long time for a band to start at the top of the old city area. We initially had seats but the smoking drove us away. The band were pretty good and we stayed for a few songs.

      It was nice to prepare our own dinner at the hotel with some lovely fresh veges and bread.

      20,300 steps and about 24 degees. A shorts and t shirt day all day.      Les mer

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    • Europe with Trisha 2023

      Day 2 Frankfurt and Nurnberg

      1. september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      After quite a few hours sleep it was time to organise the chaos that was our room after just emptying everything out to find what we needed. That took us to about 10am. Nice shower in place with sideways jets so didn’t have to get hair wet.

      So then 2 hours walking around Frankfurt where it was a bit rainy but warm. Went to the mall, interesting that the designer roof had leaks which we noticed when going up the escalator. Went to supermarket bought 1 banana 1 nectarine 1 toothbrush plus toothpaste. Had pretzels for brekkie at Wiener Feinbaker Heberer. And then went back to the Kleinmarkethalle. Bought a few things there including saffron tea with chia seeds and mint. Tasted great at the stall, and first try this evening was pretty nice. Also discovered a really neat wee bookshop which had some fascinating titles. Bookshop was Buchhandlung Walther Konig. Trisha was sorry she didn’t have a big bag to fit some in.

      Then it was time to go back to get our bags and make our way to the train station. Thanks Google for taking through what seemed to be some dodgy streets with lots of strip clubs and dodgy men hanging around. When we got to the station it appeared that the parallel street looked much nicer! I’m pleased I didn’t choose accommodation near this station though, the reviews did not make it sound like a great place.

      We had lunch at the food market at the train station. Sat at a 4 person table as that’s all that was available, but gave it up for a group of 8 later when a 2 person table was available, those people were very appreciative. We both had a salad and I had some roast chicken to go with it, yummy.

      We thought we had our train sussed very early. Got on platform 7, spoke to a lady who said that train was out of service. We thought that might just change when it was time for ours to go. But luckily Trisha read another sign board and it had changed to platform 6. We got on all ok and had a nice 2.5 hours relaxing on the train.

      Arrived in Nuremberg and had decided to walk the 1.8 kms to our hotel. Hmm, didn’t notice the hills on the walk which took us through the old town which looks great, and we had a few rests on the way and finally got here around 7pm. Our hotel is wonderful. Nice separate sleeping areas and we are here for 4 nights so have unpacked everything.

      We couldn’t be bothered going out for tea so have snacked on what we have, did some washing and will be in bed early.      Les mer

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    • Europe with Trisha 2023

      Day 1 Flying and Frankfurt

      1. september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      After a leisurely start to the day with casual packing followed by a bit of panic and quick packing we were off. John drove us to Auckland airport and we were there at 3.30 for our flight leaving at 8.30. Maybe Trisha will be a good influence on me? Security was no issue except for Trisha leaving her money belt on and needing to be checked by Hayley who happened to be on duty.

      We had booked 2 aisle seats next to each other and it was great for us to have a spare seat each next to us for our first 17 hour flight. Unfortunately the girl 2 seats away was really sick, coughing and looking like death warmed up for all of the flight.

      Had 3 hours in Dubai, only enough time to get off plan go to the loo find some stuffed dates and then on plane for the next 6.5 hour flight. Both of us slept a bit on the plane and were feeling quite good and excited when we touched down in Europe - first time for Trisha.

      I had made a contact with a lady through a fb group called host a sister and arranged for her to meet us at the airport. She had mixed her days up so wasn’t there, but lived close and we had nowhere else to go so just waited for her. Golly that was such a great plan. Frankfurt airport has been undergoing alterations and my plan of knowing where to catch the train would not have worked well as we had to catch a shuttle bus first. We would have worked it out I’m sure but it was so much easier not having to.

      So we took a train into Frankfurt, found our accomodation which is in the city centre. Very basic with 2 beds in a room with shared shower toilets and laundry and a small lounge area. $110 for the night so was perfect.

      So dropped bags and put shorts on because we were both really hot. It was about 18 degrees but NZ has been a bit colder than that recently.

      We walked around the old town went through a market with yummy fruit and veges, cheese, meat etc. I bought 2 granidilla and was very excited to see them there. Unfortunately 1 wasn’t nice and the other had just the hint of the yummyness of the ones I had tried in South America. There was a bit of a loud drunken crowd in the old square and the police were there on horseback to monitor the situation. We just walked around the other way and by the time we got back they had dispersed.

      We went into many bakeries, and chocolate shops just enjoying the great sights and smells. I think both have ideas about what we can eat tomorrow. The last lunch on the plane was very substantial with a main meal as well as profiteroles, cheese and crackers, bread roll, and a quinoa salad. So we didnt think we needed to eat for a while. Walked over the bridge which was pretty cool and then we both hit the wall. I think we had done pretty well though. Had intended to do a walking tour tomorrow but Martina was probably better than that. She is a lovely lady who used to work at the airport and if people were stranded she would offer them a couch in her small apartment. So then went to a ALdi supermarket got some raspberries, blueberries and chocolate - priorities sorted! Then found a really nice salad type place for dinner.

