A Christmas cruise

An unusual alignment of the planets meant that most of our increasingly growing family were going to in-laws rather than descending on Canberra for the festivities. This meant we were free to do our own thing. Helen quickly decided that facing only me at Christmas dinner was not an option and that we should grab the opportunity for a cold Christmas and experience Northern Hemisphere Christmas Markets.

After a quick 30 hour or so flight we found ourselves in Nuremberg, Germany. Our hotel was a 5 minute walk from one of the largest Christmas markets in the world. All of which is within the walls of a beautiful city with some complex history.

The markets have everything for sale from beautifully colourful vegetables and fruit

to table lights and candles

and back-lit houses. Although it was cold the snow was limited to a backdrop sheet…

The variety was enormous. Ever seen a pencil being made by hand? Here is the Staedtler shop.

Everywhere the nostrils were treated to a range of mouth watering smells of which roasted chestnuts, gingerbread and the numerous Gluhwein stalls could not be resisted. Our pick of the Gluhwein stalls was this one with a warming glow. 

Pretty warming on the inside as well (and we now have some souvenir Nuremberg mugs).

Apart from eating (and you have to keep your energy levels up in such a cold climate) we did give our mind a workout as there is so much heritage. Albrecht Durer (1471 – 1528) was one of the few artists in the world who made a decent living from his profession. His house is now a small museum.

His self portraits were unusual for the period not least of all because of their Christ like qualities. There were a range of these in various formats including this enlarged print of his head. His income however initially came from illustrating books and printing presses.

Back outside the market lights were warming. The steps of the church in the background was a stage for various choirs that gave a great background atmosphere as we weaved our way through the alleys formed by some 200 stalls. 

The river frontage also had similarly attractive and enticing lighting.

The old city is bounded by a huge wall and gates which have been carefully refurbished following the destruction during WWII. The permanent lighting here is not so warming but is evocative.

This clock tower had a huge sculpture at its base entitled “Marriage Merry-Go- Round fountain”. Unusually it had contrasting white and black marble. Some of the sculptures were a little disturbing and close ups were not considered appropriate for this blog!

The top gate has a labyrinth like series of walls and buildings which were beautifully lit up.

After a couple of nights (planned to help overcome jet lag) we boarded the River Princess for a cruise to Budapest.  The cold evenings precipitated a bit of fog so the blue lights on the ship were a good beacon.  

Inside was definitely ship shape!

Outside is an interesting story. We were moored on the Main-Danube canal which enables barges to travel from Rotterdam on the North Sea all the way to Sulina on the Black Sea. The canal is 171 kms but results in a total distance between the North and Black Seas of 3500 kms. By comparison going by sea around Gibraltar is over 7300 kms.

The canal has some 16 locks with rises of up to 25 metres and tops out at 406 metres which is the highest of any commercial waterway in the world. The locks are huge and at 190 m long and 12 m wide somewhat dwarf our more familiar English locks of 70 ft by 7 ft!

Unlike the UK system which are largely operated by the boat's crew these locks are operated remotely by a couple of people in each of four locations. Big brother is definitely watching! Here is a map.

Some of the double length barges, once they leave a lock, take quite a bit of time to get up to speed so patience is required.

Our ship had external controls either side of the wheelhouse so you can see how close you are to the lock walls. The captain took one side while I took the other…..

The gates range from the conventional two doors to single flat gates that rise up so that you can sail under. Their drops are quite imposing especially when you think of the amount of water that is backed up behind the upper lock door.

Engineering marvels were not limited to the locks. Near Essing we went under this ludicrously profiled bridge. At 189 metres it is the longest timber bridge in Europe and has a 73 metre central span. Needless to say it is only for foot traffic.

We docked for 24 hours at Regensburg – right next to Villa Park. (For those not in the know this name is normally associated with Aston Villa’s football stadium in Birmingham.)

The town is where the canal meets the Danube. The river here runs at a staggering speed. I suspect the paddle steamer tugboat Ruthof / Érsekcsanád must have had some fun negotiating the river but is now a permanent mooring housing a nautical museum.

It makes a great foreground to the cathedral.

