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Adamson's Christmas Vacation

December 2016 - January 2017
A 40-day adventure by Debbie Read more
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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 41

    Mixed feelings

    January 24, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    We had a good flight from Prague to Dubai. They had to de-ice the wings before we left. None of us slept as it was only a 6 hour flight. We were a bit late landing, so it was a quick marathon walk to our next flight. As it turned out we made it with time to spare. I was upgraded to business class, but refused it and asked for my original seat. I didn't want to be separated from my family. About 2hrs into the flight when I was trying to find a comfortable position I did think I was mad. Kellie and Brodie slept most of the way and Dave and I managed some sleep. We watched a lightning storm just after we took off and then saw a colourful sunrise. We arrived back in Adelaide about 9pm. It seemed strange walking outside and feeling the humidity. I think we were all bracing for that cold slap in the face that we have had for 5 weeks. We are driving straight home as it is easier than doing it the next day. A midnight stop at Port Wakefield for some aussie roadhouse food.
    We are all feeling a bit sad our holiday has come to an end, but are all looking for a few home comforts.

    Photo 1 - Sunrise from the plane
    Photo 2 - Dave's steak sandwich
    Photo 3 - Jeremy and aussie food    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 39

    Farewell Prague Farewell Europe

    January 22, 2017 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☀️ -1 °C

    Well we managed to fit everything into our bags. Whether it gets home in one piece that's a different story. We caught a taxi out to the airport as we have light clothes on. When we got out of the taxi at the airport it was a very quick walk without thermals on. All checked in and had some lunch. Now just waiting to board the plane. I will miss seeing the snow covered fields and the white trees covered in ice. I'm not sure we are ready for the Australian summer, but it will be a relief to not put on 5 layers of clothes, 2 pairs of socks then winter boots. It's such an ordeal to venture out.

    Photo 1 - Bags packed
    Photo 2 - Our plane waiting for us.
    Photo 3 & 4 - Kids lunch, yes it come like that.    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 38

    More of them bones

    January 21, 2017 in Czech Republic ⋅ 🌙 -9 °C

    Up again this morning, went down for breakfast. This morning they had frankfurt soup with sausage, I presume it was leftovers from the day before. We enjoyed a bit of vegemite and toast.
    Today we went on a tour to Kutná Hora which was an hour drive from Prague. We were a little disappointed with the previous two tours so we decided to try a new company. We were lucky as there were only 9 of us on the tour. The main reason to go out to Kutná Hora was to see the bone church that we had heard so much about. It is a church and inside it is decorated with bones. It was a very strange feeling being in there knowing that there were 60,000 skeletons used in the church. The ironic thing is people travelled from all over Europe to die and be buried in this cemetery as it was thought to be holy grounds and they have ended up as a tourist attraction. After the church we visited other things around the town. Talking to the guide they don't usually get snow and it is the coldest winter they have had in 5 years. Today it wasn't as cold. She said yesterday was -14 so no wonder we felt it. We had lunch at local pub, the kids had a chicken schnitzel that was as big as the dinner plate. I had beef cheeks and Dave had potato and mushroom soup & creamy beef. Tatiana tells us that they don't eat many vegetables and they eat what we had for lunch for lunch and tea. A bit more of a walk around town before heading back to Prague. It was a lovely day with a lovely group of people, a good way to finish. We saw the sun setting on the way home.
    When we got back we walked along the river as it was such a nice evening. We had planned to go out for tea as it was our last night but as we had such a late lunch none of us felt like eating. Tonight we have the daunting task of packing everything into our bags.

    Photos 1, 2, 3 - Sedlec Ossuary (bone church)
    Photo 4 - My lunch, it doesn't look that good, but it was yummy.
    Photo 5 & 6 - Charles Bridge at night    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 37

