Stockholm

I was up with the sun this morning and headed up to the top deck to watch the sun rise. There were no waves as we wound our way through the mass of small islands that surround Stockholm. As the city itself is built across several islands it is no surprise that it is also surrounded with islands. The boat arrived around nine-thirty and we drove into town and had a quick tour of the town. I then went on the 'optional' tour of the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a warship that sank in the harbour on her maiden voyage. She was discovered in 1961 raised, restored and is now on show for all to see. It ship was very impressive and really big too. The city itself was nice with winding streets and old buildings. There were a lot of people however which made moving through the small streets a little more difficult. That evening we had our last dinner with the group. Said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

Helsinki

I liked Helsinki. It was a nice city and one I could quite happily go back to. Clean with friendly people. We had a tour of the city and this time it wasn't rushed and took in all of the major sites. The tour ended at the Senate Square and we were given the rest of the afternoon to have a look around the city centre. I did just that. I walked down the mall, around the harbour and a had a good look though a couple of the department stores. We were catching the ferry in the afternoon to so I stopped at a pharmacy and got some sea-sickness tablets, just in case. It was good to see that English is spoken in more places here otherwise my trip to the chemist would have turned out to be a bit harder. The weather was cool but bright and sunny and it was the perfect day.

Everyone met up back at Senate Square where, after a group photo, we climbed back on the bus and were taken to the ferry. The ferry was another big one. Inside there were around 14 levels. Three levels of shops and the rest were rooms. I had to share a room with four other people. It was small and didn't have a window. After taking my tablets I went down to join a few others from the tour in the bar. As we departed I went upstairs to watch the city fall into the distance. Up on deck it was very windy, just outside the harbour you could see the waves and their white caps. It looked rough. Once we got out past the surrounding islands, it was. Soon the rain started again and the waves seemed to get bigger. I was glad that I took my sea-sickness tablet but I took one more just to be on the safe side. They did their job and I spent and enjoyable evening back in the bar below decks. Even when I went to bed the tablets were still doing their job. I could feel the boat lift off with every wave and a second or so later crash down before the cycle started again.

St Petersburg to Helsinki

It was an early morning the next day as we headed back into the city centre. We had a quick (and I do mean quick) tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The fortress is home to the Russian Mint, the place where Peter the Great is buried and was even used as a military prison that help famous prisoners such as the writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The guide raced us through some of the different sections, not waiting for photos or for the group to come in close before giving his spiel on the fortress. At the end of the tour we were given some time to browse the overpriced souvenir shops before getting on the bus again and heading north-west towards Finland.

We drove through horizontal rain to the border where we had our passports stamped by guards with stern expressions. We entered Finland at Soumi and as soon as we were there, the differences between the two countries were obvious. The towns were neater, the cars were clean, the roads were good and I could read and understand some of the signs.

We drove through lakes, forests and more lakes. Everything was very wintery and even in the pouring rain looked magical. We arrived at the Scandic Hotel in Helsinki in the evening. It was a nice hotel and good to get back and relax after rushing around Russia.

St Petersburg

The city limits of St Petersburg appear to start not long after the border. Getting over that border however is an adventure in itself. We crossed at Narva, a small town with a big fortress. The crossing process was quite long (although the wait was the longest was on the Estonian side leaving the country). Checking and double checking of passports, getting ticket for the bus, going back again getting said tickets stamped. I'd imagined entering Russia to a vastly from the rest of Europe. I'd imagined a Russia like the one I'd seen in the movies. Stern looking guards, big guns, tanks on street corners, grey buildings, snow and a lot of signs I can't read. Well, it was a lot like that, except for the guns, tanks and snow. The border was certainly an eye opener. While the male guards looked stern and menacing the female ones tried, but when you're wearing high heals and a short skirt its kind of hard to look mean. In the end we made it though and continued on our way to St Petersburg.

My first view of the Russian countryside was that there wasn't that much of it. A bit of forest comes after the border but the outskirts of St Petersburg start soon after. From there it is highways, tower blocks and industrial areas. I was amazed at how many vehicles are on the roads in Russia and around St Petersburg. From the suburbs to the city centre, cars, trucks and buses were everywhere with a traffic jam almost from the border to the city centre. In russia there are many different makes and models of cars on the road. From Lada to Lamborghini. Russian, Japanese, German or American, all makes and models are here. One thing that they all have in common though is how dirty they all are. And that traffic lights and road signs appear to be merely suggestions to the drivers, sometimes followed, sometimes not. I was also surprised to see how Western it all seemed. I'd expected something totally different. Of course I couldn't read any of the signs or anything else like that but that didn't matter. Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana and all the other fashion brands were obvious. This city has money and a lot of it.

I went on the 'optional' tour of the Hermitage museum. The Hermitage is a palace that is filled with all the famous and amazing artworks from not only Russia and those countries that it controlled, but also from the rest of Europe. The tour was supposed to tell us about some of the more famous paintings but for some reason, our tour guide neglected to order headphones for the group (this we found out after waiting outside for half an hour). Leaving everyone struggling to hear what the paintings were about as the guide didn't bother to raise his voice. I left the tour and went round the galleries myself. I got just as much information from the pictures and didn't have to rush through. When I left the museum I wandered the streets until it was time to be picked up.

The bus arrived and everyone got on the bus. We drove to the Nickolavsky Palace to drop off some of the group who were going to attend the folk evening. Or at least that is what I thought. I was expecting to be taken back to the hotel but the tour director decided to change the plan and told everyone who was not going on the bus that they would have to sit around and wait for the others at the show. That was three hours away and the area didn't look to be the best. There were only three shops close by and and a lot of closed buildings and dark alleys. Not the best spot to be dumped for three hours. For the next three hours I looked in the closed shop windows and wandered around the dark alleys. After that, I sat down on the kerbside and waited for the bus. There were eight other people who thought they were going back to the hotel but were left as well. It was not a good end to the day.

Tallinn

The tour of the old town was impressive. Our guide Nikolai walked us through the town giving history and shopping tips throughout the old town. The town is divided into two parts. The upper and lower. The upper part on top of the hill was home to the royalty, parliament, churches and people with money. The lower part of the town was home to the markets, shops and workers. Today, a few more shops were open so the rest of the morning was spent shopping for souvenirs and eating pancakes.

