Sunday & Monday, July 17th-18th - Luxembourg

M and V both had the next couple days off and had a hard time figuring out exactly where we should go since they’d already had a lot of visitors and done all the regular touristy places more times than they’d like to count.  After much deliberation, they came up with Luxembourg, a country that none of us had yet been to and were unlikely to hit in the future.  So we packed up the car and headed out.

A word about Luxembourg: it is a teeny-tiny country, only 999 square miles, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany.  It is the only place I have ever been where we will comment, “That was so French!” and then move to the next shop and remark, “That was so German!”  The lady at our hotel spoke to us in German and then told us the numbers for the security code in French.  They have the highest GDP per capita, which means that everything there is a tad expensive.  It is ruled by a Grand Duke and Luxembourg is his grand duchy.  I don't know why that's funny, but, well, duchy.

When we arrived in downtown Luxembourg City, we hunted down the tourist information office.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Seek out the tourist information office first thing.  The people there generally speak English and will provide you with a city map which is infinitely useful.  Keep an eye out for a square sign (often blue) with a lower case “i” which means “information.”

The lady there gave us a map to do the Wenzel Walk (a self-guided walking tour), told us the open hours of the casemates, and we set off to find lunch. We decided to do a quick lunch (eating at a restaurant in Europe can take hours), so we found a Quick and popped in.  Quick is a Belgian fast food chain that is very similar to McDonalds or Burger King, except that they prefer not to “have it your way.”  All their burgers come with cheese, and once, in France, I ordered a burger without cheese that practically stopped their entire operation. I received my sandwich after everyone else in my party had finished their meal.  So today I turned off the picky and had a cheeseburger.  I feel I should note that in Germany, Luxembourg, and a number of other countries, they will charge you for ketchup (or mayonnaise, if you’re in Belgium).

After lunch, we headed for the Wenzel Walk.  The sights along the Wenzel Walk were lovely and many a picture was taken.  The self-guided tour was poorly marked (they prefer the UK approach to signage) and involved looking at the map, looking at the tiny picture of the sight, seeing if it matched what we were looking at, and then me reading the snippet of history included in the brochure which was written, in terms of interest, at driver’s manual level.  We did come across a “Second Hand Food & Drinks” sign, which is only worth mentioning for the mental images.

When we figured that we probably finished the tour (we're pretty sure we made it to number 15), we went back to the beginning and made our way to the Bock Casemates, “14 miles underground defensive passageways.” You had to pay to get into the casemates, but only 3 euro per person.  If you like long tunnels that look largely the same (not all of them were underground and there were lots of open spaces, so fear not, claustrophobics) dotted with the occasional cannon, then the casemates are for you!

Afterward we all felt the need for refreshment, fueled by the memory of a place we passed earlier called the Chocolate House.  The Chocolate House, located directly across from the Grand Duke’s Grand Palace, was clearly very popular, as it was crazy busy.  V grabbed a table outside while the rest of us went in to scout out the treats.  Apparently the Chocolate House’s claim to fame is the hotchocspoon - a wooden spoon stuck in a block of chocolate, of which they have 75 flavors.  You stir your hotchocspoon (I had mint, M had chili, V had caramel rum) into a steaming hot cup of milk until you have delicious hot chocolate.  That was the perfect treat since the weather was overcast and windy.  After some serious contemplation, we decided that the best choice to accompany a huge mug of melted chocolate would be a massive piece of cake. Mc and I had tiramisu cake and we regret nothing!

Our hotel was actually located in Vianden, located on the Our River in the Our Valley (Luxembourgers seem a tad possessive).  This was a neat little town in northern Luxembourg, famous for a beautiful castle from the middle ages.  As we parked, we noticed a lot of people streaming down the street towards town.  So, we unloaded the car and headed that way to see what was up.  We wandered around town for quite a while, but we spotted no one.  So we got dinner and headed back to our hotel.  Once in our hotel, I noticed that the beautiful Celtic charm had fallen off my new necklace.  We scoured the hotel, and the next morning all three of us looked in the street, but with all the wandering we did the night before and all the cobblestones, it was pretty much a needle-in-a-haystack situation.  So I now have a lovely silver chain from Scotland.  (But I’ll still cherish the memories forever.)

The next morning, we opted out of the breakfast option of our bed and breakfast (only an extra 8 euro per person!) and headed to a bakery.  This time we saw people streaming up the road.  We never appeared to be going the right direction.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Utilize bakeries!  Hmm?  I’ve already given this tip?  Have you done it yet?  Then I haven’t mentioned it enough.  Bakeries are easy (just point to what you want), have coffee (for those who need it), have sandwiches (when you want a quick lunch), and are cheap (even in Luxembourg).  Go to a bakery.

After breakfast, we walked up to Vianden Castle and discovered it was one of the few places you can’t bring a dog, which was odd since it was largely outside and made of stone.  (Did I mention J-dog was with us?  V’s dog, J, can’t stay home alone overnight, and Europe is pretty dog-friendly, and J-dog had always wanted to see Luxembourg, so into the backseat she jumped.)  V and J-dog went for their own private excursion while M, Mc, and I went exploring in the castle.  This was Mc’s first inside-a-castle experience, which is always a good one.  After a while in Europe, you start to get a little history-jaded (oh, is this castle only 500 years old?  Ho hum . . . Meanwhile, at home the oldest building is 150 years old), but Mc wasn’t quite there yet.

