Summer Travel - England, Germany, Scandinavia, South Africa

Summer vacation started out in England's North, mainly for a family wedding. Then four days in Berlin with Fabian and Julia. Scandinavia was next, where we had 3 weeks of constant highs and exhausted all available superlatives in the English lexicon. Ten pleasant days in South Africa with family and friends, and the obligatory game park. A final 3 days in London - ahh glorious, lovable London - to round off a shockingly extravagant five weeks of travel.

England

From Heathrow's swanky Terminal 5 we rented a car and hurtled onto the M25. "Keep left," I had to remind a surprisingly alert and calm Daryl every few seconds. A few somewhat uneventful hours later, we exited on to the Snake Pass, where the greenness and shapeliness of the Derbyshire countryside thrust our spirits skyward.

Loughrigg Tarn, Lake District

Peaks, Derbyshire

For the next 2 days Glynis and Mike fed us tasty meals, and took us on delightful walks in the moors of the Peak District. Warm, just baked scones and a flask of tea accompanied us the first morning, and we scarfed them as we gazed in wonder at the unreal lush world around us. Back home in California the four year drought has turned our landscape a dismal brown. I filled my lungs with grassy sweet moist air and smiled at the gray sky, giddy with the anticipation of drizzle.
Next we drove up to the Lake District. The Apple Pie Inn, where we stayed in Ambleside, had the satisfying balance of old stone exterior and modern bedrooms. A 10 mile hike across tarns and fells elicited from us the full range of "wow" reactions for which the region is famous. And to ensure the total English experience, we stopped at Rydal Mount, home of William Wordsworth, for afternoon tea and cake which we had in the garden beside a murmuring creek. Later, wandering through Ambleside's beguiling downtown, we dined at Fellini's, a fine vegetarian restaurant, where we were once again reminded of England's highly evolved food scene.
Off to Lancaster and a lovely opportunity for a family reunion provided by Joe and Rachel. First, a beautiful wedding ceremony in the stately town hall, then a splendid reception in Forrest Hills. The speeches were short, the food was tasty, the countryside setting was gorgeous, and best of all, was the chance to chat with loved ones we see so rarely.

Berlin

In Berlin Julia, Fabian, Daryl and I stayed at the Titanic Deluxe, a 5 star hotel - due to some miraculous online deal. It was near the Gendarmenmarkt, and had a Turkish hamam spa. After a day of sightseeing we got steamed up on the marble stone bed then sweated in the Finnish sauna. Afterwards, just lying in the relaxation room, sipping cucumber flavored water, we thought about how deprived we'd been all those years with our budget travel! Better planning this time in Berlin allowed us a visit to the Reichstag Dome. Went up the spiral ramp and got eye popping city views. A helpful audioguide educated us on the history of the Reichstag and the design of the Norman Foster dome. On Museum Island we were blown away by the Gates of Ishtar at the Pergamon, and the Greek sculpture at the Altes Museum. Fabian, after a restless hour, perked up when he saw sarcophagi and also seemed intrigued by the Golden Hat from 1000 BCE, but he was unimpressed by the bust of Nefertiti at the Neues Museum.
After our unforgettable experience a couple years ago at Cookies Cream, the vegetarian restaurant hidden behind the Westin Grand Hotel, we had to return to it this time. Their potato chanterelle lasagna reaffirmed our high opinion of this place! Berlin has such an exciting culinary scene that we consistently ate well here. On our last evening the four of us enjoyed a take out meal from Galeries Lafayette in our hotel room. We sipped French wine, played games, and just enjoyed being together.

Norway

From Berlin Daryl and I flew into Bergen, Norway where we met up with Troy and Jon and picked up a rental car for a 5 day car journey to explore the fjords. We drove through numerous tunnels and over mountain passes. We lost count of the number of waterfalls we past. Further and further north we went where daylight lingered beyond 10:30 P.M., until we got to Trondheim. The details of this part of the trip are in a separate blog.