    Somber Terezín

    January 20, 2017 in Czech Republic ⋅ 🌫 -3 °C

    We didn't get to bed until after 12.30am. Kellie has sorted out her university subjects, well at least we hope that it is right. Up at 7am and went down for breakfast. Today it was garlic soup! Could you imagine how gassy you would be eating that first thing in the morning? No apples and custard, it was cous cous mushy stuff and fried onion ???. We are a bit over foreign food now. I might take the Vegemite down tomorrow and have vegemite and toast.
    We left the apartment by 9am and headed into the old town. It felt a lot colder this morning perhaps because we are a bit tired. We went to take some pictures but the town had a haze over it and it was overcast. We walked over Charles Bridge and took some photos. It is the first time my fingers have felt frozen. I haven't been wearing gloves as it's too awkward to take pictures, as my vest pockets have kept them warm enough. I had to fish out my gloves as I couldn't get my hands warm. We have seen these pastry things wrapped around a cylinder and slowly cooked like on a rotisserie. We saw them at one of the German markets. So we decided we should have a taste. We each had a different filling, mine was mixed berries with whipped cream. It was yummy except too much cream. We were still freezing cold and the kids had seen a torture museum the day before. I had done some research and knew it wouldn't take long to go through. It was long enough to warm us up again. We needed to head back towards our hotel as we had a tour at 12.30pm and had to find a quick lunch on the run. Unlike Germany there are very few bakeries or cafe's to grab a bite to eat. Our last resort was Maccas, not bad the kids haven't had it for 5 weeks.
    Our tour today took us out to Terezín. It is about an hour's drive from Prague towards Germany. Terezín the town was built as a part of a fortress in 1780 by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire as protection against their Prussian neighbours and was used during WWII as a Jewish Ghetto where the Jews from the area were forced to live. Out there also was the Gestapo prison which also served as a deportation camp sending trains to death camps, if they made it. We also visited a museum which unfortunately we only had 20 minutes in and we wished we had longer as it was so interesting and engaging. Once again our tour guide commented on how it's not usually this cold, it is unusual for it to be in the minuses.
    We arrived back in Prague about 5.30pm, once again did a bit of shopping for tea. I don't think we will need Emirates to fly home, I think we have eaten enough chicken we will be able to fly home ourselves.

    Photo 1 - Frozen on the bridge
    Photo 2 - Trdelník
    Photo - 3, 4, 5, 6 Terezín Memorial    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 36

    Our first taste of Prague

    January 19, 2017 in Czech Republic ⋅ 🌫 -10 °C

    Well Dave and I fell asleep looking at the stars. Our bedroom has a slanted roof and a window above our bed. We woke up to a frosted window. Breakfast is included in our accommodation. A few different things for breakfast, like pea soup, apples and custard. We had arranged a walking tour for our first day to get our bearings. We were picked up at 9.30am and joined the English speaking group at 10am. It was -7°C and stayed that way all day, but the sun was shining. We had a look around the castle and then had a quick toilet stop and a time to grab a coffee to warm up a bit. Then we made our way down to the river for a boat cruise and there we could either have an icecream or a cake thing. The cake was gingerbread with jam in the middle then covered in chocolate. It didn't taste like gingerbread to us. I couldn't wait to get my coffee to wash it down, then when I got my coffee I needed the cake to get the coffee down. The coffee was like an expresso shot with a drop of milk. A bit more of a walk then we had lunch in a medieval themed restaurant. We had 2 courses of traditional Czech food, 3 choices of soup and 7 choices for the main meal. Luckily for the kids there was chicken noodle soup and roast chicken. We finished the tour about 4pm, we made our way back to our apartment, doing a bit of shopping for tea. We had a nice day sight seeing and we all like Prague so far. It's going to be a late night tonight as Kellie has to go online and work out her classes for uni.

    Photo 1 - View of Prague from the castle
    Photo 2 - Charles Bridge
    Photo 3 - Our morning tea
    Photo 4 - My lunch, roast pork with potato dumpling some other dumpling and saurkraut.
    Photo 5 - Medieval Restaurant
    Photo 6 - Astronomical clock    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 35

    Auf wiedersehen Deutschland

    January 18, 2017 in Czech Republic ⋅ 🌙 -8 °C

    Well we had to get up a bit earlier today as we needed to pack up. A quick walk to the bakery, it was a bit too dark to look for squirrels. Always seems daunting packing and tidying up, but we always get it done with time to spare. Today we caught a bus as this is the easiest way to get from Nürnberg to Prague. It's nearly a 4hr trip, we left at 11.15am. It was a double decker bus and we had reserved seat tickets. There was only one other person on the bus and would you believe directly across from us, and she had a cold. Grrr. The trip went reasonably quick, we had made our lunch for the trip. The scenery was either forests or vast fields of snow covered fields. It reminded me of our sandy paddocks. Instead of looking for squirrels it was deer, I found some. We arrived in Prague about 3pm, it was a bit scary, a completely different country and we haven't been here before. We found our hotel easily and we have an apartment. It is very nice and the kids have their own rooms, which I think is long overdue. Our next chore was to find a supermarket and shop. There is no way you can work out words as it is a very different language. Then we have the money, we withdrew 15,000 koruna's which is the equivalent to 555 euros or 786 australian dollars. Our groceries came to 526 korunas, I don't think I will get my head around the money. Well, we found some chicken for tea. The good thing over in Europe most places have a picture of a chook or a cow etc. I'm not sure how we ever survived without google translate. The buildings here are different from the other counties we have visited. They are uniformed and ornate, looking forward to seeing more of Prague. Luckily the hotel has a computer for Kellie to use as she is trying to sort out her Uni stuff, which is a bit mind boggling. Hopefully we will be able to sort it out. On the plus side we have a comfortable lounge first time since we have been away. So it should be a comfortable last few days.

    Photo 1 - Scenery from the bus
    Photo 2 - A few deer along the way
    Photo 3 & 4 - Prague
    Photo 5 - Czech money
    Photo 6 - Prague weather for the next few days.    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 34

    Doctor Doctor

    January 17, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ -2 °C

    Well once again we didn't get up until 8am. On our way to get breakfast we looked out for the squirrels. It didn't take long for Dave to spot one. On the way back there is one in a tree by our apartment. There ended up being about 5 playing around. We spent time trying to get a photo but they are so quick. A man in the park told us they are about a year old. We planned to go to Regensburg for the day but as we were about to leave we decided it might be best if Dave sees a doctor while we are still in Germany. He can't shake his chesty cough, and the rest of us are all well and truly over our colds. There are a quite a few doctors around us, he asked the chemist where to go and they pointed him in the right direction. A few hours later, a few pills, found out the best beer in Nuremberg and a really good gingerbread place, we are right to go. By now it's 12.30pm and too late to go to Regensburg. We decided to head into the old town for some lunch then back out to Nazi Party Rally Grounds. When we ventured out it was -3 and when we went to the bakery it was -8. We are now taking the cold weather in our stride. Finding a place for lunch usually takes a good hour. Eventually we always find one that we agree on. Today it was burgers, so that changed it up a bit. Dave is lucky, today he has red meat twice today in his burger and we have spag bol for tea. I must say I am getting used of a glass of white wine with lunch. In Italy it is offensive to have a fizzy drink with your lunch, so of course I didn't want to be offensive. Now the habit has kind of stuck. We went back out to the Zeppelinfeld, and walked around for a couple of hours. It's a strange feeling standing up where Hiltler did, a powerful feeling. Then at the same time what you are standing on, you are thinking how many people died during the construction. We walked back to the towards the museum and this time we walked across the frozen lake. In a part of it there were a few people ice skating. We had a early night, back at our apartment by 5.30pm. We move on tomorrow so we have that joyful task of packing up again.

    Photo 1- Nuremburg
    Photo 2 - Sorry another pic of a squirrel
    Photo 3 - Lunch
    Photo 4 - Zeppelinfeld now
    Photo 5 - A picture of Zeppelinfeld Nazi Rally
    Photo 6 - A picture of Zeppelinfeld Nazi Rally at night    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 33

    In and around Nuremberg

    January 16, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ -4 °C

    A late start again, we are not getting up until 8am. It is so hard to get up when it is still dark. We had a look around Nuremberg today. In most Geman towns there is the Alstadt (old town). Walking through the park this morning we saw a squirrel. I'm super excited about seeing a squirrel, a lady in the park said they are always around. People put nuts out for them. It's the same with the birds, there are always bird feeders around. I will be out bright and early looking for squirrels. We had a bit of blue sky and sun, but it felt colder. The weather is always changing and the rest of the day we had snow showers. I don't think I will ever get sick of walking while it's snowing. A coffee, walk around, and then lunch. We had Italian today- pizza and pasta. After lunch we headed out to Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds. It was very intetesting and a lot of information. We didn't finish there until 5pm so it got dark outside. There is so much more to see outside, so we wandered a bit. Then decided to walk to a subway station, we eventually got there. Did our usual tea shopping on the way home, back in our apartment before 7pm. Another good day, our time is going so quickly.

    Photo 1 - A church in the old town
    Photo 2 - The squirrel we saw this morning
    Photo 3 - Close up of a snowflake
    Photo 4 - A 40 metre section of railway track with 60,000 cards, each card has a persons name date of birth and where they died. Each card represents 100 more people. If there was a card for the 6 million people murdered it would be 4kms long.
    Photo 5 - Congress Hall
    Photo 6 - Walking to the subway, a frozen lake    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 32

    A day out in Bamberg

    January 15, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    Dave and I did our morning stroll across the park to the bakery. On the way home snow was falling on us and it was so peaceful and serene walking through the park. I just want to hang onto this memory. Serenity was soon to be broken, we arrived back to the apartment with our bedroom floor flooded. The shower is in our bedroom and is an open shower. The water decided not to drain away and Brodie didn't notice it until he had finished then had to get dressed before he could get Kellie to help him. We have a huge rug in our room so that was nicely soaking up the water. My bag was on the floor full of souvenirs, but they had shifted that to safety. Half an hour later every towel soaked, the rug dripping over the clothes horse we had breakfast, yes that memory will be lasting. We had to wash all the towels so we couldn't leave until they were finished. A very late start to the day. We headed off to Bamberg which is less than an hour away by train. It took about 15 minute walk to reach the old part of the town. It was well and truly lunch time by the time we got to the centre. We found a quaint place which we were seated out in a covered courtyard and had heaters. Another nice lunch and a relaxing hour. Kellie was stoked as the waiter made her a vodka fanta. Bamberg is famous for its breweries, so Dave sampled the local beer. After lunch we followed a tourist trail around the old town. All day the snow showers would come and go. The good thing about the snow is it doesn't stop you from walking you just keep going and enjoy it. The kids had snowball fights whenever they could. We caught the train back and we had to go to the train station's grocery store as ours is closed on Sundays. It's a small shop and is chokkers with people. We got back to our apartment a bit after 6pm. Eggs for tea as we had a decent lunch. We are all a bit weary today, so an early night.

    Photo 1 - Bamberg Town Hall
    Photo 2 - Kids having a snowball fight
    Photo 3 - Where we had lunch
    Photo 4, 5 & 6 - Around Bamberg    Read more

  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas Vacation
    Day 31

    Magical day in Germany

    January 14, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    After two nights of sleeping all in one room it is good to have our own space again. We didn't start to surface until 8am. It looked cold and miserable outside. Dave and I walked across the park to the bakery. On the way home it started to snow, we got very excited as it was heavier than we had seen before. After our German breakfast we planned to head out of town to Bamberg. We bought a travel pass, but we had to buy a seperate one for Kellie as she was over 18. It cost the same amount as the pass for the 3 of us. As we can use it again on Sunday we decided to go to Rothenburg. The Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shops are there and are not open on Sundays. The train out there wasn't for another hour and a half. Kellie & Dave worked out another way to get there. It was an enjoyable trip with 3 changes of trains, a lot easier without luggage. Brodie was excited as there was snow everywhere and it was getting thicker as we went on. We walked into the old walled town and by this time it was 1pm, time for lunch. It always takes a while for us to find somewhere to eat that ticks all our boxes. It started to snow again and it was just beautiful. We had a lovely lunch, pork schnitzel, which is like eating chicken. While we were eating lunch the snow got heavier. I can't put it into words how it felt sitting there eating lunch while it was snowing outside. 'Magical'. After lunch we had a look in the shops and we went into one of the six Käthe Wohlfahrt shops and wow it is beautiful. It would be like how I remember the Magic Cave as a kid. We bought a few more fragile things to get home as if we don't already have enough!. We hadn't eaten for an hour or so, we had a coffee and triedna traditional pastry ??? Translates into snowball. Bits of pastry formed into a ball and deep fried then sprinkled in icing sugar. There are different variations of it, but we stuck to the traditional one. The kids and Dave had a game of snow cricket in the town square, I was still in the shops. We started heading back to the train station and before we left the old town we decided to climb and walk the old town wall. We decided to keep walking and miss the next train. We eventually got back to the train station and had missed one by 10 minutes. The next one was at 6.10pm, a 50 minute wait. It was a cold wait. Our 3rd train we had to catch was delayed by an hour so we had to hop on another. It was a long trip home, picked up some pizzas from the supermarket at the railway station. Back at our apartment by 9pm. A long day but a good day.

    Photo 1 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
    Photo 2 - In the town square while it's snowing. Camera captures a big snowflake.
    Photo 3 - Snow shower at lunch
    Photo 4 - Afternoon coffee
    Photo 5 - A backyard, kids play area
    Photo 6 - View from the wall    Read more

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