Guiding Lights

We visited a number of castles, museums and other attractions - so we experienced various guides, docents and interpreters.  Here are some thoughts about them (but not about Jan, the Queen of the Guides; we've spoken of her elsewhere).

Enthusiasm and charm
The prize for this goes to the young gentleman at Apsley House.  He had plenty of stories to tell us, and just about chased us around the place to give us just a little more.  Some might have thought him a little pushy, but for a Dukophile too much is never enough.  There must be an honorable mention for Angie at Lanerost Priory near Carlisle.  She was nice and helpful and a bit of a saleswoman - and we appreciated it.  Also in the Carlisle area was the chap at the desk at The Border Regiment Museum at the Castle.  I don't like to monopolise people if there are others waiting, but there weren't, so I did.  It's a fine little museum and he shared with us his hopes and dreams and disappointments.  I wish them well.

Knowledge
The staff at the Handel House in London had a good handle on their topic (but there was one who didn't know the ropes) and they really added to our appreciation.  Bruce and Annie in Edinburgh, of course, were able to give us a lot of background at the National Gallery in Edinburgh, as did the lady at the ground floor shop in Gladstone's Land.

Audio tours
We only did a couple of these, and perhaps should have done more. The one at Holyrood Palace was superb, as was the turn-out of the staff.  The Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin also had a good audio guide (and here's a free plug for the National Library of Australia whose iPhone app doubles as an audio guide).

General layout
It's hard to go beyond the Deutsches Historisches Museum that encapsulates a lot of German history (warts and all) in a very sensible viewing order, but they'd probably be hoping that there's not too much more history to happen, because they'll be running out of space fast.

and just a couple of brickbats
There were three occasions when the guides or interpreters ventured outside their areas of expertise and got mired in the swamp of folk etymology.  I wish they wouldn't.

Public Transport

This was a real eye-opener on the trip.  We used Oyster cards in London and something similar in Den Haag, and we recharged them at machines or at information offices.  In Edinburgh and Glasgow we bought daily tickets, and in Berlin and Frankfurt there were multi-day passes.  And they all worked on trains, buses and trams - faultlessly.  And they weren't too expensive.

Of course, such public transport can only function when it's been well-planned, integrated, fitted into the city and is a viable alternative to car ownership.  Although it must be noted that while Honey in London can get around mostly by bus, she is going to buy a car to cope with a toddler and a baby.

What really got to me though was the general attitude to public transport, compared to what we have in Australia - especially Canberra.  They might have had different timetables on the weekend, but it wasn't obvious.  Compare that to taking an ACTION bus from one of our outer suburbs on a Sunday afternoon.

The staff at the big stations in Brussels, Schipol and Berlin were very helpful, and - despite their protestations - agreeably fluent in English.

Finding information about trains in various places wasn't too hard, but occasionally provided a problem.  Commuter trains in London and the Netherlands and the S- and U-Bahn in Germany all had displays that told you when the next train was due and where it would be going, and they also announced what the next stop would be.  The trams in Den Haag did this so regularly that we were chanting along with the announcer "de volgende halte is ...".

The only real problem was had was in Frankfurt, which should have been the easiest really.  The timetables seemed to indicate that the best way to get to the airport was to get the 9 S-Bahn, which left around 7pm from platform 21.  But, just before 7 a train came into that platform and shut down.  Fortunately, we were able to check with a couple of other passengers and they confirmed that the train at the adjoining platform also went to the airport.  A ten-minute ride later, we were there with plenty of time to spare.

Friends old and new

We didn't set out to do it this way, but what stands out for this trip was the enjoyable experiences that we had courtesy of family, old friends, people we hardly knew and those we met along the way.  

Family comes first. 

It was such a treat to see Honey, Lorien, Dylan and Elodie, but we didn't want to overload them at first (Elodie was only ten weeks old when we arrived) so we didn't stay with them on that leg. Nevertheless Honey had plenty of advice on travel and other matters, and when we stayed with them after the Scottish experience it was so relaxing. (It was also like this with Bruce & Annie and Jennefer too)  B&Bs and hotels are fine, but a home is a welcome break.

Friends from the past

Bruce and Annie made us so welcome, and their house is just a dream.  And the warm scents of the cooking as we came back each day were very welcoming.  The added stories of Edinburgh rounded out the experience marvellously, and even if I chose not to bow my head reverently before Sandy's home, I still felt the glow of the literary district.  The richness of the experience at the Malt Whisky Society was a real highlight and gave us another sense of gracious living (a colleague from work here has put an offer in on a house around the corner) and the Canny Man's is a place really worth a return visit.  As for their guided tour of the Gallery, it beat anything else we encountered.

I've known Jennefer for twenty years, and she also has a gem of an apartment in Den Haag.  She's also well-organised for visitors, with loads of information and a couple of transport cards ready to use.  We were lucky to be able to share a Sunday with her, and a few nights - which was fortunate, as she does travel a lot.  

Ulli we've also known for many years, and she really put herself out for our Berlin trip, with advice on restaurants and things to do - and a truly memorable and thrilling adventure journey over the Bundestag Bridge.

New friends

I'd only known Jan through a Patrick O'Brian discussion list (where I admired her French name) and an abortive foray into Scrabulous until I found out that she knew many more words than I did.  When she offered to be our guide around London, I was touched but completely unprepared for her wealth of knowledge and her enthusiasm.  And her memory, as she was the one who prompted me to find the nightingale for Judith in Berkeley Square.  She is a fantastic guide and a lovely person.

And we enjoyed meeting many people in B&Bs, but we have to give special mention to Johnny and Sandra at The Green in Cotehill, just outside Carlisle.  Sandra's welcome was so warm that far from wanting to collapse after a tiring day, I was happy to sit back with a cuppa and enjoy the afternoon countryside.  And what a treat it was to run into Johnny at The Greyhound and to yarn with him over a pint.  They were so kind.  It was a really good time we had there.

Hi there!

We went on a glorious trip to Europe in September-October 2011.

We've put a chronological summary up, but what you'll find here is a lot of subjective musings on all sorts of aspects of the trip, including (but not limited to) public transport, museums, friends and eating places.

But not much poetry.