In the afternoon I went on the 'optional' tour of the baroque style Kadriorg Palace to see the art collection. The palace was ordered to be built by Peter the Great so I guess that one would expect a pretty good collection. After the palace we went for a tour of some other sights in Tallinn including a destroyed nunnery and the Olympic sailing village. I also got to stand on a beach on the shores of the Baltic sea.

Riga to Tallinn

It was a 9am departure from the hotel this morning. From there we drove to Irnagii and crossed the border into Estonia. Lunch was included and taken in a quiet village called Parnu. The village wasn’t that small but it was certainly quiet. The streets were empty and the shops were closed. We wandered around for a little while but with nothing open it was just really a village, as we arrived back to were the bus was going to be I saw that most were waiting there and obviously had the same idea.

The hotel we were staying at this evening was called the Kreutzwald Hotel Tallinn. It was a nice little hotel although I didn’t stay in it for long. As soon as the bags had been delivered I went for a wander into the city. The old town was about a kilometer from the hotel and up a reasonable steep hill. As the old town is sat on top of a hill (and snakes its way down wards). It was overcast but wasn’t raining so I thought I’d make the best of the goodish weather and have a look. Even though the place was pretty quiet the old medieval buildings were impressive as always and the views of the surrounding city from the little lookout spots. The skyline was full of old roofs, church steeples and tower blocks. But, to have a closer look, that would have to wait until tomorrow.

Riga

Riga is a beautiful old town with many art nouveau buildings. We had a tour of some of these buildings and heard a bit of what makes a building art nouveau as opposed to something else. The morning was spent looking around the city and the afternoon spent on an ‘optional’ tour of the Ethnographical Museum. We had a tour guide taking us around the different houses in the museum. He also told us a bit of the history of the time when Latvia was under the control of communist Russia. It was quite interesting and a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Vilnius to Riga

We left our hotel and drove northwards towards Latvia. Our first stop was just over the border at the Palace of Rundale. This palace was the former summer residence of the Duke of Courland (one of the areas of the Baltics) and was designed by the same guy who did the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. The tour of the palace revealed many amazing rooms with decadent wallpaper, floorboards and trim. You had to pay to get into the gardens so afterwards I strolled around the front (also nice) and watched the ducks on the canal that ran through the property.

Upon reaching Riga, the grand capital of Latvia, we drove through amazing buildings, past triumphant squares and stunning boulevards we pulled up in front of our hotel (the Raddison Latvia). It was a very nice hotel and the rooms were modern (if a bit small). After seeing all the splendour that surrounding me I automatically made a priority list. First, laundry; second, drinks in the bar and thirdly, dinner. I found the Laundromat a short distance from the hotel and managed to get what I wanted to accomplish across to the attendant though sign language and a smattering of Latvian that I had read in my guidebook. She answered me in broken English so I can only assume it was that my newness tot he language was obvious.

Vilnius

The next day we went to explore the town. It was full of old buildings and churches. We had a couple of hours to look around the city. I explored many of the churches in town but there were still many more that I didn’t get the chance to have a look at. I also spent a bit of my time in the main square listening to some musical acts on stage. They had all kinds of music playing from rock and acoustic to classical and even opera. The crowds walked my, some stopped. By the time I had to leave to catch the bus a small crowd was now watching the performances.

I’d decided to go on the optional tour to Trakai Castle that afternoon. Trakai is a small, traditional, red brick castle that sits on a small island in the middle of a lake about half an hour outside the city. The castle was originally built by one of the first kings of the region. Since that time it has been destroyed and rebuilt to what it is today. I was told that many films have been shot there including Robin Hood (which version though I’m not too sure). The whole place was very touristy although there wasn’t much to the castle itself. There were a couple of rooms which had been done up with the history of the castle and informative panels about certain sections. We had a local guide this time who took us through the castle. She was a good guide whose commentary wasn’t as dry as everyone elses. She was also the first local tour guide that liked to take questions. We hadn’t see that in any of the three countries we’d been in so far so it was a nice change.

That night I also attended the ‘optional’ dinner excursion. The tour guide described the restaurant as a ‘folk law dinner’ although there was very little folk law and the dinner wasn’t up to much either. We had our orders taken on the bus a day or so before. I decided to order the fillet of cod served on a bed of mashed potatoes and a traditional salad. In the end what I was given was fish and chips. It wasn’t a pleasant evening that I had invisaged. The staff were rude and unfriendly and the people doing the entertaining, singing and playing traditional instruments appeared bored. This carried on throughout the evening. Even with the coffee after dinner no milk was served. I asked a waiter for it who replied “in a minute" in an exasperated tone. The milk never arrived and after the reaction I received from asking the first time, I did not want to ask again. It was interesting to note that the tour guide and driver were treated differently to the paying customers with the staff being friendly and, I noted, they got milk with their coffee. We were rushed through the meal, in and out with a three-course meal plus coffee in an hour and a half. The consensus among those people on the tour said that the meal was disappointing and staff were solemn unsmiling and rude. When this information was relayed to our tour guide she replied much the same as before. That it was impossible to please everyone and that there was nothing she could do. Apparently it was even too much to listen to the issues the people had with their meal. Even though all who attended (apart from the tour guide and driver) paid 60 euros for the meal. The rest of the evening was spent in the hotel bar with the others who attended the meal. The meal was crap but afterwards was a nice way to spend the rest of the evening.

Warsaw to Vilnius

In my true wussy sense I woke up this morning with a slight headache. I put it down to a bug that I’d picked up in the long hours I’d spent on the bus and not the beer I’d drank the previous night. It was another early morning and a drive that took pretty much the whole day. Today we were heading from Warsaw to Vilnius in Lithuania. After a quick stop in Augestow for lunch we continued driving arriving into the capital city just as it was getting dark. From the bus, the city seemed like many other I had been to. Some posh areas, some looking derelict. Some fancy restaurants lining the streets, some people (quite a few actually) digging through rubbish bins.

The hotel was called the Hotel Gratis and was situated a little way from the centre of town. It was a nice big room however and that was good as I was sharing again with Merv. Due to the late arrival, dinner was served at the hotel and consisted of Borsch (a beetroot soup) and fish (covered in a suspect looking whitish green sauce).