After the castle, we walked back into town for a quick lunch.  There were not a lot of restaurant options, but we found a great place that I’d love to recommend if only I’d written down the name.  M and Mc feel it was called “Peter something.” (Further research has found that it was the restaurant at Hotel Petry.) They made pizza and the sign over the door had a painted picture of two faces that were very similar to Mario and Luigi, except sort of a zombie-greenish color (which put me off at first, but the others convinced me to go in).  They have traditional fare in addition to pizza, but they also have flammkuchen, which I highly recommend trying.  It’s like a German version of pizza - the dough is rolled out very thin and they put cheese and other stuff on top, but no sauce.  Mine had onions and leeks, M’s had onions, leeks, and bacon.  They are huge and very tasty and a nice alternative to potatoes (if you’ve been in Germany awhile, you’ll eventually want an alternative to potatoes).

The drive home was uneventful as we said good-bye to the German-French Luxembourg and J-dog passed out on my lap.  Seemed like a good idea . . .

Friday, July 15th - Sicky

M and V are living in a cool old farmhouse in northwest Germany, about 3 hours from Amsterdam and 1 hour from Belgium.  Our first full day in Germany the sun was shining and I was sick.  I had felt it coming on - in Canterbury I started waking up with a sore throat and then in Scotland I’d started sneezing way too often for someone without allergies and by the time we landed in Germany, I knew.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Travel with EmergenC.  This is a tip I picked up from my favorite travel people at Walking Softly Adventures (www.walkingsoftly.com).  EmergenC comes in slim packets that fit easily into a toiletries bag and can help you avoid catching a bug or, if it’s late in your trip, at least help stave it off till you get home.  Since I caught something right at the start of our trip, we didn’t have enough with us to hold it off forever, but I’m still glad we brought it since it slowed the onset till we were at M’s house.  I feel badly for not promoting Airborne and supporting a fellow teacher, but Airborne takes forever to dissolve, can only be used in containers with necks big enough to fit a tablet, and takes up more room in your luggage.  Airborne used to make a version that came in little straws that you’d just down like a Pixie Stick, no water needed, which is actually even more handy than EmergenC, but I haven’t seen it in a while and suspect they stopped making it (I think children caught on quickly that it was not a Pixie Stick).

So we spent most of this day chillin’ around the house (M had to work anyway).  We did have to run one errand, however, and thus got to eat lunch in the Netherlands at a restaurant chain called Fritture.  M and V call the chain “Fried Shapes.”  When you walk in, there’s a deli-like case where you can see a variety of shapes, completely unlabeled, covered in bread crumbs.  You point at various shapes, order a side of fries and a drink, sit down, and a man brings you a plate with your shapes all fried up.  It’s like lunch-roulette.  I had what looked like an egg roll and turned out to be filled with beef.  Mc got a long stick that was filled with what we suspect was goulash (only the Dutch could figure out a way to fry goulash).  V got a long stick that tasted like a chicken nugget.  Considering everything was fried, the meal doesn’t feel greasy, they do an excellent job and have some of the best fries around. Fritture: SuperNova approved.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  It's OK to get sick in Europe.  It's a first world country and you can find medicine for just about anything you need.  The trick is to look for a sign that looks like the Red Cross symbol, but it's green.  Green plus-sign = pharmacy.  Also, instead of looking for a variation of the word "pharmacy," look for a variation of the word "apothecary" (apotheke in German).  While traveling through France (see upcoming entry), I developed a pretty nasty cough.  I went into a pharmacy and asked the lady at the counter (most drugs are behind the counter instead of on shelves) if she had cough medicine.  "Coff?" she asked, looking confused.  "Yes," I replied, and then demonstrated by hacking into my tissue.  "Ah, cough," she said and ran off and got me some expectorant.  In Amsterdam (see upcoming entry), Mc ran to a green plus-sign and got me a cough suppressant and he said that the man there spoke great English.  You can't let a little thing like getting sick ruin your vacation.  Be smart, take things a little more slowly, and get yourself the meds you need. Or lots of wine (I recommend both).

Wednesday & Thursday, July 13th-14th - Good-bye Scotland, but Not Forever

I must mention the rain again. It did rain while we were in Scotland. In fact, it rained a lot. Miraculously though, it only rained while we were on the bus. Every time we arrived at a stopping point and got off, the rain had stopped. On the Old Man of Storr, it was absolutely beautiful, but then rained as we drove to our next destination. I would not bank on this happening if you are planning a trip to Scotland, the best I can figure is that the Scottish weather was smiling down on us because we had a Scot with us.

We ended our last tour day with a quick stop at a bakery so we could have lunch on the beach because the weather was so nice. Of course, by the time we got there the sky had clouded over, but the beach was still packed with pale Scottish children learning to kayak, playing cricket, or braving the cold water. The sand was coarse, like river sand where I’m from, and it was a really lovely lunch.

During the long drive back to our initial starting spot, Andy had the tour group decide on a clan name. We became the MacGaryLeftOurLuggageBehind Clan because, as we pulled away from our last hostel another guide chased the bus, banging on the side of it. Turns out our bus driver, Gary, had left the back open and luggage was spilling out. I was elected to draw a coat of arms for our clan in a large book that the Haggis Tour keeps for comments, and I drew a bus driving across a Scottish sword (with luggage falling out) with our clan name and the date of our tour encircling it. In the four spaces I drew a hairy coo, a white horse, a Scottish flag, and a stuffed sheep that rode at the front of the bus. Meanwhile, Andy counted up the points (he had been awarding points to the various countries aboard the bus if the members of that country did things like remember important dates or tried haggis, etc.) and the top 3 countries - Australia, US, and UK all had to elect one member to compete for the winning title. We elected Mc and Andy announced . . . a dance-off. The UK girl sat down almost immediately, but Mc and the Aussie gave it a real go. In the end, the Aussies won, but the real winners were M and V who have a video of Mc dancing in the aisle of the bus.

