2014 Scandinavia and UK

Not so long ago we had 24 Ghostriders in Europe, now after the end of our Scandinavia and UK rides, there are only two of us left. On Tuesday Paul, Rick and I caught the train from Sunderland to London. Since it was near the end of our trip we decided to lash out and upgrade to a first class ticket. At least that guaranteed us nice comfortable seats and a cup of tea and biscuits along the way. Unfortunately it did not ensure quietness as there was a lady in the carriage who seemed determined to share her entire life story with everyone else in the carriage. This epic (but incredibly boring) epic lasted virtually the entire 4 hour journey to London. It would have been bad enough if she had been blessed with a nice speaking voice, but to make matters even worse, she must have had Minnie Mouse as her voice teacher. For the first hour or so I thought I was the only one who was being annoyed by her non stop babble, but it became evident that she was an embarrassment to the locals as well. On our arrival in London quite a few raised eyebrows and timid smiles clearly indicated that there were many others who also wished our talkative companion could have travelled on another train.

Paul and I bade farewell to Rick and then made our way by taxi to our hotel near Hyde Park. I had stayed in this area before and remembered it as a lovely region of stately homes in easy walking distance to Hyde and Kensington Parks and with two Metro Stations close at hand. The first glimpse of the Hyde Park Hotel was certainly quite impressive. With its lovely white exterior and polished brass name plate I thought they we would be in for a first class experience that belied its budget price. When the receptionist directed us to the basement my hopes started to evaporate, and when we were shown to our diminutive room I was once again reminded of the old adage that you get what you pay for. Fortunately the sheets were clean and the TV worked. So what if you had to come outside in the hallway if you wanted enough room to blow your nose ?

Paul and I spent the remainder of the day wandering Hyde Park and marvelling at the row of impressive embassies along the park border. The one that was easily the most imposing was the Russian Embassy. I guess that is where Putin stays when he wants a holiday in the UK. Even the poverty stricken tiny nation of Nepal had an impressive mansion as its London home leaving me wondering why on earth such a little nation needed such a big presence here.

The following morning in London dawned bright and clear and Paul and I decided to walk through Hyde Park to James’ Park and see what the Queen was doing in her big palace. We arrived just in time for the changing of the guard and were entertained by the rows of brightly uniformed soldiers marching and then standing still (but mostly standing still). It looked like half of Europe had also turned up to watch the spectacle so we did not stay long and continued our walk to Westminster Abbey and the Thames. That is where I left to have a look at Winston Churchill’s underground war headquarters. This is certainly worth a visit for anyone interested in the Second World War and Churchill in particular.
I spent some time examining the hundreds of exhibits, including an example of the famous German Enigma Encoding machine. One of the exhibits was a vintage typewriter and I was bemused to see a row of curious children lined up to see how this amazing piece of technology actually worked. They could not wait to type away and see the letters immediately appear on the paper ! Perhaps technology has turned the full circle after all.

Back outside in the air again I could see that the crowds were building everywhere around London. I guess this is the peak of the tourist season after all and made me appreciate all the more, the time we had spent on the quiet back roads of Finland, Sweden and The UK. Roads where we never saw another person and we could just enjoy the peace and quiet. I guess I will never be just another passenger on a tourist bus being whizzed around on the “all of Europe in 8 days” bus tour. I was very glad to escape the crowds and make my way back to the peace and quiet of the Hyde Park gardens. I took the time to talk to a few of the friendly grey squirrels that were happily playing under the trees, before walking back to the confines of my cell at the hotel.

It was a nice feeling knowing that, after all the complex arrangements for our series of European ride, in the final analysis, all had actually gone according to plan. No one had been injured, we managed to find our way to our hotel each night and everyone had become a little fitter due to the daily exertion. I will be able to return to Australia with yet another store of wonderful memories and even more convinced of the value of touring by bicycle.

Next year we will be back in Europe to complete rides in Italy and France. It is already evident that we will actually be taking two groups to France because of the number of applicants. It is still not too late to be a part of these trips but you will need to move quickly.

Unfortunately the images from this part of the trip have been lost.Okumaya devam et