Greenwich

Greenwich, UK

Our time in Greenwich was spent with family and meeting our new 2 week old granddaughter.  Most of our time was focused around the new baby and catching up on domestic duties.  We did however venture out of the house for a couple of adventures around Greenwich.

After 5 days in Greenwich we transfer to our friends in Barnes which is only a hop step and a jump to Heathrow for 2 days before our flight home.  We will also return our hire car which will be a relief. The hire car did work well for our travelling around London and Manchester but didn't come without a few stressful moments!  How did we travel before without a GPS??!!

Grandma duties

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Market

The Cutty Sark

A kid's slippery dip set up for the school holidays

The entrance to the walking tunnel under the Thames

The Thames

Inside the shopping centre at the Canary Wharf

Manchester, UK

Manchester, England

We arrived into Manchester around 10pm  after our drive up from Heathrow.  The traffic was heavy and there were some extended patches of extensive roadworks happening.  The traffic flowed at a quick pace with no real delays on the way other than having to slow to 80kms where the roadworks were happening.  The M6 is being upgraded to a "smart" motorway and should be complete by 2019.  Not sure what this means but I assume it will make it easier to check your speed electronically and issue fines and also a means of easier communication to motorists regarding traffic delays etc.

Our dinner was waiting for us which was appreciated and after a couple of hours of "catching up" we headed for our beds as it was now after 1am!  

 Our second day saw a slow start to the day.  We went on a short drive to Lymm where we strolled along the Canal with all it's riverboats then into the town and the bakery for lunch.  A beautiful typically English country village.  After lunch we headed for a walk around the lake before going home to rest up before our booking at a top notch Indian restaurant in Manchester city.  We are staying at Salford Quays which is a short drive from the city and where the Trafford Stadium and Media City is located.  The area reminds me a bit of Darling Harbour.

Not sure what our second day will bring but you'll find out in a later edition.

Not long now and we will be home.... not that I am counting the days BUT I am looking forward to cuddles from some little people!!

We had a slow start to our second day in Manchester after a late night of playing cards and Taboo!  Just kids at heart!  It was raining when we woke but gradually the day cleared to sunshine and blue skies.  We spent the afternoon looking around the award winning Bury Markets before heading home to play more games!

Tomorrow we drive to Surrey for a family luncheon then onto Greenwich where we will stay for 5 nights.

The Canal boats in Lymm

Ancient rocks left from a glacier

A walk around the lake

Nice reflections 

The view from the apartment at Salford Quays

Bury Market

Bergen, Norway

Bergen, Norway 

Our first day in Bergen we woke to the same rain that we went to bed with!  Overcast and drizzly... a bit colder than what we have been experiencing.

I purchased a 48 hour Bergen Card before we left home which gives you free entry into most museums or at least a discount and free travel on public transport including the light rail to the airport.  This worked well for us.

We had 3 days in Bergen to explore and take in the local atmosphere.  The weather was not cold but we experienced all weather from rain, cloud and sunshine.  Our last day was exceptional with blue skies and sunshine and it was hot... mid 20's!  The rest of our time in Bergen saw mainly rain and grey skies.

We put off going up in the funicular to when the sun was shining and thankfully we were rewarded with an amazing view from the top over Bergen.   I think everyone else had the same idea as the line was very long but moved quickly but still probably took a good hour!  Once up the top the view was spectacular!! There were some goats which were getting a lot of attention (not from me!) and there are a number of bush walks that you could follow.  We rewarded ourself with a local pastry and a cleansing ale and a nice cold wine! 

We usually took our time in the morning... leaving home around 11ish and coming  home around 6ish.  We ate all evening meals at home and on the last night we purchased some seafood from the market... a king crab leg (that was ONE for $45! and fed me) a half a kilo of prawns (@ $50/k) and a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio to enjoy in the comfort of our home!  And we did!!

We visited a few museums, used the public buses and trams which were easy and ate the local fare.... all in all a very enjoyable three days!

