The Train Ride "Home"

Travel From Franz Josef to Christchurch
Saturday, August 20, 2011

Today my Haka Tour ended and I had to start saying goodbye to the group. I also experienced my first 2 real earthquakes.....but not to worry, I'm fine.

Our day seemed to start slowly (I wonder why?).......but we were on a schedule so we did get moving. We were making our way from Franz Josef to Christchurch via Greymouth, where we were catching a train. Before Greymouth we made a few stops.

Lake Mapourika. On this beautifully clear day the reflection on the water is almost flawless.

Even through the trees you can see the amazing reflections.

From Lake Mapourika we made a stop in Hokitika to check out a Jade factory. I actually didn't buy anything (not sure why) but there were a lot of very nice pieces to browse through.

The main traffic circle in Hokitika. I do believe the clock says 1000.....better get moving.

Upon our arrival in Greymouth we got our luggage dropped off at the train station and then made our way to find some food. That turned out to be slightly harder than expected due to it being Saturday afternoon (you would think the bakeries would want to be open with all the tourists coming in and out of town but what do I know?)

Does this sign seem a little dramatic to you? I guess you just really get the point. I think it's funny.

The train arriving.

With the arrival of the train it was time to say good-bye to a few people. Evan, Nikki and Verve were going to continue on and travel a bit more of New Zealand. The rest of us (Louise, Eilidh, Burto, Barb, Jenn, Katie, Maggie and Myself) were off on a 4 hour scenic train ride back to Christchurch.

The trip took us through Arthur's Pass. A really beautiful and relaxing trip.

A glimpse of some of the scenery we watched pass us by through the windows. There was also commentary throughout the trip. The man telling was stories was quite funny. He liked to use his wife and daughter to illustrate points. It was very entertaining.

We all found different ways to entertain ourselves, from playing cards (like Burto) to sleeping (of course I took a nap), to reading, to watching movies and even sorting pictures from our trip. Pretty quiet trip.

The sunset. Quite beautiful.

Eventually we made it to Christchurch and back to Haka Lodge. Jenn, Katie, Eilidh, Louise and I quickly settle back into the apartment before joining the others and heading to dinner. At about 1930 (7:30pm....while we were mostly re-packing bags), the apartment began to shake as we experienced a 4.0 earthquake. Pretty crazy. Only lasted about 30 seconds and was not that strong but since I'd never really experienced one before, it was pretty cool.

The group then headed out to what would be our last dinner together. The next morning most of us would be heading out, at many different times and in many different directions. Some of the group was heading home while some of us would just be heading out on more travels.

Overall, it was a pretty amazing 16 days.....even with the snow in. If you ever make it to New Zealand, and need a quick tour I totally recommend Haka Tours. Check them out if you have chance.

http://www.hakatours.com/

In the morning I would be hopping back on a bus and heading to Queenstown. Still 5 more days in the country but this time I would get to spend them in the same place.

Oh and at about 1:00am, I was woken up by a 3.8 earthquake. Didn't keep me awake for long but certainly felt it.

Julie

Another Sunday......errrr, Monday Outing

Adelaide River, Australia
Monday, January 3, 2011

It is the last day of the holiday season for most people here.....which means Deb and Scott both have to go back to work tomorrow (yes I do too but I also had to work last week when they didn't). We decided that we would take a short drive down the road to a little place call Adelaide River. They have a small hotel there that is said to have some great burgers and a few World War II historical sights.

The sign at the old train station that would welcome people to town. They say this little train station (now part of the museum) is the last remaining one of it's kind in Australia.

We headed out around 1130 to make the hour long drive.....stopping to pick up Tommi and then headed down the highway. We arrived just in time for lunch and had a few burgers....which were good, but certainly not the best I've ever had. But unlike at lot of things here in the Northern Territory, there were reasonably priced and a great value for your dollar.