      Then back to apartment where we crashed. Didn’t even manage to have a shower. So that was 8pm and I had hoped for a good sleep. Which I did have until 1am. Trisha woke up at 3am so I took iPad out to lounge to type this blog and hopefully will be able to go back for a bit more sleep now. I have been feeling ok, but still coughing a bit.      Les mer

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    • Fiona FerrarReisendeEurope 2019

      Home time - day 51

      2. juni 2019, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

      The hotel did really nice breakfasts each day – omelette and rice and fruit as well as toast if you wanted it. After breakfast we went back to the massage salon, and I had a leg massage for an hour – cost of $10, and it was great. Then had a last wee shop – Jody managed to find me a Shark silver pendant – a nice lunch, and then it was time for our driver to take us to the airport.
      I don’t think I will ever arrive at an airport again with a thin strappy dress and jandals – it was really hot even inside the terminal. I had more of a clear out of luggage while we were waiting to board, and managed to get within the baggage allowance.

      We had a brilliant flight home as Jody had the 4 centre seats to herself, and I had the 3 window seats. We had changed our seat selection shortly before the flight as we had noticed the spare seats. So that was very nice to have a bit of sleep.
      We arrived in Auckland around 4.20am. I bumped into a work colleague who I knew was arriving about the same time from South America. We were going to have a chat, but ended up waiting a long time for Jody’s bag to turn up. We really thought it wasn’t going to, but nek minit there it was. So it was time for us to say goodbye after 51 amazing days away with someone I didn’t really know that well before we left. I can’t quite say the same now! Jody went off to domestic for her flight to New Plymouth while I caught a bus to the Manukau terminal – which was way flasher than last time I did this – and then a direct bus to Hamilton where Christine and my boys were waiting for me.
      Looking forward to the next holiday already!      Les mer

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    • Fiona FerrarReisendeEurope 2019
      Bags full up
      Now trying to re-pack at airport

      Bali - day 50

      31. mai 2019, Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      It might nearly be time to go home. We had thought that today we might go and visit one of the other beaches, but our enthusiasm waned. We had a swim in the hotel pool first and talked to some of the many Australians that were staying there. Then went out for a walk around the block looking at shops. I picked up my red light leather bag which I am very happy with. We also bought a bag for Polly who was checking them out on messenger video. Then the packing started. On the way to dinner we stopped in at a massage salon and I had the most amazing shoulder and neck massage - $8.50 for 45 minutes. We had dinner in a more up market hotel and it was rather nice.Les mer

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    • Fiona FerrarReisendeEurope 2019

      Bali - day 49

      30. mai 2019, Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Slack morning today and we got to breakfast just before 10 and then had a swim and a shower. Then caught a taxi to the galleria and went shopping. Before shopping, we roughly packed our bags to work out what weight we had to deal with and checked out the additional baggage allowance for Emirates. Yikes it is $115 for an extra 5kgs, so I don’t think I will be doing that. I love a pair of trousers I had bought at UNIQLO and have been searching for another pair – Bali you were the winner and I now have a navy pair. Jody has more weight left in her bag, so might have bought a couple of things. She also started thinking about different bag options as her current large bag has a big rip and needs replacing and we saw some amazing Thule bags that were not cheap at all but very tempting. I was interested in the double zip concept for all of these new bags – so you can’t insert a pen into the zip and open them easily like you can with older bags but my trusty pack is going to last a bit longer. Jody also decided (for now) that she didn’t need a new bag from here, but you never know as we are still here for 2 more days.

      By the time we caught a taxi back, got changed and got to the beach it was around 3.30, and the lunch place was closed. Never mind, our helpful people went searching and soon came back with a plate of Nasi Goering again which is very tasty. We also had a plate of fruit and some drinks delivered before having a swim in the sea. I really enjoyed the big waves, swimming between the flags with lifeguards on duty, and knowing Jody was on shore waiting for me to return. Between the big waves the sea was quite calm, so I would have been easy to see if I was in difficulty. We left the beach just before sunset and had another rest before dinner. Going back to work is going to be very very hard without all these wee rests! Our time is currently 4 hours behind NZ time, so getting up at 9am is like 1pm NZ time. We could be making the time change easier for ourselves by getting up early, but that doesn’t seem that easy to do! Oh well, at least Monday is a holiday.      Les mer

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    • Fiona FerrarReisendeEurope 2019

      Bali - day 48

      29. mai 2019, Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      We were up early, nice breakfast at the hotel which is called Fourteen Roses Beach Hotel. We have separate rooms and breakfast is included for $50 per night. It also has a lovely pool which we have been using a bit, nice to cool off before bed. Our driver – Warren - picked us up at 8am, and we were off on our big day. First stop was a silver factory. It was fascinating watching them make individual pieces by hand. Such steady hands and good eyesight. Apparently ,they work from 7 to 7 with a break for lunch. I think it would be heard to concentrate that hard for that long. Then we went into the shop which was really huge. We must have spent at least an hour trying to see all of the different stands full of jewellery and may have bought some. Most of the pendants were about $20 to $30 and when we had just seen the work that went into creating them, they were extremely cheap.