We arrived back in Edinburgh at about 5:30pm, and when we showed Andy the address of our hotel and asked how much he thought a taxi would cost to get there, he offered to just have the bus drop us off, which was amazingly kind. We dropped our things off at the Edinburgh House Hotel (I have no idea what that means) and headed back into the city center for dinner, just a 10 min walk according to the website (who remembers my SuperNova Travel Observation about times in the UK?). 30 min later we finally reached the main drag and found a lovely restaurant on High Street (a little less spendy than Princes Street) and had our last haggis and shepherd’s pie. Then M and V went exploring while Mc and I started the long walk back.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Book your accommodations close to where you want to explore. This is sometimes hard to figure out when you’re looking at a very large city and don’t know exactly what you want to see. But if you have limited time and want to see/do just a few things, then try to get a hotel close to that. It will likely be more expensive, but the extra expense is worth the extra hours spent sleeping or at the sight (instead of commuting to your hotel). We made this mistake twice on this trip; we could’ve gotten more sleep in London if our hotel had been closer to the Globe and we could have explored Edinburgh a little more if our hotel had been near downtown. Do not trust the website description. As I mentioned before, the website said that Edinburgh was a short 10 min walk from our hotel (the hotel, by the way, was perfectly nice with a fantastic English breakfast). Always map the hotel and the areas you want to sightsee; GoogleMaps even has a “walking” setting so you can see how long it’ll take to walk. I actually really like walking and don’t mind long walks, but when you have so little time to see something, I’d rather spend less time getting there and more time seeing.

The next morning, Mc and I made a quick trip to Princes Street to see if we could find something with the Mc tartan on it. We went to lots of shops and even found a swatch of the Mc tartan, but no one carried it in stock. It is possible that it’s very obscure, or it’s possible that you just have to go to the area of Scotland where the Mcs are from to find it more prevalent. Mc did stop to buy me a beautiful silver necklace of a Celtic knot, which I’d planned to cherish forever (more on that later), so we didn’t go back completely empty handed. We got back just in time to jump in the taxi and head to the airport for Germany.

This is our tour route, starting and ending in Edinburgh

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 12th-13th - Drop Your Drawers

The 2^nd day of our tour of Scotland involved a quick jaunt up to see The Old Man of Storr. Or so Andy would have us believe. Turns out that The Old Man of Storr is 719 meters (2,359 feet) high and involves little to no path, but only at the really steep part. Whilst wheezing at the base of the pathless bit and wondering if the view would really live up to the hype, Mc and I encountered an Australian gentleman who informed us that not only had he, in his younger days, hiked up to the Old Man, but he had then rock climbed the sheer face of it. Upon wondering aloud whether or not we should hike up, he smiled and said, “Of course you have to hike up there! You can do it, no problem.” Thus encouraged, we made it up to the top, where M and V had already set up a spot for lunch.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Take advantage of Scottish bakeries! They have so much more than pastries, they have meat pies and sausage rolls and filled rolls (crispy rolls stuffed with chicken salad, tuna, etc.), treats, drinks; Mc and I got lunch for the both of us on 2 different days for less than 6 pounds!

Coming down was much easier, but the real accomplishment was that I made it to the top and back, through loose rock and bog, without getting my white capri pants dirty.

We spent the 2^nd night in Loch Ness at a very nice hostel with our own bathroom. The hostel also had a bar, featuring the live music of Donald “The Human iPod.” We had a few drinks and settled in to listen, but Donald did not appear to understand how microphones work and despite the fact that we were 10 feet away from him, still had it turned up to top volume. As the room packed with people, we shouted niceties across the table at Kiwi who was also on our tour with his Norwegian girlfriend. We eventually packed it in, ears ringing, and I tried to remember the last time I’d attempted conversation in a loud, crowded bar, screaming over the music in the background, and was not disappointed that I couldn’t remember.

Looking for the Loch Ness monster

Our Nessie spotting!

The morning of the 3^rd day, we went to see the Highland Show. We all crowded into a little traditional Highland hut and a man came out in traditional Highlander gear and told us about the traditional Highlander weapons and way of life. He asked for a volunteer to be dressed in a traditional kilt and Mc, being Scottish, volunteered. (He was the only volunteer, our tour group was kind of timid.) The man explained that, of course, nothing was worn under kilts, turned to Mc, and waited. Mc, being the rock star that he is, kicked off his shoes and unbuckled his shorts and stood there in his boxer-briefs waiting for the next direction, while cameras flashed throughout the crowd (that’s right, ladies). Then the man started the complicated method of turning 7 yards of wool into an intricate and impressive kilt. When he asked for a female volunteer, I clearly had to step up. I got to wear a giant white nighty. He waited for me to remove my clothes, but I am a teacher and easily out-stared him. The whole experience was unique and I recommend volunteering, but make sure you have on your best underpants. 

Monday, July 11th - Hurray for Haggis!