Regensburg was one of the few towns in Germany that did not suffer major damage in the war. Its Roman heritage is still apparent in several locations. The stone blocks used in the wall and gates were huge and would have needed Roman ingenuity (which is where the term engineer comes from!) to transport them to site as well as during construction.

The 12th C bridge was undergoing refurbishment when we visited. It remains a bit of a mystery how the piers were built in such fast flowing waters given the equipment that was available at the time.

The cathedral really does dominate the skyline.

Refurbishment of the North end of the bridge is complete and the result is particularly attractive as well as being safer.

Back in town we participated in a walking tour. The town has some wonderful Baroque architecture built in wealthy times. Fortunately, it also went through some very poor times and this meant there was not money to demolish and rebuild buildings so the original architecture largely remains in tact. The town has over 1500 heritage listed buildings.

A couple of interesting points were the standard measure of length next to the town hall in the merchant part of the city. The three vertical rods are the foot, yard (centre of the body to the fingertips) and fathom (distance spanned by outstretched arms). 

There is even a little lucky mouse that you can touch and it will ensure you return to the city!

We spent Christmas Eve here and attended an evening mass at the cathedral which was packed for the occasion. The choir did the right thing by walking through the crowd and presenting a couple of hymns amongst those of us at the rear before weaving their way to the front.

Wonderful voices, resounding organ and colourful well lit cathedral. Just a shame it was so ….. cold!!

The Great Ocean Road

After the Ghan we had almost a day to explore Adelaide before starting out on a road trip to Canberra. Adelaide is a great little city and we started with a tram trip to the beach for an evening meal. (We deliberately opted not to photograph the sunset!). Warm sunny weather greeted us as we wondered along the jetty and beachfront adorned with numerous sculptures.

Our hotel location was poorly planned as we were only a block away from the shopping centre – Rundle Mall. It is a very attractive stroll if you can resist the shops; only 50% of our team passed this test……

Some of the sculptures are quite amusing and great fun for children.

We collected a large SUV and headed off on our trip shortly after lunch. En-route we came across a new Buddhist temple (Nan Hai Pu Tuo) that was under construction. Planning for this largely Chinese audience started in 2009 with the Buddha constructed in 2015. There were many more imported materials still crated up ready for erection but it appears that construction is being undertaken as and when funds are available rather than any strict timetable. Its location rather guarantees it will be an awesome site once completed. The Buddha was a good start by attracting passing and paying visitors.

Our first major point of call was Kangaroo island which is a ¾ hour trip on a small ferry; well relative to the cross channel ones! 

The weather was glorious – and basking in the sun on deck was the order of the day.

Kangaroo island is quite large and we had a B&B at Parndana in the centre so we could easily explore the island. On the recommendation of our B&B host we headed for Stokes Bay (the centre North side of the island). Here was an unremarkable beach with a sign pointing through a narrow gap in some boulders to “the beach”.

It was an extraordinary path which would fire up any childs imagination of a smugglers cove. If you look closely you will see what could be a convict squeezing through.

Eventually the scramble led to a beautiful beach which we thought we had on our own. That was until two young newly weds appeared – the privacy of the place suggested the reason for their visit but I had that assumption completely wrong. They were actually there to put a drone through its paces. Whatever happened to romance?

Our visitors were keen to see wildlife and on our trip up to the restaurant for the evening we saw kangaroo and wallabies. Mum and junior looked relaxed.

However, in the adjoining paddock two rivals were sorting out the Alpha male role while the female was quite happy to let them get on with it – nothing was going to disturb her evening meal.

The restaurant was a wine and tapas bar in the middle of nowhere but with great food and wine

as well as a spectacular view. On our way back to the B&B we had an emergency stop to let a Koala cross the road and slowly clamber up a nearby tree. This was a first for all of us and Robin promptly hopped out of the car and took numerous photographs. Unfortunately all were of the tree (well it was dark…..) 

After a sumptuous breakfast we headed off to the South West of the island – Cape Du Couedic. The half hour or so trip was interrupted by two emergency stops as Wallabies lept out of the bush just as we were approaching. The second got away with a bruised tail and fortunately only a light brush to the car.

