Edinburgh

Well the Bank Holidays are over until August, but that hasn't stopped us from seeing yet more of what Europe has to offer. This time we headed north to Edinburgh. Our forward planning paid off with a cheap train ticket –in fact, I am writing this on the train on the way back to London. With the wonders of technology these days, there is even free Wi Fi on the train!!

Looking out the window the scenery would be beautiful –very green and glimpses of the sea every now and again. We have already passed through Newcastle and will stop next near York. However, it has been raining all day and is very grey and miserable out there. Probably a good thing we are not on a plane! The 5 hour trip is made much easier by the fact that we can log on to see if anyone has emailed us over the weekend....none of you have though and we are presuming that it is Queens B'Day weekend at home so you are al enjoying a day off.

Edinburgh is a pretty city and the castle definitely commands the most presence on the horizon –and so it should. Up on a hill it looks down over the city and so we took the mandatory stroll through its 300 year history. It's hard to believe that the courtyard out in front is the stage for the annual Edinburgh Tattoo –it looks much smaller in real life! Mat also enjoyed the contrast of some modern architecture in the Scottish Parliament buildings in the wet today.

Yesterday was a very different story - 20+ degrees and the Scots were out in force in the many parks. We wandered the shopping streets and had a drink in a pub recommended by one of Mat's Scottish bosses (nice call Paul!) and also joined the locals for some ice cream and some R&R in Prince's Park.

Although we didn't have to get up at the usual 5am for a weekend trip, 5.45am was still WAY too early so we had a cheap pub meal (not hard to do in the UK) and then took in the new Indiana Jones movie. It would have be fab to head to Murrayfield and watch some action from the final leg of the Rugby 7's, but the last game for the day was just after 6pm so we settled for a movie instead.

Probably the oddest thing of the whole weekend was coming out of the movies at 10pm and finding that the sky was still as blue as it was at midday! I am not too sure how many hours of darkness there usually are in a summer's day in Edinburgh, but I am guessing that there aren't many! It was quite weird!!!

We are looking forward to a more domestic June and don't have any European trips booked. We plan to head to England's south coast to soak up some sea air at some stage, so watch this space.

M&S

When Kiwis go to London they.....
Miss the birth of friends' babies (go Rhys & Kylie!)

The best meal we've had since our last update was.....
Since our last 'best meal' was only 6 days ago, we don't really have an update at this stage....

Underground countdown
Our total so far is 65/321 and new entries include:
Kings Cross

P.S. don't miss the Berlin blog further down the page. We don't have enough time between trips to keep up to date!

Berlin

May the 23rd marked our seven year anniversary and two years since I proposed. The last two years have been particularly busy and to make sure our eighth year together started off on the same foot we flew to Berlin on the 24th to continue our 'May month of travel'!

We flew out from London city airport which was reported to be a bit posh because all the smaller private planes fly out of there (we flew from there 'cos it was cheap). Alarm bells rang when we checked in on-line only to find ourselves in row 10, only halfway back down the plane.... We had visions of being required to pedal or flap.

We are getting quite good at all of this travel now though. We have organised ourselves into little bottle (less than 100ml) and we can squeeze enough into a bag big enough to carry on with us. Along with checking in online we are now streamlined to the point where we can turn up and walk on to the plane. The added advantage is that British Airways doesn't get the chance to lose your bag for you.

On top of our organisational skills we seem very good at picking good weather. Berlin was no exception. With a bank holiday in England we managed to escape some pretty average weather in London. Shorts and t'shirts for three days straight.

I was in Berlin a few weeks after Sam and I started going out. The re-building following the fall of the wall was well underway and very evident. It is a very different city now. With the exception of the odd building the city feels far more complete. It was interesting that the locals had embraced 'The Wall' a lot more. When I was there last it was difficult to find any evidence of it at all.

All this re-building means there is a long list of architectural highlights. In order to make sure this entry doesn't deteriorate into an architectural rant I will restrict it to just that; a long list (in order of appearance):

Hauptbahnhof station, TV tower, Altes Museum, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Holocaust Memorial, Potsdamer Platz, Hotel Adalon (where Micheal Jackson dangled his kid out the window), site of Hitler's bunker, New National Gallery, Government Buildings, Nordic Embassies, Kaiser Wilhelm Church (which was bombed in WW2 and has not been repaired) and The Jewish Museum. Phew!

All in all, the city was really nice. It was interesting to see that the city had found a new center of gravity in the Eastern side (cheaper rents!). The old western center felt a wee bit run down. We went on a walking tour which was really interesting. We didn't walk far but it's nice to be shown little spots you would never find otherwise – Hitler's bunker and the underground library for instance.

Our flight home was split into two and took what felt like an age. We seem to be making a habit of arriving home late at night only to get up again early and go to work. It's tough being an international jetsetter.

For now, that's all. Edinburgh next!

M&S

When Kiwis go to London they.....
Stand on the right, walk on the left.


The best meal we've had since our last update was.....
Dinner out in the Sony Center, Berlin.

Underground countdown
Our total so far is 64/321 and new entries include:
London City Airport