To get from Edinburgh from London takes about 9 hours. We considered renting a car and driving, which would allow us to stop at sights along the way and take our time, but considering the short amount of time we had in Scotland in the end we opted to take a 3 day bus tour. To get to Edinburgh, we booked an overnight bus through National Express. During the summer, National Express has a deal where you can book your trip for just 9 pounds as long as it’s 14 days in advance, which is a great deal compared to the 39 euros we would have had to pay otherwise. (Pay the extra pound for priority boarding, there’s no assigned seating on the bus and people arrive super early and crush the line, so it’s definitely worth it if you want to actually sit next to your travel buddy.) The bus left at 11pm, it was a 9 hour ride, and our tour was scheduled to leave at 8:45am the next morning. It was cutting it close, but it was our only choice, and we like to live dangerously. Also by taking an overnight bus, we saved on a night’s hotel.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  If you are taking an overnight bus, you should be 20 years old. You will not sleep well and if you’re like us, you’ll be off and running as soon as you arrive. If you can’t manage to be 20 years old, take a Tylenol PM and dress warmly (they had the air conditioner on “because it’s summer” regardless of the fact that we were in the UK and it was the middle of the night).

We booked a Haggis Adventure (www.haggisadventures.com) 3 Day Isle of Skye tour. I would absolutely recommend this tour company. The buses are clean, the guides are knowledgeable, and they fit in a good deal of stops and sights. I was a little worried at first because on the website it says that it caters to the 18-35 crowd (and we’re at the very end of that crowd) and you spend the night in hostels. However, if you book in advance, you can request a private room (we booked too late for that, all the private rooms were booked, but they did reserve us a room for 4, so it was private to our group). If you end up in a bunk bed (as we did), just reminisce about the good old days of summer camp. I resisted the urge to write “SuperNova was here” on the wall next to my bunk.

Because this was one of the things that we’d booked in advance, and because I am organized (other people use another term, but I prefer “organized”), I’d printed a map so we’d know how to walk from the bus station to the tour office. And because the universe frowns upon such preparedness, the map was utterly useless. I still have no idea why. I tend to believe that Google Maps was simply messing with us. However, we found the office (by asking strangers) in time to check in and get some Starbucks (mmm, traditional Scottish Starbucks) before boarding our bus.

Did I mention the rain?  England had been overcast, but still pretty nice. When we woke up in Scotland, it was pouring (surprise).  Unfortunately, I didn’t pack a raincoat. At the risk of sounding like a 4 year old, I hate my raincoat and in all my summers in Europe, I have worn it once. I had a jacket and figured if it was that awful, I’d look for a jacket or umbrella in Scotland. So, we were in Scotland before the shops were open and it was pouring. However, by the time we’d all used the toilet, it had stopped. Huzzah!

*SuperNova Travel Reminder:  Fear not the word “toilet.” The US is pretty much the only country that calls it a “bathroom” or “restroom” and in most countries if you ask where the bathroom is, they will stand there wondering why you want to take a bath in the middle of a shopping mall. There are many different words for the room where the toilet is located, but the actual word “toilet” is understood clearly in every country I’ve ever been in. Especially if you accompany the question, “Toilet?” with a certain look in your eye. If the word toilet makes you uncomfortable, then hopefully by the time you’ve finish reading this tip you’ll be over it, since I mention it 47 times. Toilet.

Our tour guide was a young guy named Andy, and yes, he wore a kilt. In traditional Scottish fashion, he was a fantastic storyteller and he helped pass the time on the bus by telling us stories about the Scottish history. The stories were interesting and informative and I felt badly that I kept passing out due to sleep deprivation and my carcolepsy (like narcolepsy, but only in the car). One thing that I really liked about this tour was that we stopped and got off the bus about every hour. I can’t tell you about every stop that we made because I don’t want to spoil it for you when you go, and not at all because I can’t remember them all.

Glen Coe

On the first day of our tour, we hiked up to the William Wallace memorial and Andy told us about all the inconsistencies and flat out lies in Braveheart, with only a modicum of personal rage.  After that, we stopped for a snack at a little tourist spot where we got to meet Hamish, the Hairy Coo, (we’d seen this term, “hairy coo,” on a number of signs and a bus, but had only our wild imaginations to guess at its meaning. Turns out “coo” is just how the Scottish say “cow.” They look like cows with skater hair.) and it was here that we had our first encounter with haggis. Being the brave culinary adventurers that we are, we all ordered a haggis roll (one per couple, let‘s not get crazy). I knew what was in haggis and was fully prepared to try a bite and then check the box in my mind that says “tried haggis.” I was pleasantly surprised to find that haggis is delicious! I see your skeptical looks, and I will admit that I pretend to like natto because it freaks Japanese people out, but we had haggis on a number of occasions and in a variety of ways and it was always good. (Although M and V went out to dinner one night and M got an entire plate of haggis and was done with it for a little while.)

We spent our first night on the Isle of Skye, which can be reached by bridge and is very picturesque. We ended our first night in Scotland with delightful pub food where I discovered that glories of Tennent's beer. The only really memorable feature of our hostel was that we each paid 4 pounds for breakfast and when we arrived downstairs there was only tea and toast and containers that had at one time held cereal and a small bowl that had maybe once held jam packets, but now only contained the worst marmalade in the history of time.

Sunday, July 10th - London Sightseeing

We had exactly 1 day to explore London before having to catch the overnight bus to Edinburgh at 11pm at Victoria Station. So, bleary eyed we packed up and headed to the station to stash our luggage. Victoria Station has a service where you can leave your luggage with a guy at a counter and they store it for you for 8.50 pounds per bag for the first 24 hours. The line for this was long. We took shifts - 2 of us would wait in line while the other 2 ran to find a sandwich for lunch - and had just enough time to get to Hyde Park to make the walking tour at 1pm. Sandeman’s New Europe does awesome free walking tours of a number of famous cities in Europe that last from 2-3 hours (www.neweuropetours.eu). I’ve done 3 and the guides have all been knowledgeable and helpful and work solely for tips. It’s a great way to see major sites and get some history in as well. We saw Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and a ton of other sites around the city. 

