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September - December 2017
A 111-day adventure by NZtoWherever Read more
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  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 9

    National Museum of China

    September 12, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Late start and we were off to Tiananmen Square to see the National Museum of China. Huge building and free if you bring your passport. Some English writing and quite interesting exhibits.

    Checked out an exhibition on the history of Chinese currency - lots of cool old coins. China was also one of the first countries to have paper currencies. Also looked at a beautiful exhibition on Buddhist figurines; some really nice Chinese paintings and pottery.

    There was a very big exhibit on Ancient China which had a lot of information, but presented well. Such an interesting and vast history. Lots of guides keeping watch on people too.

    The Ancient China exhibit took us through to about 1840 and then it was upstairs to the Road to Rejuvenation. An ... interesting exhibit, focusing on 1840 (opium wars) and onwards (revolution and a communist country).

    Far less English in this one so we didn't learn as much but very interesting. My knowledge of recent Chinese history is patchy but I think there was some famine etc. there - no mention in English in the museum though. Even just the change in writing style between exhibits was intriguing. It went from 3rd person, objective facts to 1st person, adjective filled, emotive language. Still, there's two sides to every story so won't judge. And now intrigued enough to find out more.

    After the museum, a walk back to a mall, and ate at an "Italian" place for about 9 bucks. Radi had pasta (decent for $2.50) and I had something like a pizza but with rice instead of the pizza base. And taro milk tea. Surprisingly good.

    Did some shopping then grabbed some more baked goods for dinner and back to hotel. Oh by the way all the locations for these posts are probably off as Google doesn't work properly - but should be fine from next stop (Frankfurt) onwards.    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 10

    Parting with Peking Duck

    September 13, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Our final full day in Beijing, spent mostly being lazy and getting ourselves sorted for Frankfurt. Changed some money over at a bank. An interesting process involving passport and about 40min - but no commission and a good rate so that's good...

    Couldn't leave Beijing without trying the famous local specialty (Peking Duck). Hotel restaurant was closed so followed directions to a nearby restaurant - no idea of the name but the Mandarin characters looked similar to what the concierge wrote. Glad we did. Was delicious!

    Crispy roast duck with shallot and cucumber strips, delicious barbecue-like sauce and duck soup. The nice waitress showed us how to make little wraps from the thin tortilla-like things and was so good. Would definitely recommend.

    Cheap too - about $23 for a half duck between the two of us. Definitely worth the hype!    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 11

    Frankfurt

    September 14, 2017 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    An early (but not early enough) start meant we were a tad late to the airport and almost missed our flight. Made it on time thanks to a lot of running and the kindness of strangers letting us cut multiple lines.

    Then a 9 hour flight with Lufthansa - seats made for tall people (yay), more leg room due to being at the front of the section (yay), and actually decent food (more yay).

    Frankfurt is nice so far, much cooler and fresh air and a breeze. Like home. Rained soon after so even more like home. Anyway caught the train into Frankfurt and found our Airbnb near the river. Cute little place, but no washing machine (oops - our bad). So first mission was to wash our accumulated clothes.

    Had a lovely stroll through cobblestone streets past little shops and restaurants. Enjoying it so far. Kebab for dinner. Then an early night - it's 3am in Beijing so we're due for a sleep in. Will post more later.    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 12

    Markets, Brezels and Meandering

    September 15, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Walked around Frankfurt today and it was lovely. Ate good food, looked at shops, stumbled through German conversations, and generally had fun.

    Had lots of brezel. Delicious. Really wishing we could find a good brezel back home now. Suggestions welcome. Currywurst was also good. As was Bratwurst. Saw a few markets including the Kleinmarkthalle - very pretty.

    Found a board game place (typical us). The owner spoke perfect English and was super helpful. Was going to buy a game for travelling called Teubseeabenteuer (Deep sea adventure), but at the checkout saw these cute and tiny games so got 3 (they were cheap as) and take up less space than a pack of cards together. Will let you know how they go.

    Saw the really nice mall building the Zeil. Crazy glass design and longest elevator in Europe which we'll have to try. Also had ice cream rolls - they pour cream and the flavourings onto an open air freezer thing and chop it all up, spread it out flat then roll it up. It's kinda like watching someone make a crepe but different. And tastes good too.