From there we headed over to the Historic Railway Precinct which is home to a Railway Museum. Of course the museum is not just about the railway but more about the whole history of the area. The railway played a big role in transporting people and cattle and even a hospital to the area and to and from Adelaide River over the years.

One of the buildings and one of the remaining rail cars on the site. Construction on the rail line started in 1886 and the first service between Darwin and Adelaide River commenced in July 1888. The train ran this route until 1976.

This is a wheel lathe. For a moment I couldn't tell you much about it except that it was big and old and now made it's home here at the museum. But then I Googled it and found this great Newsletter. Probably dated from 1888 it weighs 9 tonnes. It was only moved to it's current location in 2005. Anyway, check out the newsletter from 2006. Have I ever mentioned before that I love Google. http://www.atr.org.au/specials/nt_all_aboardapr06.pdf

Maybe this is what we need for the toilet seat.

The W stands for Whistle. This sign served as a reminder to the train conductors that a road crossing was ahead and they needed to sound the train whistle as a warning.

No the dog is not a part of the museum, but he does belong to the couple who look after the place. They are a source of endless information about the history in the area. The dog was very cute and friendly so I had to take a picture of him.

The old tracks that the train would have travelled down. No longer in use, this stretch of tracks is at the 77 mile mark of the 125 mile Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway.

An old crossing.......and some very new storm clouds in the background.

An old cattle car. Not just used to transport livestock, these cars were also used to transport soldiers to and from the area. The boys would be forced to sleep and sit on their (and sometimes their neighbours) duffel bags for the trip since cattle cars obviously contained no seats. The caretaker of the museum claims this is where the saying "sit on your duff" comes from. You might be interested to know that these same cattle cars were used as moving hospitals to transport patients and staff around the area.

Adelaide River. We had to stop because Deb has been told you can almost always spot a croc lazing around in the water. On this day however, the water was moving far too fast so this lone fisher lady was all we saw.

It was then a nice drive back to Darwin. I took a nap (I love that Scott always drives). There are a lot more things in Adelaide River to see. Not sure if I will make it back down there but if you ever drive through, stop for a burger and check out some history.

Julie

I Seem to be Missing something on This Road Trip....Oh Right, My Car

Baltimore, Maryland

July 11th and 12th, 2009

So I think I can say that for the first time since moving to NYC, this weekend I missed my car. I am starting to get antsy again which means I need to jump in my car and head off to some other city. And it is ball season so it is easy to guess that I would be heading to that city to watch the Blue Jays. Of course my car is not with me so I had to find a different way.

Oh there she is. Remember this....the day I took her home. Can't believe it has been 3 years (see the very first post on this blog EVER for confirmation). Oh I miss her but we will be reunited, if only for a week at the end of August.

I guess I should start with that I decided late Friday afternoon that I wanted to head to Baltimore Saturday morning to catch a couple Jays/Orioles games. Of course normally I would have just jumped in my car and made the drive but now I can't. I looked into renting a car but it turns out that if you want to rent a car in Manhattan on the weekend, you need to do it before Friday night.

So my only choice was to hit the rails......that's Amtrak. Ok I could have taken the bus but can you really see me on a bus? Plus, I learned to enjoy train travel while in Europe but I must say it is not nearly as affordable here in the US as it is over there. And it doesn't seem as fun. Maybe it's just because I am not in Europe and I had to look out at New Jersey and then Delaware and then Pennsylvania before I found myself back in the friendly confines of Maryland (did I really just say that?).

Anyways, so after a nap on the train, I made it back to Baltimore and back to Oriole Park and was instantly reminded of a few things that I had forgotten......but shouldn't have because things don't ever really change.

The first being the humidity. Yeah, it is humid in New York but that isn't Maryland humidity. It was suppose to rain too (which it actually didn't until like midnight) which didn't help anything. I know I keep complaining but the humidity is killing me again this summer. I am really not sure how you people live here.

Ahhhh Baltimore. How I've.......missed you?