After the tour, we decided to try to see the Tower of London (or possibly the London Tower, a man we asked for directions was very annoyed that I said it the wrong way) and got to see some of the more graffitied areas of the city by cleverly getting lost for a bit.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Being lost is part of traveling. I have a horrendous sense of direction and have spent large parts of my life lost, so I forget sometimes that being lost is a new and scary feeling for some people. Just remember to stay calm, take a deep breath, and look to see which side of the buildings the moss is growing on. Oh wait, no. I mean, remember that you’re in a city, not a desert. There’s food and water everywhere. If you have time, explore a little, you might find something awesome on your way to finding your way. If you’re pressed for time, then ask someone. If you refuse to ask someone, then you should have brought a map.

We eventually made it back over to the Thames, but by then had been walking for hours and decided we’d just take a picture of the London Tower from where we were. We were all getting hungry and assumed that there must be an English pub nearby where we could get a pint and some fish ‘n chips on our last day in London in this very popular and touristy area of the city. Now, for those of you who are loyal SuperNova followers, you know that whenever I make the mistake of "assuming" something I get universally spanked. This time, though, we actually weren’t wrong; there were several pubs along the many small streets we traversed. They were not, however, serving food on Sunday after 4pm. I don’t know how you’re supposed to know that or why that is the policy and we were too hungry to care about discovering the cultural intricacies of London pubs.

We stumbled down a cute cobblestone road thinking that there had to be a restaurant along it. And there were many store fronts that looked like they should be serving food, but they all appeared to be closed. We finally came to the end without having found even a fast food restaurant to lower our standards to. Tensions were getting high as the hunger delirium mounted.  We turned left and leaned on the railing above the river. We wearily turned our heads to the left and noticed that the way was lined with restaurants. We’d been walking along the back of the strip of restaurants. We quickly made our selection, got a table on the deck overlooking the river, and I had the most delicious shepherd’s pie while M, V, and Mc had the Sunday roast special with pints and ciders all around. Cheers!

Saturday, July 9th - A Show in Haunted London

We did make the 2:02pm train in Canterbury, however, getting from Victoria Station to the Railway Tavern Hotel took longer than expected and we didn’t meet M and V until 5pm. We’d missed lunch because of the length of the tour and having to hurry to catch the train and we were still exhausted from traveling and we were not exactly rays of sunshine at this point.  To make things just a little more difficult, we all wanted to see a show in London, but we had not picked one out yet.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Traveling is stressful and you will eventually get grumpy. Instead of taking it out on your soon-to-be-ex-travel buddies, fix it yourself. You are old enough to know your own triggers - if you are probably grumpy because you’re hungry, lower your standards and eat at the next place you see. If you’re tired, give yourself a break and rest. If you need some space from your travel companion, take a long shower. It’s no one’s responsibility to fix your mood, so quit alienating your friends and do what you need to make yourself a normal human being again.

We decided to just head to the West End, which is kind of like the Broadway of London where most of the theatres are located, and then decide there. So we hopped back on the tube (underground) to the Tottenham Court stop. When we emerged, we got a booklet of current shows at one of the theatres and considered our options. There were a number of new shows playing at various theatres in the general area, though V and I were hoping for a musical. We considered going to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre (the longest running production, it’s been playing there ever since it opened in the 80’s). Mc had set his heart on seeing a show at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, a traditional open-air theatre with a round stage (it was the theatre used in Shakespeare in Love), but was heartbroken to discover it was sold out before we left. (Well, there were seats available for the next day’s show, Anne Boleyn, but that’s not even Shakespeare.) However, M had discovered that there was one last showing of Hamlet at midnight and after much deliberation and Mc stoically insisting that he’d be happy seeing anything, we all decided to take one for team Mc and see Hamlet at midnight.  (C'mon, it's Shakespeare in England.)

We killed time before the show by going on the London Ghost Walk (http://www.london-ghost-walk.co.uk/), which met in front of the underground Bank Station. It was 8 pounds per person and we didn’t book in advance (which is recommended), but our guide very kindly let us join the group and we just paid in cash. Or, I guess looking back it was actually called Alleyways and Shadows: The Old London Ghost Walk, although it could have also been called Vaguely Unfortunate Things That Have Happened to Londoners. If you are looking for scary stories a la summer camp or Jack the Ripper, or landmarks of past gore and horror, this is probably not the tour for you. If you are into stories with ghosts in (some of) them or paranormal vibes and the potential for glowing orbs in your pictures, then sign up immediately. I will say that our guide, Richard Jones, was funny and an animated story teller and if you’re dying to hear more, he has a book that I assume is popular as there were a few members of our group who brought it along (and he kindly signed it for them), Haunted Britain.

The tour was about 2 hours and by the end we were starving, so we stopped and had dinner before trekking out to try to find the Globe Theatre. We took the underground to the London Bridge stop because M and Mc thought that they’d seen the Globe Theatre on a map near the river. “Surely there will be signs to this incredibly popular theatre," we thought.