      Then we went to a temple which was interesting, but not that much to see. The next stop was the butterfly house which was amazing. There were loads of different colours flying all around and settling on leaves close to us. I could have watched them for hours. They also had an enclosure for big moths – I think called Atlas moths. They have a life cycle of 5 days, and have no mouths so basically hatch out of their crysallis, procreate and then die. There were guides in the enclosure who would put as many moths on you as you wanted, and they just stayed there until they were moved again. Apparently, they fly around at night.

      Then back into the van again to our next stop which was a waterfall. It was quite a lot of steps down and up, and it was pretty hot. They had cool baskets that we posed in for pics, and it was fun watching the people at the bottom of the waterfall posing for pics. At the entrance there were lots of shops, and all of them were advertising their toilets. I bought a roasted corn cob from there which was rather tasty. Then Warren took us to a restaurant by a rice paddy field for lunch which was very nice. There was a breeze coming in the open window which cooled us nicely.

      Then we went to another temple which had a purification ritual which many people were doing. They put on a special sarong, entered a pool of water, and dunked their heads under the flowing taps. There were maybe 15 taps along one side, and people moved along the taps, dunking at each one. Warren was surprised that we hadn’t done this ritual – apparently many people go to that temple just for that reason. Our next journey was to the rice paddy terraces. By this time it was getting later, and the terraces looked pretty steep so we just took some pics from the car. The road we were driving down is apparently 10kms long and looked amazing for shopping. It was probably a very good thing that we had stayed in the car. Then it was a 1.5 hour drive back to our hotel. I was pretty sick of driving through Bali by then – it is not a quick exercise!

      We got back around 6pm and had a wee rest before dinner. We went to a place which had a lady boy show which was very entertaining. The first guy that was targeted really didn’t cope very well and left the entire restaurant while muttering under his breath. Some of the other guys were very good sports, and as there were only around 20 people in the restaurant some of them were targeted more than once. I was pulled up to have a dance with one of them which was fine, but I missed out on the entertainment of Jody being up there as I went to the loo. It sounded like it would have been a good thing to have videoed! So back at the hotel we had a swim in the pool until 10, and then went to bed. The pool was pretty cool, but outside was maybe 25 degrees so nice to cool off.      Les mer

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    • Fiona FerrarReisendeEurope 2019

      Bali - day 47

      28. mai 2019, Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      I took ages to go to sleep, but eventually slept quite well. Woke up at 9am and had a light breakfast at the hotel before we went out exploring. We found a sim card for Jody, and a few other interesting shops. I wasn’t expecting the leather shops – lovely soft leather bags. I have ordered a leather cover for my red-light mat which should be ready on Friday, that will remind me of this trip. We also found a really nice jewellery shop and I will have to get a decent jewellery box when I get home to ensure that I start wearing some. I bought a light dress and top for here as it is pretty hot, around 29 degrees. Around midday we went back to the hotel, changed into our togs and headed for the beach which is maybe 500m away. Jody has been to Bali a few times and has a particular part of the beach that she goes to. I didn’t quite understand why but do now. Annie and Sammie have charge of a small section and remembered Jody and her other friends who have been here. We got some lounge chairs close to the beach, and they brought us drinks, Nasi Goering for lunch and we both had a foot massage and our toenails painted. Oh, and the water was lovely and warm for a swim as well. The chairs were under an umbrella, so it was a perfect place to read books and people watch for the afternoon. It cost $5 for the chair, $2.50 for my watermelon juice, $2.50 for the food, $5 for the foot massage and $5 for the nail painting. So, $20 was very cheap for all of that! Also had clean water at the foot of the chair to wash our hands and feet after being in the sea.

      The sun has been setting really late for us over the last few weeks, so a 6pm sunset was a bit of a surprise. It was very pretty watching it though. Then we went back to the hotel, showered, changed and went out to a Mexican place for dinner. On the way I saw a lady with a python. She said it was friendly, so I stroked it, and ended up having it draped around me. It was a cool experience and its skin was really soft. The lady said the snake had shed its skin only a couple of hours before. I did give her 50 cents as a donation which was well worth it – something I never thought I would have done. Our dinner was nice, and we both had a cocktail.

      First impressions of Bali – hot, lots of people, seems pretty busy with lots of people trying to sell things, but everything is really cheap. Just as well our bags are full full full! The beach is lovely, I am not one to sit on a beach doing nothing but reading a book under an umbrella with an occasional swim is a different experience, and something we will be doing on more days. Tomorrow we have hired a driver for the day for $45, and he will take us around some of the sights. Should be a fun day!

      Nice to have got up to date with this blog. We both have sim cards now for Bali – just as well as the wifi at this hotel is pretty crappy, you think we would have got used to that by now.      Les mer

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