Poznan to Warsaw

It was an early start the next day and we drove for several hours before stopping at a McDonalds for lunch. I had a wrap with bacon, mushrooms and other miscellaneous substances. Early afternoon we arrived in the city of Warsaw. Our hotel, the MDM, was in the business centre of town (about half an hours walk to the old town). I had a new roommate, Michael (Merv had his own room). He was a big improvement and I noted was neat, tidy and put a towel on the bathroom floor when using the shower.

In the afternoon I went on the ‘optional’ tour of the rebuilt medieval city. After the war the whole area was rebuilt to look like it had before (although I’m guessing with proper electrical wiring and sewerage system). It looked impressive. Even though we were shown pictures of the ruined buildings taken after bombing raids by the Germans, it was hard to believe that the rebuilt versions were the same ones. It was very impressive. For the rest of the afternoon we were left to explore the town. Looking into the many souvenir stores, churches, cafes and other touristy places.

That evening I met up with some of the others on the tour for drinks and dinner. After plowing my way through one and a half litres of beer (in one glass!) I retired to my room and fell asleep listing, not to snoring or farting, but to accordion music being played on the street outside.

Berlin

I got a glimpse into what makes a tour director after the ‘optional’ tour around Berlin (which I did not attend). Some of the people who took the tour did not think it was worthwhile and not worth the money they paid as it didn’t stop at some of the most famous sights. Our director turned around and said that it was impossible to please everyone and that there was nothing she could do. There was no sympathetic ear or reason for that particular route. Needless to say, most people did not find it a satisfactory answer to their concerns. To me however, it spoke volumes about our tour guide and set the tone for dealing with any other ‘issues’ that people may have while they were on the tour or about any of the other ‘optional’ excursions.

After a morning in Berlin we spent the rest of the day driving to Poznan in Poland. Poland is a funny place. Throughout the rural areas there were hundreds of signs for Night Clubs and tequila. These glitzy signs are usually outside what look to be very low socio-economic towns and villages that look like they haven’t changed for centuries. What was also an eye opener was the number of women standing on the quiet country roads in the middle of nowhere dressed up like 80’s hookers with fluro faux-feather boas and knee-high boots.

Although Poland at first thought to be a ‘first world country’ it was interesting to note that the water in the country, and indeed all of the Baltic countries, is unsuitable for drinking. All tourists are warned not to drink the water. This was noted in tourist information at hotels throughout the trip until we reached Finland. Despite having to wait for half an hour to check in, not being able to move in the lobby due to a conference, or use the lift, or (for some reason) the stairs, I had my own room. It was bliss! I did my laundry in the sink and let hung it out to dry throughout the bathroom. After that I went to the shopping centre nearby to try and find a UK to Europe adapter for my camera plug. It was not a fruitful quest.

The Tour Begins

The cycling world championship was being held in Copenhagen that weekend that I arrived. It was therefore not a real surprise to see the Astanda team sitting down to breakfast in the dining room. I wouldn’t have known who they were if I hadn’t seen the team jerseys. They looked relaxed and didn’t seem to be the least put out that they were served up pasta for breakfast. I guess they had a long way to ride that day and so they needed all the energy they could get. Me on the other hand, only had to get on the bus, so I had the full cooked breakfast, with cereal and yoghurt on the side. As I sat eating I was amazed to hear my roommate start telling me about his prostate, the trouble, timing and frequency of his urination and going through a blow-by-blow account of how a prostate should be checked, not something you want to hear about, especially over breakfast and especially when you’re eating sausages! I was glad when it was time to board the bus. I’d met the tour guide, Giovanna, that morning and she told me which bus was ours (three were leaving from the hotel that morning). I chose a seat next to a window and sat down.

My tour group consisted of about 24 people. Most were retired although plenty weren’t. It was a mix of American, Canadian, Australian, Singaporean and a couple of New Zealanders. Most of them were pleasant enough to talk to and most of them I did. The morning’s itinerary was for a tour of Copenhagen and the drive Berlin (via the ferry). The start of the tour was all right. As the ‘included’ local tour guide was telling us all about Copenhagen we wound our way through the streets to the Palaces. These were the same palaces I had seen the day before on my walk around the city. I would therefore have much preferred to have watched the start of the cycling championship which were passing on the street between the palaces and the church. We missed it by a couple of minutes. We then had half an hour to look around (distances being such that you could walk to the bus and browse in the opposite souvenir shop in that time, but not see any of the other sights that the city had to offer). From there the bus moved on and drove us around to the parliament where we had an hour to look around. Unfortunately it was early on a Sunday morning and so only a bakery and a coffee shop were open in that area. Instead I wandered away to the canal and whiled my time away watching the ducks (Mallards). Soon enough it was time for the bus to pick us up again and take us to Berlin in Germany.

Ferries in Europe are big and this one was no exception. Our bus drove into the massive hold of the ferry and four more could have been fit in behind it. There were eight lanes of traffic inside the ferry as well as a large middle section. Upstairs there were three main decks and an outside viewing area, two restaurants, a bar and large duty free shop. It was a short trip across the sea and a short time (just enough for lunch and a chance to admire the view), the boat was pulling up at the harbour in Germany. The bus drove straight to Berlin where we would spend the night.

Our hotel was of the Best Western variety, however when we arrived it was dark and so dinner was the only plan. A group of us went to a local beer garden for tea. I can fully appreciate why tourists get such a bad wrap in countries like Germany. Our group just barged in and automatically started talking to the waitress in English with no attempt made to speak German or even say anything in German. Some of the older guys in the group then started taking photos of the young, pretty, blonde haired, blue eyed waitresses. They didn’t really appreciate this and so told them. This did not appear to have any effect on the two guys who finished taking their photos. The next thing that would give tourists, and particularly Australians, a bad name happened next. One of the other guys, an Australian started having an argument with one of the waitresses (who could speak English) about they type of glass for his beer. He wanted on without a stem (remaking loudly that it would make him look like a poof) and wanted a normal looking glass. At this point, I just shook my head, picked up my glass (with a stem) and walked outside. I didn’t sleep much that night, being kept awake by my roommates nocturnal trumpeting. Apparently though, as he remarked to the whole group upon me coming down to breakfast, I kept him up all night with my snoring. I know the truth, I’m not sure my roommate does.