*SuperNova Travel Observation:  The UK in general appears to feel that signs are for sissies. While we were in London, we went to the Globe Theatre twice and saw a total of 3 signs for the theatre pointing vaguely into the distance with zero further indication of turns or direction changes. This held true for all points of interest, street signs, interesting parts of town, etc. I guess they feel that if you can’t find something using your own resourcefulness, then you don’t deserve to see it.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Talk to strangers. I know it goes against every after school special and parental lecture you’ve ever received, but how likely are you to fall for the candy trick at this age? I have had to approach strangers in many countries, when traveling alone, and I have never once been insulted, accosted, licked or any other horror parents might fill your head with.  Don’t be an idiot about it; alleys are not for chatting, but don’t be afraid of people. People are generally helpful.
          *SuperNova Sub-Travel Tip: When asking help from strangers, ask simple questions. Even if you all speak the same language, people are more likely to want to help if you start with a short, simple question and follow it up with other short questions if need be. If you hurl all your questions at once or feel the need for a detailed explanation, the person is going to smile, look down, say they don’t understand, and run from you. Simple, short, and don’t forget to smile!
                    *SuperNova Sub-Sub-Travel Tip: Talk slowly. I know it’s a huge stereotype that Americans talk slowly and loudly to foreigners, but the slow part is actually useful if you’re speaking English to someone who might not. Don’t be ridiculous, but speak clearly and make sure there’s a little more space between your words than usual (it's extra hard to understand a language when the words start to all run together). NEVER be afraid to illustrate your question with gestures! I have had entire conversations based entirely on gestures. Slow, clear, simple, short, gesture, and smile and the world will be your oyster!  Or at least you will find your hotel!

We eventually found the theatre (because we talked to strangers, and it is on the river) and we walked up to the ticket counter and asked how people get home after a midnight show.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Remember that transportation closes. Whether you’re sightseeing or clubbing, it’s important to remember that eventually you have to get back to wherever you are calling home, and in a lot of places trains stop running at midnight. The last thing you want to do is try to figure out how to walk home at 2am.

The guy at the ticket counter assured us that there were night buses. Thus relieved, we asked what seats he had available. He told us that he had 2 seats in the lower gallery in the first row for 27 pounds, and 2 seats in the middle gallery behind a pole for 22. We all exchanged a look that said, “We are too old to have stayed up this late to watch a pole,” and Mc and I started debating whether or not we should just get the yard (you can see any show at the Globe on the cheap by getting a “yard” ticket, only 5 pounds, and all you have to do is stand through the whole show). We asked the ticket man how long the show was, and he said, “Only 3 hours, and they are the best seats in the house,” which I suppose could be true if you get a spot right up next to the stage, weren’t jet-lagged, and hadn’t walked all day. Just as I was conceding that it might be possible to stand for 3 hours after midnight, the ticket man chatted with the other ticket guy and announced that he now had 4 seats in the lower gallery, first row, which we bought immediately.

We went upstairs, past the gift shop (closed, sadly), through the courtyard past vendors selling expensive food and drinks (as per usual for the theatre) and walked into the actual theatre. It was incredibly cool. The stage wasn’t completely round, so the seats only wrapped around 2/3rds of the stage (they didn’t go all the way around the back), but it was considerably more than a modern theatre. The yard in front of the stage was a wood floor and was already very crowded (so the 5 pound yard tickets are a good deal if you get there very early or are extraordinarily tall). Then you walk up a few steps to the lower gallery and our seats were in the first row, just right of the center of the stage. There are 3 galleries, all made of rough hewn wood and there is a roof over the galleries but not the yard or stage (if it rains and you are in the yard, you get wet as umbrellas are not allowed). The seats are benches without backs and you can hire (rent) a seat cushion or a blanket for around 4 pounds, which was tempting, but we wanted the "real experience" (also, we felt that was crazy expensive).

Hamlet was phenomenal and everyone agreed it was well worth staying up for. I did nod off once before the 1^st intermission (how many monologues and soliloquies do you need to be conscious for, really?), but overall a fantastic experience that I would highly recommend, if for no better reason than to make your high school English teacher insanely jealous. It was a little chilly, so if you plan on attending at night, pack an extra sweater (if you plan on coming during the day, bring a rain jacket and some sunblock, you’ll probably need one or the other).

After the show, we followed the masses to the bus stop on the London Bridge and thus began the madness of trying to get home. It took us quite some time to figure out which bus would take us back to the hotel, which bus connected with that bus, and which side of the street we needed to be on to catch that bus. This is one of the benefits of traveling with companions vs. traveling alone - there are more eyes looking and more people on which to spread the blame if it goes horribly wrong.

*SuperNova Travel Observation:  Transportation in London is really expensive. This was one thing we had not taken into consideration when planning the budget for this part of our trip. The best deal for the underground/tube is to buy a “day anytime” (all day) ticket for 7.30 pounds (this, by the way, will stop working after a couple of uses, just explain that to the bored looking person standing by the gates in the blue uniform and he’ll just buzz you through. It was fun to see whose card would hold out the longest before finally giving us the finger and refusing to acknowledge that we‘d paid for the whole day). We had to take 2 buses to get back to our hotel and had to pay over 2 pounds per person for each bus. So, budget for transportation.

By the time we finally sleep walked from the station to the hotel, it was after 4am and the sun was making good progress into dawn. Mc and I were munching on a boxed sandwich we’d bought at the station (breakfast of champions) while M made the discovery that none of our keys worked to get us inside. V had the number of the hotel on her phone (always carry your hotel info with you!) and someone finally let us in. Check out was at 11am, so with showering and packing up, we were looking at a whopping 5 hours of sleep, which we were grateful to finally have.

Saturday, July 9th - Canterbury Cathedral

Saturday we were up early to go to the 8am service. Mc thought it would be interesting to actually go to an Anglican service in the cathedral and so did I. 

*SuperNova Travel Tip: If you go to a service in Canterbury Cathedral, then admission is free.