The second thing.....Baltimore guys. They never change and they never go away. I get comments for guys on the streets here in New York (and other places) but there is just something about the guys in B-more....that make me very happy I don't live there anymore.

The third thing...the homeless. Of course there are homeless in NYC but they don't seem to be as visible as they are in Baltimore. And I assure they are not as forward as they are in Baltimore. Panhandlers in NYC will never approach you and ask for money. They will just sit around and shake their cups and hope people will contribute. In Baltimore, one after another, they will walk right up to you and ask for money. They kept my wallet empty of spare change all weekend long.

Anyway, I think we all know I love Oriole Park. It really is a nice little ballpark and the tickets are so cheap (especially now that I am paying Yankee prices). The seats I paid $55 per game to sit in in Baltimore would have cost me more like $1000-1250 each in New York. And we know I like to sit close and call balls and strikes. I certainly did not have a problem doing that this weekend.

Upon arrival in Baltimore my two goals were to find tickets to Saturday and Sunday's games and find a hotel. Of course tickets were easy (always lots of good seat available) but finding a hotel that was good enough to host me for a night (I'm still a princess....you know I like my 5 stars) was......ok it was still easy but of course it was expensive. Sometimes I just wish I didn't care.

Anyone else find it ironic that my hotel room view was of the hospital I use to work at? Yeah, that is Johns Hopkins Hospital. The memories...or nightmares......I guess probably both.

Timing seemed to be the theme of my weekend. It just seemed like I was running into people at the right time. The first was this guy named Coswelll (yeah, that is an old school name....that's like my parents picked cotton old school). I totally ignored him the first time he said "Hey Beautiful" but the second time he wouldn't let me. It turned out good in the end. He happened to be a manager of a section of the concessions so yes I did get free beer all game long.

My view for Saturday's game. That's Marco Scuturo up to bat. I now have a baseball autographed by Marco. Fun story, so I'm leaving the hotel to head to the game on Sunday when this guy stops and starts talking to me, asking me if I am from T.O and stuff (imagine this is all with a Puerto Rican accent please). He starts telling me how he works for the players, is an agent and stuff like that. I figure he's lying to me. Turns out he wasn't. He is Alex Rios' agent and friends with a lot of the guys so he got me a ball and I got to talk to Raul Chavez (the Jay's back-up catcher) and I got a couple autographs. Fun, I know. Once again timing. If I had left the hotel a little earlier or a little later, I never would have run into Jose.

My view for Sunday's game. Yeah. I had a good time. Ahhhhhh, the Baltimore Orioles...keeping the Blue Jays out of last place for years to come. Of course if I had chosen to sell this ticket, I could have used a free ticket from Jose because Alex (that's Alex Rios, the Jays' right fielder) always leaves him two. But my seat was better, so I kept it.

Vernon Wells. He totally knows I am taking this picture.

That's Aaron Hill and Lyle Overbay. The original plate ump got injured so this is during a break in play while one of the other guys throws on his gear.

Rookie pitcher Ricky Romero. If he can stay healthy, we might of a chance.

Another rookie pitcher (that really is the theme of our season) Marc Rzepczynski. And yes I did spell that correctly.

After the game. Yeah, we lost both games but I still have team spirit.

So my weekend in Baltimore was....well it actually ended up to be very expensive, but totally worth it. I thought I had found myself settled in Manhattan. Turns out I was wrong. Appears I still have a need to travel. I guess that will help make decisions in the next few months a lot easier.

Julie

A final day in Paris

Sunday, December 21, 2008
Paris, France and travel to London, England

This fountain was just down the street from my hotel but for some reason on sunday it was full of bubbles.

Well today was my final day in Paris and really my final day on this trip. I booked myself on the 1813 (6:13PM) Eurostar train from Paris to London but had to be out of my hotel by 1100 so had the entire day to kill before I had to head out of town. This was good because there were a couple other things I wanted to take a look at. Getting around proved to be a bit more difficult as it was Sunday morning and there was no one working at the metro station I went to which meant I could only buy a ticket from the automated machine, but it only took credit cards and the machine did not want to read mine so I had to walk to the next closet station because someone was working there and eventually I did get a ticket.