To Copenhagen

Security is a pain. It is not because you have to line up for ages, have your bags x-rayed and then given a ‘pat down’ by some random member of staff. It is because of the rude and ignorant staff. Now, another security measure is that you can liquids of up to 100 mL on as hand luggage. This liquid for some reason must be stored in a clear plastic bag. Why? How does the clear plastic bag help security? How does putting your liquid in a plastic bag make the flight safer? I don’t get it. I don’t’ think the person who came up with the idea even thought it through! I had a tube of toothpaste. One tube. Purchased a matter of hours ago. This had to be put in a plastic bag to be x-rayed. Outside the bag it was a security threat. Inside it was safe. What is worse is that I had to pay £1 to purchase a bag! If something is a security threat and you want to make people believe it, then you don’t make they pay for a bag for one tube of toothpaste. Then it just looks like a money making scheme. What is worse is that the rude lady security guard, on an obvious power trip, could not tell me how putting my toothpaste in a plastic bag makes it safer than not having the plastic bag. 48p for a tube of toothpaste which ended up costing me double that to take it on the plane. That is why I hate security. I can see where the idea comes from and I understand. But doing things like that is just dopey as it takes away all the credibility of the policy. I can fully understand why people get annoyed with these dickheads who force you to follow these pointless rules. The worse thing is that they don’t even bother to find out why they are being told to enforce it. It shows that there is something seriously wrong with the security systems and agencies in this country.

Anyway, rant over. I boarded my flight after telling the security guard what I thought of their rules, only leaving when I saw her colleagues starting eye me suspiciously. The flight was uneventful and I arrived at the airport and, after a quick consult of my iphone map, I walked to my hotel. This was the first ‘day’ of the tour. I walked into the hotel lobby and tried to check into my room. Apparently they only have one key for each room and my roommate was already up there. I wandered up as the lady at reception phoned up to let my roommate know that I was coming up.

When I knocked on the door my roommate opened it. I’m not sure if he expected me. He said that he had received the phone call but, as he answered the door in his underpants, I don’t know… I found out quickly though that he was a bogan, and that explained everything. I guess the main hint was that he introduced himself to me saying, and I quote. “I fart and I snore”. He then proceeded to get undressed and change right in front of me while still talking and repacking his bag. This was a man that I hadn’t even met for two minutes and already he was making the single supplement of $1500 sound a very good idea. Still, I decided to make the best of it and just ignore the whole first impression. After meeting the rest of the group the next day, I couldn’t help thinking why the tour couple didn’t pair me with someone closer to my own age instead of the 50 year old light and curtain salesman that they did. After dumping my bags and freshening up I left the room and caught the train into the centre of Copenhagen. I’d arranged to meet Lewis, Naomi and Edie in the city. They were arriving around 2 pm and so I had a little time to see the sights. I wandered past the Royal Palaces, fortresses, harbours, monuments and lots of other sights that the city had to offer. While waiting I spent a bit of time by the fortress moat, watching the ducks swim by. It was quite relaxing. As the time to meet drew nearer I wandered back to the centre and found my way to the mall and to the prearranged meeting spot (with a lot of help from my iphone).

It was good to meet Lewis and Naomi. They came around the corner and seemed to appear out of the crowds pushing Edie in her stroller. I couldn’t believe how big Edie had grown. When I saw her just over a year before she was tiny. I could hold her in one arm then but now, it took two. She was smiling and happy. I’d like to think that it was to see me but probably just because she was in a new place and getting to go for a ride in her pram. After they checked into their hotel we wandered back into town and saw a few more of the sights. We went to check out the Little Mermaid statue and Nyman Harbour, both of which are very famous in the city. We ended up having dinner in a restaurant on one side of the harbour. It was a nice evening. I’d missed the first day of my tour but couldn’t be happier that I did.

Wandering round Westminster

After a whirlwind tour of historical London it was time for Mum to head off back to Bristol and for me to start my tour, first however, we had the day to explore a bit more of London. The first stop was the Palaces at Westminster. We took the tube to Westminster Station and walked towards the parliament building. It took us some time to find the ticket office (which was hidden down a set of steps, behind a wall in a building across the road), and took us just as long to get through security. You had to have your photo taken and have the pass around your neck while you’re inside. The queue was long but we got through and wandered up to the gates of the Great Hall, where the tour began from. There we joined another queue and waited for our tour guide to arrive. We climbed the steps from the hall and headed inside. My first impressions of the building was that, compared to Australia’s parliament house, it certainly had more plush setting and a lot more history. We were told about the gun powder plot and how a bomb had hit the parliament during WWII. The House of Commons was directly hit and did a lot of damage. They rebuilt the parliament after the war just the same as it had been. It was interesting to note that if all members of parliament were to attend, there wouldn’t be enough seating for them all. This is because there is something like 350 seats and 450 members of parliament. It was kept this way so it would not look too empty when it was seen on television. We also walked through the House of Lords and all the way to the Queens Chambers. It was also interesting to note that the House of Commons is the one place that the Queen is not able to go. When opening parliament she gives here speech from the House of Lords with the doors open through to the House of Commons so that they are able to hear. It was good to go around the parliament and it certainly was impressive. Once the tour finished we left the parliament and wandered outside and over the Westminster Abbey, which is just across the road.

We queued once again. It cost about £18 to get into the abbey which came with an included audio tour. We wandered around with the speaker to our ear through the abbey. We queued, then entered the tombs of previous kings and queens. They have a café at the abbey. It is in the cloisters area. While this seemed a bit tacky it didn’t stop us from having a cup of hot chocolate there and a muffin. As I walked around the abbey, I kept thinking back to how I’d seen it on the television with the wedding of Charles and Diana, and more recently, Will and Kate. You could picture they walking down the isle, saw where the guests sat and when we left the abbey we did so via the western gate where all the guests, including the queen, entered on that day. It was amazing to think of the history of the place. We just don’t get that in Australia.