Sweden

Arriving in built-up crowded Stockholm after the wilderness of Norway was a bit of a culture shock. We past a parade of homeless panhandlers, mainly the Roma, on our way to our hotel. When we checked in at Freys, a cute hotel on a quiet lane, we were warned about pickpockets. There were warning signs everywhere! Crime and homelessness in Sweden? Jesus! Is there any hope for the developing world?
Stockholm is instantly seductive. Since it's a collection of islands in a lagoon by the Baltic Sea, it has a lot of natural beauty. This is enhanced by its grand architecture spanning several centuries, many parks, outdoor sculpture, fountains, and bridges .
Maybe it was the perennial blue sky and blissful temperatures. Or was it the summer buzz of outdoor cafés and the mainly pedestrianized center? Could it have been that nothing was difficult, everything was convenient, and everybody was happy to speak English? Or maybe it was the open display of progressive attitudes - rainbow flags, highly evolved green policies (e.g. bulk toiletries in hotels), Fair-trade coffee within meters of you everywhere. There was a je ne sais quois about Stockholm that invited fantasies of setting down roots here. Okay, okay, we know all about the dreaded winter. I did say fantasy. I'd love to spend an entire summer here, though.
As promised by the guidebooks, the Gamla Stan, Stockholm's well-preserved Medieval quarter, was indeed fun to wander through, though exploring other less touristy neighborhoods was a lot more enjoyable. We toured the Nobel Prize Museum and learned more about Alfred Nobel and past laureates. At the Vasa Museum we gawped at the Vasa, a 200 foot warship that sank on its maiden voyage 400 years ago.
On the culinary front, Stockholm reminded us of Berlin. Using TripAdvisor we sampled some impressive restaurants. Rolf's Kök, a popular place with an open kitchen and famous chef, was our favorite. The sole vegetarian main was an exquisite spring vegetable pasta dish, and for dessert we smashed a pavlova, rendered unforgettable by a lavish topping of liqueur infused strawberries. We also loved the restaurant Chutney, in the Sodermalm area, for its cosmopolitan vegan food and the fact that it was inexpensive, casual, with outdoor tables, and a local vibe. Went here two evenings in a row, and this gave us the opportunity to enjoy panoramic city views from the Katarina foot bridge! We tried out Gro on our first evening and found it absurdly overpriced, and despite a 4 course meal, we were still hungry afterwards. Still, it was fun watching the three young men in the open kitchen labor over each course so that the plates looked like works of art.
The Stockholm Festival had just begun on our final day in the city. Stages were set up for a full week of live music by big names. The city throbbed with celebration. Scattered around were pianos painted in bright colors, and the words "Play me, I'm yours" splashed above the keyboard. We, along with a crowd, were drawn to a pair of talented jazz pianists who played some very entertaining tunes on the Stortorget Square. On this balmy evening in Stockholm, twilight creeping in, crowds heading to various outdoor venues,  long lines forming at food trucks, and the air thick with summer energy, we hated the thought of leaving the next morning.

A 4 hour train ride through the mainly flat Swedish countryside got us to Lund, a smallish town defined by the presence of a major university. Wandering through this mainly car free town with cobbled roads and old stone buildings, you could almost feel like you're in a past era, but for the cyclists - everyone cycles here - chatting on their smart phones, and bars advertising craft beer. We checked out the famous 17th century astronomical clock inside the 11th century Cathedral. A stroll through the Botanic Gardens with its beds of bright flowers was quite pleasant. We also enjoyed Kulturen, an open air museum featuring real models of historic Swedish buildings, e.g. a farmhouse and a church. We were fascinated by the original furnishings, tools, and equipment which allowed us to vividly imagine life as it was then.
What we enjoyed most in Lund was meeting up with friends of Santa Barbara friends. They took us for a drive around the nearby countryside and Daryl was excited to see similar vegetation to Suffolk. There was even a sugar beet mill! At their home we were joined by their neighbors and this gave us a chance to really get to know the locals. It was a mild Swedish evening - rare this summer - so we sat on the terrace and had a barbecue dinner. We covered a range of topics -politics, homelessness, education issues, mental health issues, and most unexpectedly, crime (!). We were utterly amazed to learn that they'd all had their homes broken into - out there in small town Sweden!
It was almost 11:00 when we broke up the party. What lovely people, and what a privilege it was to spend time with them.
We got dropped off at our hotel - The Grand. A pretentious name for a rather modest hotel, though I'm sure it once was a grand place, judging by its stately exterior. The breakfasts at this hotel it has to be said, were the best we'd had on this trip! And that's saying a lot, considering the lavish buffet spreads in much of Norway. There were freshly baked scones, fresh cream and various jams. There was a waffle station, a selection of excellent pastries, and the usual eggs, beans, sausages, cold meats, cheeses, breads, fresh fruit, etc., etc. So we stuffed ourselves the next morning before heading out to the station.

Denmark

Our train from Lund took us over the famous Oresünd Bridge to Copenhagen. We stayed in a centrally located apartment, furnished with professionally restored antique furniture (the owner runs an antique furniture business). The weather cooperated too - gloriously warm, with clear skies. So we spent our days taking in the major sites on foot in this fairly compact city.