On our last day we trundled our cases over the cobblestones down hill to the Metro station to go to the airport.  This trip was free with our Bergen card and took 44 minutes.  As our flight was not till 1.35pm we had plenty of time to take our time!

Unfortunately our flight with British Airways was delayed by an hour and then we were held in a holding pattern over Heathrow for 15 minutes so that delayed our arrival time which delayed our hire car pickup which meant that we would be driving to Manchester in peak time!

We used a hire car company called Green Motion that we were a bit unsure about but they upgraded us to a Mercedes AMG so they must be good!!  Problem is you need a 2 week course to learn what all the controls do!!  Thankfully most things seem to be automatic even the head lights!  It is a very comfortable car and one that I could get used to again!!

Our drive to Manchester went well after we eventually got out of the hire car car park and headed in to right direction after going the wrong way on the very first turn!!  All good after that and the trip took about three and a half hours.  A long day especially as we also lost an hour with the time difference.

Our visit to Manchester is to catch up with family so we are looking forward to that!

Walking around the streets of Bergen

The Central Train Station

The main park... just as it started to rain again!

The pedestrian shopping mall

Walking home

The Old Bergen Museum garden

The Old Bergen Museum... an open air museum... a reminder of what Bergen used to be like 150 years ago.

Hakon's Hall.... built between 1247 and 1261.  Was the largest and most imposing building of the Royal residency in the 13th century.

After the explosion in the port and fire that destroyed it.

Rosenkrantz Tower.... built in the 1560s by the Governor, Erik Rosenkrantz as a residence and fortified tower

St Mary's Church... the oldest existing church in Bergen... probably built between 1130 and 1170

The zig zag street

Walking in the old cobbled section

The funicular railway

The view rom the top of the funicular 

Bryggen... a world heritage site

The monument to sailors

The Fish Market

Bergen Airport 

Hurtigruten Day 12

Hurtigruten Day 12

Today is the last day of our Hurtigruten cruise on the MS Polarlys.  We had to set the alarm to wake at 8am as we had to have our cases out by 9am and have breakfast and be out of our cabins by 10am!

I woke just before the alarm after a restless night.  We were up and packed with cases out on time then everything else done and vacated our cabin by the required time.

The Expedition team had a recap of our adventure complete with photos.  The one thing I won't miss is the translation into 3 or 4 languages.

Breakfast and lunch is provided today as we don't arrive into Bergen till 2.30pm.  By then all the cabins will be ready for the next cruise which  leaves at 8pm tonight.  Until then you sit on any chair you can find and overload on the internet and scenery.... seats inside were at a premium because it was raining outside!

My thoughts on our experience of our Hurtigruten cruise will follow in a separate post.

We arrived into Bergen at 2.30pm and were off the ship by 3.30pm.  After collecting our luggage we were straight into a taxi to head to our accommodation.  The original plan was to walk but it was raining which was probably a blessing as there was a big hill!  Unfortunately the taxi driver had no idea where he was going even when he googled it!  The area where we are staying is not accessible by car so the closer the better when dragging cases.

We found our Air BnB and settled in nicely.  A lot bigger than our last cabin!  First trip to the supermarket to stock up on essentials but unfortunately no wine!  Luckily we have other supplies....

After unloading our goods we walked to the harbour and beyond as the rain had cleared.  We stopped off at the tourist office to collect our prepaid Bergen Cards then headed back up the hill to home.  Thankfully everything is relatively easy to walk to and our Bergen card includes most modes of transport but none available to get us home!

Another late night planning what to do and see the next day with our Card and just enjoying the freedom we now have.

Our journey up and back completed

Passing under a floating bridge

Walking to our accommodation 

Nice and roomy with everything we needed

The local church which was handy to get bearings when walking home

Walking through the fish market

The sky was clearing.... Bryggen

Walking through the old buildings

The Central rail station 

The main pedestrian shopping street

Almost home and raining again! It actually poured and we were quite wet!