Mum was booked on the 5 pm bus so we headed back to Victoria Coach Station and had dinner in a nearby pub. I said goodbye to Mum and the wandered back to train station to collect my bags from the Left Luggage section. I’d planned to spend a little longer in London that night before heading back to the Bus station but an hour later I’d looked in all the shops I’d wanted to and lingered on as many benches as necessary so decided to head to the airport early. My flight was leaving ridiculously early the next day so I decided that I would just spend the night there (rather than paying for a nights accommodation and having to leave super early anyway. It was just getting dark when I arrived at Stanstead after a bus ride that seemed to take forever. With my backpack on my back and another in my hand, I entered the airport. After making three circuits of the check in area I chose the spot where I would spend the night. It was a row of benches near one of the large windows overlooking a car park. I sat down and took out my book. Five minutes later I decided that the book wasn’t exciting enough and went off to find a W H Smith store. Half and hour later I had a new book (and a multi adapter for my camera) and wandered back over to my spot. It was a long night. I slept for about two hours all up. That was pretty good considering how busy the airport was. Even at two in the morning the cleaning staff were still driving round on their little floor sweeper buggies past sleeping passengers without a second glance. I know this as I saw several of coming round and random intervals throughout the night. At around four in the morning I changed my spot, fearful that if I fell asleep again (a slim chance but a chance none the less) then I would not have my phone alarm to wake me as the battery had run out. I relocated to a dirty bit of floor near a wall plug and after plugging in my phone, lay down again. An hour and a half later and it was time to line up for my flight check in. I wasn’t the first one there, which surprised me, I did notice however a few tired faces in the crowd and recognised them from various places around the airport. They’d obviously spend the night there too.

Historical London

Day two in London and we had more sights to see. It was going to be another right royal day. Our plan was to go to the Tower of London in the morning and then head over to Hampton Court Palace in the afternoon. We arrived at the Tower just on opening and walked through the imposing front gate. I’d been to the tower once before (in 1999) and now, over ten years later, nothing had changed. It was still as impressive as before. With buildings that have been there for centuries, little change is good. It lets you picture the history throughout the Tower. We wandered around the Tower, through the exhibits that they had set up in many of the rooms, and pictured what it would have been like throughout history. The most impressive thing though, was the Crown Jewels. I guess that’s what everyone really goes there to see, the crowds were a testament to this. We waited in line, slowly winding our way into the vault. The Crown Jewels are kept in a massive vault with solid metal doors about a foot thick. You pass them while standing on a conveyor belt (flat escalator) and slowly glide past them peering in through the thick glass at the glittering jewels beyond. They certainly were impressive. Actually, impressive doesn’t really even come close. They were very impressive. Spectacular even, and this is coming from someone who sees jewels as expensive polished stones. There were many crowns in there, each more breathtaking than the last. Each crown was set with not just jewels, but pearls, lace, velvet and a lot of just as impressive stitching. After having a second look, and stopping to admire a solid gold plate (exquisitely cast and bigger than my car) we left the Tower and went to Waterloo Station to catch the Southern Line train to Hampton Court.

Hampton Court Palace is the large red brick building next to the river. You can see it from the train station. A quick walk over the bridge and you are there. From the ticket office you walk down a long road which leads to a roundabout and the front entrance to the palace. Surrounding the main court are long corridors, formal gardens, staterooms and lots of kitchens. They say that Henry VIII enjoyed his food and the palace certainly attests to that. The food preparation wing took up almost one side of the palace and were quite impressive. Our audio guide told us what went on in the kitchens and it was amazing to think of all the people working in there. It was kitted out with all of the modern facilities such as roasting spits and boiling pots and had massive fires which must have made it quite uncomfortable for the child who would have had to turn the meat on the spit. The rooms were impressive as one would imagine and the garden, formal in its creation, had secret areas surrounded by high hedges which would have been private to the whole court. These were filled with flat lawn, greet shrubs or colourful flowers. Water features were also common throughout these private little gardens and in front of the orangery. It was interesting to hear about the palaces and how they operated. Being there made the history even more interesting.

First day in London

It was about seven-thirty when I awoke the next morning. A cup of tea and half an hour later Mum and I were on our way down to breakfast. The breakfast room of the hotel was the basement level. It was tiny. I couldn’t he having a quick look into their kitchen on my way to the continental breakfast buffet. It was clean and all stainless steel but I questioned their washing and sanitising process with the breakfast dishes. I put it out of my mind (my work is dull enough as it is without doing it on holiday), and buttered my toast. After breakfast Mum and I wandered into town.

Our first stop was the Buckingham Palace ticket office. We purchased tickets for the 11 o’clock entry and then went for a wander around St James Park and watched the squirrels. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Buckingham Palace is the most impressive palace I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a few!). I couldn’t say there was one thing that didn’t amaze me, from the carpet to the ceiling it was stunning. That isn’t even taking into account any of the history or moments of the palace that I’ve watched on the telly. We ambled around listening to audio tour and taking our time, taking our time to soak it all up. We saw an exhibition of the Royal Faberge collection which consisted of some delicately carved and super expensive ornaments including quite a few of the trademark eggs. It was impressive. It took around two hours to go through the ‘guest wing’ and before we knew it we were standing on the steps overlooking the rear garden. After a few photos we headed down one of the winding paths, past the lake and out of the palace grounds.

After a quick lunch in a pub we once again wandered off through the narrow streets. We ended up in Westminster, by the cathedral to be exact, and went in for a look. It was impressive inside but the view from the tower was even better. From the top you could see most of London, the classic skyline all around with 360o views. From the top you could see the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, the dome of St Paul’s and even Buckingham Palace. It was windy at the top, but the sunshine shining down made it an even better view.

We couldn’t stay up there for too long as we had an appointment. Laura was paying for a treat for both Mum and me. Afternoon tea at Browns Hotel, one of the poshest establishments in London. The spread was impressive, three tiers of scones, sandwiches and cakes. And of course tea. We spend the rest of the afternoon sitting in the luxurious surroundings and eating all we could. After going through two set of tiers and two tea pots full of tea, it was time to head back to the real world. And we wandered out the land of top hats and into the one of baseball caps.

The flight from Brisbane

I was excited when I arrived at the airport. Dad dropped me off around nine at night. My flight was due to leave a little before midnight so we were in plenty of time. After one last coffee I said good-bye and wandered downstairs to start the customs process. It took hardly any time at all. In fact I spent more time filling in my form than standing in line. Before I knew it I was through and browsing in the souvenir shops on the other side. I toyed with buying a camera duty-free but in the end, even the tax free prices were too much for me to part with at that time. After much umming and ahhing I wandered over to the gate.