Some of the decorations on one of the bridges crossing the Seine.

I took the metro to the train station I would leave to London from, printed out my ticket and then went looking for the left luggage lockers. At Gare du Nord (the train station) you actually have to go through some security and an x-ray machine before you can leave you bag. Once I got rid of all the excess weight I headed out to the metro again to see if I could get to where I wanted to go.

Like I said earlier, train stations in Paris kind of seem like mazes and making my way back to the correct train was actually not as easy as I thought it would be even with following the signs and asking for directions and all that kind of thing. But when I did find the train it was all good and I made it to where I wanted to go.

The Hotel des Invalides

Where was I going you ask? Well my first stop was the Hotel des Invalides. This “hotel” was built by Louis XIV (actually completed after he was dead but he ordered it) in 1670 to house injured and disabled soldiers. Construction was completed in 1676. It is now a museum. The Chapel is also home to several important tombs including that of Napoleon I (Bonaparte), his son Napoleon II and the heart of Sebastian Le Prestre de Vauban who was the designer of Louis XIV’s military fortifications.

The statue of Napoleon looking down on everyone.

I can’t lie I did not head into the chapel to see the tombs and I did not hit up any of the museums (I needed much more time and I don’t like to be rushed in museums) but I did enjoy the architecture. I even got chased by security because apparently I was wandering too far off the tourist path. I just wanted to take a picture of one of the faces on the building….eventually he said ok.

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Here is the face I took a picture of.

Interesting to know as well that in 1789 a mob forced its way into the hotel and seized around 28,000 rifles before heading to the prison at Bastille, starting the french revolution.

So it is not a surprise that my next stop was also at the Bastille…or at least where the Bastille would have been. It of course was destroyed my a mob during the revolution and the only thing that remains is a traffic roundabout (I am not sure that is original). Something else you will find at the Place de la Bastille, lots of shops, so I went shopping. Oh yes, more shopping. It was fun. I spent more money.

The monument at the Place de la Bastille.

Once my shopping was done I found my way back to the train station, found some food and then made my way to the gate. First time I had been through any type of passport control since I left Istanbul and completely reconfirmed that UK immigration guys ask way to many questions.

Anyway, the trip was quite uneventful. A slight 30 minute delay before we were allowed to enter the Channel tunnel but other than that no issues. Once I arrived in London it was back to the Tube and out to Heathrow. One last night in a hotel and then home in the morning. It will be a long trip and it will be cold when I get there but looking forward to a home cooked meal…and my bed.

Julie

Switzerland by train.....there is no better way

Sunday, December 14, 2008
Travel through Switzerland…Zurich, Bern , Lausanne and Geneva

A day time shot of Zurich. That is St. Peter Kirche you can see.

Well today, was a very busy day. I got up relatively early and headed to the train station. Today I traveled from one end of Switzerland to the other. I started in Zurich by hopping on a train at around 1035. I grabbed myself a seat by a window on the second level so that I could see as much as possible. My first stop was Bern. It was about 50 minutes down the tracks. There I dumped my stuff in the left luggage lockers (once I found some change) and then headed out to check out a few things.

Heading to the Zurich train station. My pack and I are good friends.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland and is a neat little city.

You will find this out front of the House of Parliament. The snow is a nice touch.

This is looking down Kramgasse, a main street in Bern. It really did look neat. I am sure it looks even better in the summer when all the fountains are on.

I really did not have any plans as to what I would see but I did want to check out the Einstein Haus…..but it was closed so I simply saw it from the outside. There actaully was a bit of a crowd out front so I was obviously not the only one who thought they were still running on extended hours.

It was on the second floor of this small house that Einstein and his family lived from late 1903 to May 1905 and it was here where he came up with that little theory of relativity thing.