The headland’s beauty hides the reality of this being quite a ships grave yard despite the lighthouse.

In order to preserve the habitat a long winding walkway provides an easy (albeit winding) access down to a large seal colony. 

They were everywhere largely basking in the sun.

Near the bottom was “Admirals Arch” through which was a safe, picturesque pool where the youngsters could develop their swimming skills. (You will need to zoom in to see them.)

A little further round the headland was a cottage for the light keepers. This was remote and relied on supplies by a monthly boat.

Climbing up the steep cliffs was eventually overcome thanks to a flying fox – not that there is much of the equipment to be seen today but the walls are impressive.

Our trip back for the afternoon ferry also included a fourth emergency stop – this time for an Achidna. Near to the harbour we saw an unusually large school (?) of Pelicans and Black Swans. We realised that this is an area where feeding occurs at 17:00 each day hence the gathering. There were also quite a few empty penguin boxes. Presumably the occupants were either all at sea or had moved on.

The return ferry included a truck with some 600 sheep aboard. I am not sure how you get to travel first class in the top deck but the lowest (4^th) deck was presumably cattle class.

Back on the mainland we had a 450 kms journey. One mandatory stop was at Coonalpyn where some grain silos have become a major attraction. The mural’s artist was Guido van Helten and entitled “Hope for the Future”. It comprises paintings of some of the local primary school children. 

At 30 metres high they are impressive. It has also breathed new life into the township as many want to view the unusual artwork and stop for coffee or lunch.

After quite a long day we arrived at Coonawarra. For those not in the know this is a famous wine region of Australia. Our accommodation was suitably named Merlot. The adjoining accommodation was a pale yellow Verdhello.

The following day we set off to explore a few of the vineyards. One which caught my attention was Brands Lair as this is a wine we often purchase. The original owner (Brand) has passed away but his legacy is a wonderful cellar where you can have lunch. The variety of bottles (which are for ambiance and history and not drinking) was huge. An attractive idea.

There are many vineyards stretching for kilometres in the area but as we left to travel South we entered a quite different agricultural scene as vines turned into timber plantations. This area appears to have a sustainable business as there were trees of all sizes in huge blocks. The sustainability was underscored when we hit the coast at Portland. Here chips were being delivered, stockpiled and loaded onto a ship.

The unloading of trucks really caught our attention. There were three bays (with queues to get in) where trucks and their trailers were emptied by tipping them up to about 60 degrees. It almost defies gravity and certainly handbrakes. The trucks drive onto the bay, a barrier at the rear comes down and the trucks are then backed up to the barrier which stops the truck from slding back. A 10 minute turnaround – so pretty efficient and a lot of chip!

This is a pretty part of the coast with a serious mix of industry and wildlife. A few kms away on the headland (having first weaved our way around a large aluminiun smelter works) we were treated to a large Gannet colony.

Our overnight stop was Warnambool. This was real surprise as I had no idea of the extent of extinct volcanoes in the area. As the water table is quite high some have become the water supply for the city.

In town there is plenty of evidence of this porous limestone country with numerous sink holes. This one in the centre has become an excuse for a lovely garden.

While a larger version as you head out of town has a different (more moist) climate at the bottom to that at ground level.

This day's trip was a short one up to Port Campbell where we explored the Great Ocean Road. Every few kilometres there is a stop to view a different land form. This is “London Bridge” which is one of the more recent collapses. It fell down in January 1990 which would have been quite a shock to those visiting and stuck on the newly formed island. Fortunately a helicopter was able to lift them off so no lives lost.

There are numerous other views some of which follow.

Razorback.

Bay of islands

And of course there were a few arches….

And another…..

And another…….

Not sure what this is called but cruet springs to mind.

We left the Great Ocean Road and headed for Canberra with an overnight at sister Leslie’s house where a great evening was had with  catch up with the Melbourne mob. The trip to Canberra was broken with an overnight at Rutherglen and a few more vineyard visits. The balcony was a great way to sample some of our purchases.

Once in Canberra Pam and Robin had a quick overnight and then headed for home. A busy but great trip with many first time experiences despite us having lived in Australia for some 35 years.