What we liked:

1.  Christiansborg, the seat of the Danish Parliament, being fans of Borgen - a Danish TV series.
2. Nyhaven - the Old Port - with its attractive, brightly colored houses and great atmosphere from the outdoor bars. Took a boat tour from here through the canal and almost into the Baltic Sea. Got to see the city's famous buildings and the Little Mermaid.
3. Christiana - the hippy, car free commune with its homemade houses, workshops, and galleries.
4. The National Museum for its Viking collection, ancient Greek vases, and mosaics. Absolutely free entry, with no collection boxes to guilt you into paying something
5. The SMK - National Gallery of Denmark for its Matisse, Modigliani, and Munch pieces, as well as its decent collection of Northern European masters. Also free, and if you really feel you want to make a donation, there isn't any obvious way to do it!
6. Marzipan pastries at the many "to die for" bakeries.
7. The rainbow flags displayed across Strøget Street and everywhere else; and the over the top Gay parade
8. The walk via Kastellet Fort to see the Little Mermaid. Enjoyed the parks, sculptures, bird life, and moat along the way. Loved the Gefion Fountain, and catching glimpses of St. Alban's Anglican Church, an old-fashioned windmill, and old church on the way back.
9. Popular food market near us with fresh produce, specialty culinary items, trendy bars, and cafés
10. The city is designed for cyclists to get everywhere and anywhere. And there were thousands of cyclists. It was so cool to see very little car traffic in a major city.

Did not like:

1. Lack of vegetarian restaurants (should mention that veggie burgers were ubiquitous!)
2. Walked for frustrating, futile hours looking for lunch and found nothing appealing between Christiansborg and the Tivoli Gardens. Actually, at the entrance to the gardens we saw some possibilities, but at that point we thought, why not eat inside!
3. HATED Tivoli Gardens. Found out very quickly why we should have eaten before entering. The choice was between overpriced fast food and mega overpriced snooty food. Daryl wanted to get the hell out as soon as he saw all the stupid rides. I desperately wanted to find something redeeming to justify our entrance fee. Surely there were amazing gardens and sculpture and fountains? When we learned that it was this theme park that inspired Walt Disney, we hightailed it. The timing was perfect - the Gay Pride parade was in full force near us, and the joy emanating from this restored our moods.
4. Broken beer bottles and trash all over the city the Sunday morning after the Gay parade which had culminated into an all night party.

Our list of likes far outnumber the dislikes, so yes, Copenhagen has been added to our list of "Favorite World Cities".

South Africa

On to South Africa for the full range of emotions that only my land of birth can stir up. It was truly a joy to meet up with old friends and various relatives. Everyone spoiled me with affection and exceptional meals of the South African Indian variety. Is there any cuisine in the world that can compete? I was heartbroken to see an aunt in advanced stages of Alzheimers. Fortunately, her responsible daughter is ensuring a comfortable and dignified final stage of life for her. Felt the usual disillusionment at the glacial pace of progress, especially with education and jobs. Felt disgust at the obscene greed of the nouveau riche. Disappointing too was hearing everyone relate a personal experience with crime, and some homes I visited were equipped with cameras and TV monitors for safety. Despite anxiety over an impending economic crisis and the rand hitting rock bottom, the locals were just as warm and friendly as ever, which was uplifting. In Ladysmith, Mum fussed over me, 9 year old Cayden showed off his chess skills by beating me a few times, and 4 year old Shreyan entertained me with cute stories. Two days at Nambiti Private Game Reserve with Mum was quite the high point for multiple reasons that will be elaborated in a separate blog. On my last two days in Durban I had great conversations with relatives I adore, bringing the trip to a satisfying closure.

London

In London Angie gave us the five star treatment in Belsize Park, forever condemning us to unreasonably high expectations whenever we are in London! The weather, though not glorious, was pleasant enough for walks in Hampstead Heath and along Regents Canal through to Primrose Hill Park. It's the Shard, the Walkie Talkie, and the Cheese Grater that catch your eye first as you stare out at the ever changing London skyline from these parks. We gobbled up first class cuisine at Black Velvet, Nopi - an Ottolenghi restaurant in Soho, and of course, at Angie's. We spent a lovely afternoon with the Self family, and over tea and cake, we chatted about all that had happened since our last visit. Mahler's Symphony #1 at the Royal Albert Hall (BBC Proms) was a spiritual experience for us both. Flooded with ecstasy we couldn't help wondering if this was all a dream. The 5 week trip came to an end. But a new adventure was to begin ...