I was the first one to arrive so I sat down, took out my book, and started the wait until it was time to board. The crowds slowly gathered and before long the announcement came over the loud speakers that it was time to board. I joined the queue and presented my ticket and passport to the lady at the gate. It always surprises me that you have to show it before you board the aircraft, especially in an international airport when you’ve already gone through security and customs, the airlines mustn’t have much faith in airport security. Of course, this part has nothing to do with security and more to do with keeping the general public in a prolonged state of fear in order to push government policy and politicians’ agendas, but I digress.

I’d like to say the flight was long and uneventful. It was long but not uneventful. Unfortunately. After dinner was served and the free alcohol was given out the guy in the seat behind me started to make a fuss. This involved kicking the seat in front of him, grabbing through the seats in front of him and yelling at the top of his voice to the people sitting in the seats two rows ahead. Unfortunately for me, I was stuck right in the middle of all of this. And doubly unfortunately for me, the flight crew did not want to do anything about it, no matter how many times me, and the person sitting next to me pushed our ‘call’ bells. Despite a few indifferent warnings from one staff member, the man behind me did not change his behaviour. For the next six hours I had to listen to him yell for more whiskey (he obviously couldn’t hold his drink, but the crew kept serving him until about four hours into the flight). He at least stopped trying to reach through the gap between my (and my neighbour’s) seat. This could have been because the last time he did it I grabbed his arm and tried to tear it from his shoulder bending it around and down in the process, but I’m not sure. I was glad when the captain’s voice came over the speakers that we were now going to land. The man behind me didn’t stop yelling all the way down and even out into the terminal. The crew smiled at him and said a cheery goodbye as he left. It’s a shame that the crew didn’t show the same courtesy to the other passengers when we were in the air. I swore then that I would never fly Malaysian Airlines again. It wasn’t just their service, but also the way they showed complete disinterest in the thoughts and feelings of the people sat near the drunk, and just appeared to want a peaceful flight (from where they were sitting down the cabin).

Unfortunately this promise was broken four hours later when I boarded my next flight to London (but I swore to not go with Malaysian Airways once this holiday was over). The next flight was a lot better than the last. I still didn’t get any sleep, and my seat was next to a bulkhead so I had half the leg room of all other passengers (including those in the rows) but at least I could sit without someone yelling behind me. In the following 12 hours I watched the Harry Potter. Harry Potter movies to be more exact. Movies 2, 3, 4 and 5. I also watched several episodes of the Simpsons, the Big Bang Theory and several mind numbing episodes of some other reality TV show about a someone with too much money and no brain. After what seemed like an eternity (as I’d had to resort to watching the reality TV show) the plane touched down in London. It was good to get off the plane. I walked through customs and then had to wait about half an hour for my bag to come through. After that I was out into the main terminal.

It was the faces of Mum and Aunty Carole who greeted me at the Arrivals gate. It was good to see them and despite not sleeping for the past 48 hours, I was happy. We caught the Tube into Victoria Station and had dinner in a pub nearby. Fish and chips and a pint of Fosters never tasted so good. I told my story to sympathetic ears and we all agreed that the flight crew should have drugged the man to keep him quiet (we didn’t, but it would have made my flight easier). After dinner Mum and I said goodbye to Aunty Carole and wandered off to find our hotel. A quick look at the GPS on my phone and we were winding our way through the busy streets of London. The hotel was a simple one but the bed was comfy and the shower hot. After climbing the 99 steps up to the room (over four storeys) it was very welcome.

Holidays!!!

After four years the time has now come. I'm off on holidays! It's been a while. So I'm looking forward to it. My plan is to do a tour around the Baltics and a bit of Scandinavia.

Suit Up!

Yesterday me and the EH admin had the important job of going through the disaster response kits and updating them. This involved making a list of everything in the kit such as high-visibility jackets, overalls, clip boards, pens and helmets and seeing that it was all there. On this occasion it was.

Getting Closer

As I said before... Vrooooooom!

Down on the Bogger

This machinery was used to collect all the mined rock. The front bucket flips up and over living the rock to the carriages waiting behind. This is apparently the only working one in the world as they have now been banned as they were very dangerous.

Going underground

While up in Tennant Creek I decided to do a bit of sightseeing. This is me out the front of one of the many mines that are found in the Tennant Creek area.

Vrooooooommmmmm!!!

Almost got to tick one off the bucket list. 40km/h short!

Hot Kebabs

I don’t know what I was expecting when I rounding the corner and started down the little lane behind the shops. The complaint said that there had been a load of meat left outside at the rear of the shop for the afternoon. I don’t know why it was the last thing that I was expecting. I thought that it would just be a complaint by a neighbouring shop owner; just an unfounded dispute where one side thinks it would be more inconvenient for the other part for the health inspectors to come around and inspect. I didn’t expect that I would go down that alley and find two and a half pallets of meat sat out the back of the shop.

Of course, that’s exactly what I found. The pallets were just sitting there. I walked up to them and had a look around. It was meat alright, some defrosted, outer temperatures well inside the ‘danger zone’. I went inside the shop and talked to the manager. Delivered by mistake, meant to go to the other store, no time to move it, thought it was still frozen… The usual excuses were given, none of which changed the fact that there was nearly three tonnes of meat sat outside in the sun. In the end the decision was down to a combination of temperature and time. The time was about 6 hours. The temperature was from frozen to the low teens. I called my boss. It was a lot of meat and the first time that I’d dealt with anything like this. I was glad that my boss agreed. The meat that had defrosted must be put in the refrigerator straight away while the meat that was frozen may be put into the freezer. This was based on the supposition that the meat would have been within the ‘danger zone’ for less than two hours. I left the shop as it was being loaded onto a truck to be taken to another store.

The next day I had to follow up. It was not what I expected. The meat had all been put into the freezer. That along with another couple of inconsistencies within the stories made the next decision tougher. I went back to talk to my manager. Due to the uncertainty and non-compliance with the previous directions, we were to seize all the meat. All two and a half tonnes! The owner wasn’t happy but we had no choice. We taped up the freezer where the meat was all stored to await the 72 hour appeal period. It was a stressful week of waiting. Each day I thought that I would be getting a phone call from the local courthouse saying that I was expected in court to present my case to the magistrate. I was surprised that the call never came. Even so, I spent that week writing up detailed statements and notes regarding the seizure. All reasons and actions had to be justified with legal justification. I couldn’t wait for noon on Friday the 13th. That’s when we would be able to collect the meat and dispose of it. The appeal period would be over and only further investigation, clarification and education left to do.