By the way, a couple other things that happened in Switzerland: The birth of the world wide web and the first acid trip (back in 1943.…totally by accident I might add). Just thought you might want to know that.

Hanging out in Bern. Yes, it was a little cold but it is Switzerland in December so I can't really be surprised.

Anyway, back to Bern, since the Einstein House was closed I headed to the giant 15th century gothic cathedral (St. Stephen’s I think).

A look up at the tower of St. Stephens.

A couple of shots inside the cathedral.

I just love those stainglass windows.

There was a small fee to climb the tower but hey I think we have established that if I have the opportunity to climb a few hundred spiralling steps that at some point will make me dizzy and possibly nauseated….I am going to climb them.

These steps did not disappoint. The were steep and spiralling and at one point outside so were cold and lead to a very nice location where I could get a complete view of the city of Bern. It was totally worth it.

Looking out over Bern. So Swiss.

In Salzburg they play chess. In Bern....it's ping-pong......in the snow.

After I got back down the steps (which was much harder than going up due to my proneness for vertigo) I headed back to the train station to hop back on the train and head to my next stop. My rail pass really came in handy today as I could get on and off whenever I wanted and did not need tickets.

The view from my window of the train. Not sure what little Swiss town this was.

My next stop, about another 70 minutes down the road......or tracks, was Lausanne, which they call the Olympic Capital because it is home to the IOC (International Olympic committee). I know you are all thinking that I headed to the IOC museum and all that kind of thing but I have been to the ultimate Olympic spot already on this trip (Ancient Olympia….the birthplace of the Olympics) so it did not seem necessary.

This is at the train station.

I instead headed to an art museum and what a great place it was. The museum was the Musee de l’Art Brut, which contained art by self-taught or not taught artists, most of whom were officially diagnosed with some sort of mental illness or disability or had some sort of psychotic break after long hospitalizations, or spending time at war or the death of someone or whatever. In some cases the artists were living in institutes when they developed their art as part of program or just during their spare time. In other cases their art was not found until after they died. In many cases their involvement with art helped them heal their obsessions or curb violent behaviour and many are now living normal, healthy, productive lives.

An example was Clement Fraisse (1901-1980) who was confined to a psychiatric hospital when he was 24 years old because he tried to burn down his parents’ farm. He had to be confined to a narrow wood lined cell because of violent behaviour. He used a broken spoon handle and then a handle he broke off his chamber pot to carve into the wooden wall. That wall is now on display in the museum.

A shot of the tower of the Cathedrale de Lausanne.

Currently at the museum is a exhibit from Japanese artists living in institutes throughout Japan. Here I saw paintings and drawings and charcoal works and clay sculptures. One artist, Satoshi Nishikawa, use to make clay sculptures as a child while living in the Omni Institute for mentally disabled children . He was obsessed with water but once in the institute began working the with clay and forgot his obsession. He now lives in his own home and holds a job and only performs his artwork…..when he returns to the institute for follow-up visits.

I was also able to watch a few documentaries about these Japanese artists. All the sound was in Japanese with French subtitles. I have realized that I really can still read French and while I may not know what every word means I can certainly understand the context. My verbal and auditory French is extremely rusty though. The next week and a bit (as I head to France) will be interesting I think. Of course you can guess that I could not take pictures but if you ever make it to Lausanne I totally recommend this musuem.

A look at the Cathedrale de Lausanne at night. Really did look nice all lit up.

Once I left the museum it was time to head to the train....well first I ate and then to the train. I did walk past the cathedral in town and it was all lit up for the holidays. It is just so fun how festive everything is around here.

My final stop of the day was Geneva. It once again was a very short train trip from Lausanne. Once there I found my way out of the train station and wandered accross the street to a hotel. I will be exploring the city in the morning but right now all I really want to do is sleep.

So my trip through Switzerland by train is complete. What a great country..…seriously postcard perfect. I wish I had more time here but will have to hit it again on the next trip.

Julie