Of course, by the time we figured out where in this massive cathedral the service was being held, the only seats available were in the front row, directly in front of the priest. That's right, none of that sitting in the very back and doing whatever the people in front of us were doing for us!  I was a little bit worried that the priest would instantly realize that we had only a basic grasp on what we were doing and would be cold and put out. However, he couldn’t have been more kind and welcoming. As a teacher, I was wondering if it was similar to how I tend to view reading - what gets them into reading isn’t as important as the fact that they’re doing it. An excellent experience that I recommend.

After the service, we had a beautiful breakfast in our lodge and then wandered around town before the noon tour of the cathedral. Canterbury Cathedral has been around since the eleventh century. It is absolutely enormous and every corner is filled with history. I highly recommend a tour (just 5 pounds). It would be beautiful just to wander around, but knowing about the stories and architecture and being able to ask questions gives the experience so much depth. Plus, then you don’t have to research the history in advance, which feels a lot like homework. We were particularly struck by the martyrdom where Saint Thomas Beckett was murdered (knights murdered him inside the church, then took off the top of his head and stirred his brains around so he wouldn’t be able to tell God what they’d done, which I thought showed incredible forethought) and I very much enjoyed seeing the relics of the Black Prince. Halfway through our tour, the organ started to play, booming through the main area and leading me to wonder if the Phantom summered in Canterbury. Turns out the organist was just practicing (hey, when else are you going to practice?), but it did lend quite a bit of drama to our tour.

Our tour ran a little bit long because there was a wedding going on (can you imagine getting married in Canterbury Cathedral?!? Well, you have to do it in the crypt) and our guide showed us a few extra things to kill time before finally being able to show us the crypt. We had to hurry to catch our 2:02pm train back to London to meet M and V, but we could not leave without first taking our picture inside Starbucks. And this was important to us because there was a Starbucks built against the ancient wall comprising the gate into the cathedral grounds.  A Starbucks had a wall that was well over 600 years old. This is the sort of thing we find infinitely funny, and if you don’t understand why, then explaining it further would be wasted on you. Meanwhile, we have the coolest picture of us at a Starbucks in Canterbury.

Friday, July 8th - Canterbury

Mc has always dreamed of going to see the Canterbury Cathedral and so that was our number one destination while in the UK. We found that the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge was actually one of the best deals (you can get an “economy” room, meaning no/limited Cathedral view, for 60 pounds. It was located on the cathedral grounds and included admission to the cathedral and a lovely breakfast) and booked in advance.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  When traveling to the UK, book as much in advance as you can. The UK, London in particular, is really expensive and you can often find good deals online at home before you go. Also, if you book and pay for things in advance then it won’t be such a shock or drain on your budget once you get there.

We managed to do the 2 ½ hour trip from the airport to the Canterbury train station without missing any stops, despite our fits of narcolepsy during the ride. The website told us that it was a mere 10 min. walk from the train station to the cathedral grounds and we set off (is it "luggage" because you lug it around?).

*SuperNova Travel Observation:  People in the UK have a different interpretation of how time works. We did a lot of research for this trip and while that was helpful, the number of minutes listed on websites that it took to walk from one spot to another was always off by anywhere from 10-20 min. Listed times became known to us as listed in “Imperial minutes.”

When we finally reached our lodge (and climbed 3 flights of stairs) and flopped on our beds (2 twins we just pushed together) with deliriously blurry visions of sleep in our heads, we looked at the time and realized it was 5pm and that we should just pony up and go explore the city a little and then go to bed at a normal bedtime.  So with more effort than should have been necessary, we headed out.

Canterbury is a lovely city, well worth the trek outside of London. It’s a walled city with cobblestone streets and a neat compilation of new and old shops. We wandered the streets for a while, holding hands and letting the fact that we were in another country sink in. Well, Mc was letting the fact that we were in another country sink in. I was letting the fact that we were in another country where they speak English set in. I was really looking forward to going to a restaurant and ordering without relying on my fluency in Gestures.  After wandering for awhile, we decided to have our first dinner at a restaurant called The Old Buttermarket in the square across from the cathedral.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: If unsure about which restaurant to pick in a new area, pick the one that has a lot of people.  If it's a normal eating hour and a restaurant is empty, keep looking.  Good smells are also excellent indicators.

Once seated, Mc ordered an English pear cider and I had my first imperial pint, which is 20 oz. instead 

of the usual 16. (In other not unrelated news, I do not have an imperial bladder.) Then we topped off our first night in England by ordering pizza. No, of course we had fish ‘n chips and bangers ‘n mash (actually, it was award winning Cumberland sausages and mash with onion rings and gravy, but that doesn’t sound as colloquial). I was surprised to discover that most fish ‘n chips we came across didn’t come with fish pieces like at home, but with one huge hunk of fish on top of a pile of chips. The fish ‘n chips also came with some mushy peas which were no better than they sound. But kudos to us for trying the local cuisine! After dinner we were finally, blissfully able to crash.

Sleep, It Eludes Me . . .

Just to shake things up, I decided to make a huge miscalculation at the beginning of the trip this year. You see, the plan was to meet our friends in London (since that‘s where our flight ended, see previous log entry), have some fun in the UK for a few days, and then fly to Germany together. We only had 6 days before M had to be back in Germany for work, so we planned it out to make the most of our time there.  The first step was for me and Mc to go straight from the airport to Canterbury, hang out there for the afternoon, stay overnight, and then still have the morning before having to jet back to London to meet our friends at 4pm. Which sounded completely doable. We researched how to get from the airport to Canterbury (subway from Heathrow to Victoria Station and then train to Canterbury) and how to get to our hotel (walk). We were prepared. What I didn’t do was take into consideration the time change, a rookie mistake.