As the clock hit 11:30 am I started to relax. It was the time for action. We parked the ute behind the shop and started to load. It took us nearly three hours to load all the meat onto the ute and then stack it in the bin. We filled the bin up and still had a ute load left. It was almost two and a half tonne that we disposed of in the end. It was all taken down to the local tip and buried in the rubbish.

It certainly was a waste but really there was no excuse and it had to be done. The owner and his staff should have known better. From what I hear this is one of the biggest seizures that has happened in Alice Springs. It isn't over yet. There are now further interviews to conduct, reports to write and education to be conducted to ensure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again.

To Coober Pedy

I hadn’t been back in Alice Springs an hour when Stewart said that he’d like to head down to a place near Coober Pedy to look for a legless lizard. We were driving back from the airport and I must say that I didn’t think much of it at the time. A round trip of 1400 kms is a long way to go just for a little lizard, even if it is a legless one. Despite the distance and my initial uneasiness about putting the kilometers on my car, I agreed to drive down there with Stewart.

It’s always interesting to go out with Stewart as you get to see some weird and wonderful creatures that you otherwise would not have even the slightest chance of seeing. These things you need to look for! The drive down there was long and tiring, but the passing scenery and the book on tape kept interested. It’s always amazing to see how the landscape changes. Around Alice Springs it is hilly with a few low trees. As one drives south the scenery changes into sand country with dunes and spinifex dominating the landscape. All too soon though this changes to rocky woodland then open plains with vast treeless expanses stretching across the horizon. Around Coober Pedy though the landscape gets even more unusual. There isn’t a tree to be seen anywhere on the land. Large heaps of dirt (left over from the opal mining) are piled everywhere with new ones being made every week means that it is a continually changing the landscape. These large heaps become the dominant feature. On an open plain with a few rocks lying around the place even a mouse walking across it would be the dominant feature. For that reason, Coober Pedy seems to be another world. The native Coober Pedians make it even stranger.

We stopped just outside Coober Pedy and had a poke around. After a bit of searching and a lot of swearing about the flies, we found the legless lizard that we were looking for. After taking a few photos we were on our way back into town for tea. It was a long but eventful day.

The next day we were up early with the hope of having a look around the town and surrounding landscape. Unfortunately it had rained overnight which made me a bit apprehensive about driving over the roads. We drove out along the main road that heads off to Oonadatta and stopped just after the dog fence. Driving along I could feel the mud sticking to the wheels of the car. When I got out and over to the dog fence to take a photo and then walked back to the car and had grown by two inches. I didn’t think driving to the ‘Moon Plains’ would be a smart idea. Especially in my car that, while I had every confidence in the vehicle, wasn’t equipped for off road travel. That’s the trouble with getting blow outs and being bogged in the work vehicles (which has happened quite a bit over the past couple of weeks). It makes one quite uneasy about taking a two wheel drive vehicle with road tyres on muddy corrugated roads. The high clearance doesn’t help with those sorts of drives. We didn’t get to see the ‘Moon Plains’. I don’t know how moon like they are (apparently it’s just a wide open are with small rocks everywhere) but it will have to be left for another trip. I think that if it hadn’t had rained I would have gone on it. The road wasn’t that bad just sticky. It wasn’t as bad as driving on black soil but it might have been further down the road. I didn’t want to risk it.

In the end Stewart seemed happy enough to carry on and even happier when we found a little dragon on our way back. That was another new tick for him (and me). It was a big drive as we arrived back in Alice Springs just as it was getting dark.

Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) 01, originally uploaded by Ryan McLean.

Drying itself in the morning sun after going for a diver in a pond at Melbourne Zoo.

Common Eggfly Butterfly (Hypolimnas bolina)

Common Eggfly Butterfly (Hypolimnas bolina), originally uploaded by Ryan McLean.

This photo was taken inside Melbourne Zoo's Butterfly House. The tip of this butterfly's wing has been broken off which may suggest a run in with some over-zealous tourist who tried to pick it up.

Orchard Butterfly (Papilio aegeus)

Orchard Butterfly (Papilio aegeus), originally uploaded by Ryan McLean.

I went to Melbourne Zoo this afternoon (again) and took this photo in the butterfly house.

Meerkats for my birthday

As I looked out of my window this morning the world was covered in a thick fog. From the spare room at Laura and Paul's apartment I could hardly see the other side of the street. The city, which can usually be seen with the lights still shining, was invisible. As I swung my legs out of bed I sighed. Today was my birthday. 32 today! It seems to have come around so quickly. Feels like only yesterday I was 31. The years just now seem to be going so fast.

This year was going to be different though. I was spending my birthday in Melbourne with Laura. I'd come down a couple of days before and had spent my days entertaining Max and shopping in the city. Our birthday morning started getting up with Laura and Paul seeing to Max's morning needs before we settled down with a cup of tea to open the presents. I received a book on insects and a Bill Bryson book from Mum and Dad and from Laura and Paul I got a meerkat cup, meerkat t-shirt and my photo taken with the meerkats at Melbourne Zoo.

We arrived at the zoo around 10:30 and went straight over to the meerkats to get our photo. We were let into the enclosure through the rear and sat on a log. As soon as we sat down the meerkats came over to us and started to over our laps. To keep them interested the keeper threw mealworms onto our laps. The meerkats loved them and grabbed them as soon as they could get to them. At one point we had all nine climbing on us. It was good fun. The meerkats are cute little things and their fur is surprisingly soft and their claws unsurprisingly sharp. It was something that I'd never really do and was very fun.

Laura and me with the meerkats.

Graduating

I never thought that graduating was a big thing. To me it seemed to be a lot of money to spend for a couple of seconds walking across the stage and getting to shake the hand of the head of the uni whom you have never even spoken to before. For that reason I wasn't going to go to my graduation. That's what I said but I still booked my flight back to Brisbane and paid the money after being told by a few friends that I really should go and do it.