    Got phone sorted so if you want our Europe number let us know. Ordering in some Italian for dinner so hopefully it arrives soon. Ciao!    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 14

    Merry Frankfurt

    September 17, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Had brunch at Oosten, overlooking the river. Was nice, if a bit chilly. Then sauntered through town. Almost everything closed in the morning with few people around. But then come lunchtime, a good amount of people, more sun and lots of food places open.

    Found a Christmas shop. Very cool and just what we were looking for. They also had these horizontal windmill type things where the candles below cause enough warm air to turn the fan. Very beautiful. So we bought one and will hopefully send it home or have it survive somehow.

    Then did some more walking (post to follow).    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 14

    Römerberg

    September 17, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Walked around and saw the beautiful Römerberg and Rathaus. The Rathaus was stunning, we're not exactly experts on architecture, but you didn't need to be to appreciate how beautiful it was. The more you looked at it, the more you realised how much artistry they had put into it. Very cool.

    Nice to have a day that was warm enough to wander around in our tshirts too. Also accidentally stumbled onto a dodgy street in our wanderings, a bit creepy, but also entertaining. Made sure to leave it pretty quickly.    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 15

    Edinburgh

    September 18, 2017 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    It was time to say auf wiedersehen to Frankfurt. Arrived at the airport early, tried out the Luxx lounge. Was good. No meals but enough snacks including good bread and frankfurters (of course).

    A quick two hour flight to Edinburgh and breezed through immigration etc. Then we took the tram to our Airbnb. Easy to find - go to York Place, then hang a left past Albany St and Forth St. All Dunedin streets we've flatted on! Liking Edinburgh already. Feels familiar at least.

    The place looks great (Irn Bru left as a welcome present, haven't had one in so long!). Anyway time to head out for some food and a wander.    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 15

    Stumbling upon Diagon Alley

    September 18, 2017 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Wandered around for a bit. Had a nice meal and a good and cheap half pint (NZD $4). Strolled through Edinburgh old and new towns. Beautiful buildings. All so similar, looks great.

    Was very confused because (after 4 days trying to get my ear into German) I kept hearing German everywhere. Any time I could hear someone having a conversation, I could swear it was German. The Scottish accents only exacerbated the effect. Very weird. And didn't help that when I finally started to shake off the effects I slowly realised that we were actually surrounded often by Germans. Lots of tourists. Irony.

    Anyway, stumbled upon Victoria Street, which was JK Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Alley. Found a cool shop selling Harry Potter gear and bought a really nice print.    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 16

    Arthur's Seat

    September 19, 2017 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Headed up to Arthur's Seat today. Walked through cute little lanes, and a beautiful park to reach the base.

    Arthur's Seat is an extinct volcano that's basically been left untouched (which is very cool). It's often been mentioned as the possible location of Camelot - hence the name.

    It was a steep climb at times, but fun to try and scramble up the rocks. There were some tracks, but otherwise you could just walk wherever - no signs or rangers telling you to be safe, just common sense. Quite nice in a way. Only had to backtrack once going down (would've been fine going up that part). Views were definitely worth the climb. Made sure to check out the ruins of St Anthony's chapel on the way up too.

    So a decent walk up and down, and the weather was ideal for it too. Then wandered on trying to find food. Settled on cheap sandwiches to eat at home. And some delicious local shortbread from Pinnies & Poppyseeds too.

    Checked out Joy and Lloyd's old place here too, and grabbed some dinner from Edinburgh's first Indian restaurant (yum).

    Tomorrow to the castle and museum!    Read more

  • NZtoWhereverAdventure Time
    Day 17

    Edinburgh Castle

    September 20, 2017 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Went to the castle today. It was cool. Got audioguides, they were nice but a bit slow. Managed to serendipitously get our timing right and got to see an actress portray Colonel Anne Macintosh (which was very well done and Radi even got roped into some audience participation), and caught the gun firing at 1pm. Checked out the National War Museum which was very interesting. Dragoon museum was nice but pretty cramped.

    Finally had some haggis (good) and fish and chips (good). Bought some fudge and a Christmas ornament. Tried going to Knights Vault but closed. Hopefully tomorrow.

    Oh we also voted (cost us 90p for the printing).    Read more

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