We left Thursday, 7/7 at 11:30am and arrived in London Friday, 7/8 at noon (an hour late). However, that was 3am PST. Neither of us had slept much on the plane (as per usual for me) and by planning on going straight to Canterbury we had essentially planned to do an all-nighter. “So?” I hear many of you asking, as you crush another Red Bull can on your 20-year-old forehead. Well, even if you are not the sort of adult who, when faced with the possibility of staying up all night and then going to work the next day seriously contemplates suicide, it is still not a good idea to skip sleeping when traveling.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Plan for sleep.  It won't help with jet lag (nothing does), but it will help keep you from passing out on various trains, buses, strangers, etc.

It’s important to remember that simply traveling from your home to your destination is exhausting, despite the argument that all you are doing is sitting (which isn’t true, you are also running through airports, stressing about flights and connections, carrying luggage, harassing airport employees, loudly criticizing the in-flight movie selection, rethinking the benefits of having children; you are doing SO much more than sitting). And chances are, once you’ve arrived at your destination you hit the ground running, trying to make as much as you can of your hard-earned vacation. So it is a very good idea to plan at least half a day to crash when you first arrive anywhere that requires longer than a 6 hour flight. You also don’t know exactly how your vacation is going to go and if you end up missing some sleep later, you won’t be drawing from low reserves.  And I haven't even mentioned jet lag yet.  If you scoff at this and shout, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead!” as you sprint from sight to sight, then there’s a good chance you’ll end up like me; sitting in beautiful Germany with a nasty head cold. Because I got very little sleep in the UK, my immune system eventually got fed up, headed to a pub, and left me on my own. Of course, your crash will manifest itself in it’s own way, but I can guarantee that it will manifest itself. Of course, I knew all this, but there were a few occurrences beyond my control, but I’ll get to that later.

There's Never Enough Time

This year, for a change, I didn’t rush off to Europe a week after school ended (I am a teacher not a student, and if you are a student who has the funds to travel to Europe in the summer, then I hate you). I actually had about 3 weeks to fully submit to the total collapse that comes with finally ushering the children off into summer break. Which means, of course, I had plenty of time to pack and prepare for this trip. Which brings me to my first travel tip:

*SuperNova Travel Tip: There is never enough time to prepare for your trip, so quit running around in circles and give up the To Do list.

It should be noted that it’s possible that my travel tips will repeat from trip to trip. However, since I doubt that any of you have memorized my past travel tips or compiled a list, I’m not too worried about doubles. If you are following my travel log with an eerie attention to detail, then I say that reminders are good for everyone (as I slowly back away from you).

And while we’re noting things, I’d like to note that this will be my very first travel log written as a part of a duo instead of as a solo traveler. This summer I will be traveling with my love, Mc, which I am extra excited about because he has never before left the US. This could be because I will get to see Europe for the first time again through his excited and unjaded eyes or it could be because it will be fun to mess with him. We’ll see how it goes.

Anyway, despite the fact that Mc and I felt we had plenty of time to pack, at midnight the night before the day we left I was convinced that I’d never be done. This is the point every summer at which I roll my eyes and say aloud, “What the hell, I’ve done this a thousand times, you’d think I’d remember how long it takes to pack!” Meanwhile, I’ve already forgotten how long it took us to pack.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Make a list.

I have a terrible habit of waiting to pack until the night before/morning of. Which is fine except when you realize that you need to pack something that you are out of and the store stubbornly refuses to be open at 3am. I travel often enough that I made a checklist in a Word document and have it saved on my computer (finally, after several trips of sitting down, staring at the ceiling, and trying to remember what I need to bring [I always forgot pajamas]), which I contemplated posting for all to use and share until I realized that there are a number of very personal items on there that I absolutely need to remember to pack but that you do not need to know I have. So, as noted before, make a list.

We made it to the airport with no trouble (thanks Mom!) and thus began our million hours of traveling, the strangest part of which was that it was much cheaper for us to fly straight from the US to Amsterdam and then from Amsterdam to London than it was for us to just fly straight to Amsterdam.

*SuperNova Travel Tip: Do not try to understand airlines, your brain will aneurism.

And Thus it Begins

Konnichiwa,

It's that time of year again where I leave the country and fill the internet with excruciatingly detailed accounts of my journeys abroad. Those of you who have known me a long time can be relieved that this summer I am choosing the blog route (again) instead of periodically filling your inbox with short novels. However, because it is open to the universe, I will not be using the full names of my travel companions to protect their privacy and keep them from hunting me down later.

This summer will feature such fantastic and far off places as England, Scotland, Germany, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, and wherever else I may end up when (not if) I take the wrong train. I write what I experience and try to add in travel tips for whomever is interested. I have very little interest in purple prose and do not sugar coat or filter my thoughts, though I probably should (I definitely recall being angry at the Coliseum in Rome for being dirty, which, in retrospect, was possibly a little unfair).

(A quick side note - due to the lack of internet availability, I usually travel for a few days and then stop and write about my misadventures.  So the date in the entry title is the date I was in various places, not the day/time stamp on the blog.)

If you are a friend or family member, please do not feel compelled to read the blog “because you should;” my intention is not for this to be homework, just something amusing to read while having one’s morning coffee. If you are unknown to me and are reading my blog, then I hope that you pick up some useful tips and avoid the mistakes that I will inevitably make.

Enjoy,

SuperNova