And so this afternoon, me, Mum and Dad drove up to the Sunshine Coast for me to graduate. Before I could walk across the stage I had to get my uniform. It consisted of a cape, hood and a mortar board hat. After about fifteen minutes I was able to get it all on together the right way and looking presentable. With that we started to wander over to the sports stadium where the ceremony would take place. After two hours of waiting around we took our seats and settled down for the ceremony.

It started with a procession of all the academics in their gowns with all the trimmings. Speeches followed. After what seemed like a long while the procession of students getting their degrees began. From my degree there was only me and one other person who received their degrees. The other two people who were graduating didn't attend. Still we walked across the stage and shook hands with the Chancellor, he said well done and we walked off the stage. That was it.

It was all over very quickly but I'm kind of glad that I went. It was good to get my certificate. I feel quite proud of what I've done although I do think that anyone can complete a degree, it was good that I did it.

Me in my graduation gown and hat.

Dad, Me and Mum at the Graduation.

Complaints, complaints, complaints...

The first complaint about me came as a bit of a shock. I’d just arrived at work and the boss comes over to me to say that they have to write a ministerial (a brief for the minister for health which then gets distributed to the local member of parliament) about me. I wondered why. What had I done that was so bad? My first complaint was due to a letter that I had written. The proprietor had seen it as me threatening him and saying that I would close down the place. Where he got this idea from I don’t know. You only have to look at the track record of our program to see that we haven’t closed a place down recently. We haven’t closed a place down in the past five years. We haven’t closed a place down… ever, as far as I’m aware. I received a couple of letters from local members of parliament whom I really would have liked to have written back to. Unfortunately I can’t tell them where they can stick their support and just had to stick the letter on the file with no reply. Just another thing I guess I’ll have to get used to.

What do you Finke?

This week I went out to the community of Aputula, otherwise known as Finke. Finke is famous in Central Australia as it is the start/finish point for the Finke Desert Race, which is a major race on the off-motorcycling calendar and follows the Old South Road for over 200kms before finishing in Finke. The next day, the riders do it all again but head north. We weren’t here for that (being four months early – the race is in June). Our drive down to Finke wasn't as quick as the race (and we went down the highway before cutting across which is about 420 kms) but it was a good run down there.

Me Driving to Finke.

After receiving a complaint regarding the store we went down to investigate. Our time in the community was spend conducting inspections at the various registered premises in the town, touring the sewerage ponds, landfill, bores, power station and airstrip as well as meeting with various community representatives and managers from the shire services. We had quite a bit to do in the town but in the end we got our inspections done and letters written.

On Wednesday morning we left the community and headed back to Alice Springs. It is 151 kms of dirt road before getting to the Stuart Highway near Kulgera. On the way we saw a sign for the Lambert Centre and had to go. After all, it was only 12 km away. After some real four-wheel driving we arrived at the Lambert Cenre. The Lambert Centre is the geographical centre of Australia. Now I can say that I really have been to the middle of Australia!

The way to the geographical centre of Australia.

The Lambert Centre.

On the way back to Alice Springs I had another first. Driving along I heard this massive bang and the steering on the car became very still. I was traveling at around 110 km/h but managed to stop the car and pull over to the side of the road. It was my first blow out! It wasn't a big thing. Being in the outback there were no cars to hit and I could slow down easily. It was exciting though. The tyre took a while to change (another first) but we were soon on our way back to Alice. This time, we arrived without any further problems.

Changing my first blown out tyre.

A rapid trip to the Barkly

At the start of February, Cyclone Yassi hit Cairns. It was a category 5 cyclone and therefore, understandably, caused quite a bit of damage. It was bad to watch the devastation on the television but we didn’t think that it would affect us much. We might get a bit of rain, maybe a bit of wind too, but nothing too bad. You can imagine my surprise when I read in the local paper it would reach Alice Springs as a category 1 cyclone and we could expect widespread flooding. That lunchtime as I walked down the mall I was even more surprised to see people building walls of sandbags in front of their shops and businesses. I’m on the Public Health Counter Disaster Committee for Region 3 and the reports that we’d been given only stated that there might be minor flooding. These businesses were quite a way from the river and would only be reached with very major flooding. That weekend we were told that we might be called upon depending on what happens. It was very unlikely, but we had to be prepared just in case.

That weekend there were a few very heavy passing showers and lots of dark clouds on the horizon. Not the major flooding that the papers said would hit Alice. Not even the minor flooding that the Government had said may happen. The river didn’t flow that weekend. It dribbled over the following week but was that light that you hardly had to slow down when driving across the causeways. The storm passed to the south of Alice Springs. The decision was made however, to start a voluntary evacuation of some of the remote communities. In the end, one community did evacuate some residents. The thing was, they didn’t have anywhere to go. It wasn’t a disaster situation and therefore no shelters were open and the government departments didn’t have any legislative power to do anything really. In the end, the show grounds at Tennant Creek, the closest major town to the community, was opened for the influx of residents who left their community.

On Monday afternoon, I was asked if I wanted to go up to Tennant Creek with another EHO, Aaron Clifford, to do an assessment of the show grounds for environmental health considerations. So after a very busy afternoon booking accommodation, making phone calls to many other government agencies and a lot of paperwork it was confirmed. I was going up to Tennant Creek and would be back on Friday. We left early the next day and were up in Tennant Creek just after lunch. We went straight around to the show grounds and started work. Our job basically involved us checking out the facilities, ensuring the food preparation areas were safe and suitable for use; the ablution facilities were sufficient, in good working order and in a sanitary condition; that the accommodation was safe and sufficient and to basically look for any other environmental health issues that could affect the health of those staying at the grounds. We then had to arrange cleaning of the facilities, use of alternative food preparation and storage facilities and ensure that the necessary precautions were taken to ensure that the health of the residents was not compromised. It involved a lot of meetings with people and seeing what people could do to help. These people were then matched up and everyone was happy. It took us two days to get everything sorted and write our reports on the trip.

A flooded road near Wycliffe Well.

Me at the Devil's Marbles.


Tennant Creek.

It was a good trip up to Tennant Creek and a good learning experience on how do conduct a rapid assessment of an evacuation centre and how to get what you need through meetings, phone calls and lots of luck. In the end we accomplished what we'd set out to do and the boss was happy with the final report. It was a good week.