Madame Tussaud's, London, England (November 2006)

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum - now this was so much fun, and a lot better than I expected it would be (and I didn't think it would be that bad to start with)! We almost didn't go in - the massive queue and the kind-of-pricey entrance fee were a little off-putting, but we perervered with the queue (which moved quite quickly) and once we got in it was all totally worth it!

Some of the wax representations are amazing (the new Pirates of the Carribean ones were particularly good), and you can have hours of stupid fun posing for photos with all the celebs. But there's so much more to it - the serial killer exhibition is quite good (it has a part where you walk through these creepy dark dungeon-like corridors and live actors jump out and chase you around - quite scary actually!). I also loved this ride that took you on a black cab ride through the decades giving you a history of London.

Definitely recommend this to anyone who happens to be in London with half a day to spare!

And while we're at it, here are some pics of London at night:

London Eye, London, England (October 2006)

One of those things that are a must-do for any trip to London is take a spin on the London Eye. As neither Steph or I had ever been on it, we took advantage of a clear day in October to check it out.

Being one of London's main landmarks, and one of the world's most popular tourist attractions, I'm sure you're all familiar with it... it's basically a big ferris wheel (well, a very big - about 140 metres high) with big enclosed glass capsules. It goes around pretty slowly, taking about 30 minutes to complete a rotation, and (as you'd expect) the views across London are pretty good indeed.

Here are some of the pics we took:

London, England (September 2006)

The more you explore London, rhe more you really get a sense of just how different each part of the city can be.

The pics below are of 'Little Venice', which gets its name from the series of canals the cross through an area just north-west of central London. There are barges along the canal which are either houses or restaurants/cafes, and as you walk along one of the main canals towards Regent's Park you pass by some of the most expensive houses in central London.

Ahhhh... (Little) Venice:

One of the many modest homes along Regent's Canal:

Regent's Park (which happens to be right near where I'm living for my last two weeks in London):

And I had to get a photo in of a classic British phone box at some stage... :)

Amsterdam, Netherlands (September 2006)

September was a busy month for travelling - cheap flights and close proximity to London gave me the opportunity to hop across to Amsterdam with my housemate Mary and a few friends for the weekend.

Amsterdam is quite a charming city, with it's impressive architecture, crooked houses, cobbled streets, tree-lined canals that criss-cross the city, great shopping, friendly people, and bicycles everywhere! Bicycles are by far the preferred mode of transport around Amsterdam. You have to keep your eyes open and make sure you don't meander into a bicycle lane and get bowled over by the ruthless locals!

Arriving in Amsterdam on Saturday morning after a ridiculously early start to the weekend (at Heathrow at 5am - the things you have to do to get budget flights!), checking into the hostel then downing a typically Dutch breakfast comprised of lots of pancakes, we joined a bicycle tour in the afternoon to see as much of the city as possible (and stay awake!). The tour had it all, especially as we hit the outskirts of the city - windmills, clog-makers and cheese farms - everything you expect from a day in Holland!

We hit the crazy and totally buzzing Red Light district at night (empahsis on the word 'crazy'). An eye-opening experience to say the least, but definitely something different and heaps of fun. With this and the "coffeeshops" everywhere, it really does show how open the Dutch are.
So after a big night out, our second day was a nice and relaxed affair - we took a cruise through the canals, did a bit of shopping, and even sighted the Queen of Netherlands coming out of the Rembrant museum!

We also paid a visit to the Anne Frank museum - the most famous canal house in Amsterdam where a young Jewish girl famously documented the horrors of WWII while in hiding with her family in the attic of this house. Despite the fact that it's a tiny space and the place is constantly packed with visitors, it still provides quite a powerful (and emotional) experience, focusing on the ordeals of a Jewish family that hid in the attic throughout the second world war, where they survived until they were mysteriously betrayed to the Germans in August 1944 (so achingly close to the end of the war).


A few photos:

Salzburg, Austria (September 2006)

Our base for our Oktoberfest trip was Salzburg - a little town nestled in the Alps near the Austrian border, famous for being the setting of the Sound of Music (both the movie and the true story), and also the birthplace of Wolfgang Mozart (you know, that composer...).

Salzburg has to be one of the prettiest cities I've seen. Everything about it is just so cute, and the scenery is just amazing everywhere you look. A great city for exploring on foot. We managed to see most of it in half a day, and the other half we spent on a tour out into the Alps - the theme of which was the Sound of Music! So we got to see a lot of locations from the movie and learn a bit about the real story, all with the Sound of Music soundtrack playing on the whole tour!

The view from our hostel - the 'Salt' Castle:

Narrow winding streets:

Every shop had a unique, gorgeous cast iron sign... even McDonalds!

Some of the views across the city:

...and across to the Alps:

It must confuse some people, I guess...

We're in Sound of Music territory now. The Mirabella Gardens (from the 'Doe, a deer..' scene):

Behind me is the scenery from the opening scene of the movie:

A small town we passed through on the way that was having a little festival (pretty sure it wasn't in the movie!):

And this is the Von Trap family house: