May and June 2006
24/5 Gail departed for 5 nights in London, in pokey accommodation in Paddington on the 2015 night flight, to visit Mia’s new baby, Chelsea Flower Show and go to the live show, “The Lion King,” and spend a day catching up with friends Denyse & Sam
28 -29 Sue takes the 16.50 flight with Austrian Airlines to Vienna, via Kuala Lumpur, she rather “enjoyed” her 21 hour, 20 mins flight due to the friendly cabin crew, “good” home-cooking style food and her own TV, She is, not sure how many times she watched the movies, “Pride & Prejudice” The Johnny Cash movie “Walk The Line” and to finally see the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” glad she saw it for free, as she not that fussed, Sue also enjoyed the company of the very nice Macedonian couple from Bexley, who helped he master the technology of TV& Audio instructions. We had a one- hour fuel stop at KL in the wee hours so we all had to disembark, but nice to stretch the legs .. Landed at Vienna 6.05am local time and was thru the airport in minutes, very quick and was on train for a 30 min. ride downtown (6 stops) She then had to ask directions from a newspaper seller, how to get to her hotel, which required a subway (U3) ride for several stops and then again, had to ask directions to find her hotel which she did, afters she walked for 20 mins or so. Sue was at the hotel Ibis Wien, Marian Hilfer Gurtel by 7.30am only to find they had her booked for the night before! Sue had enquired about an afternoon city tour but she never made it, as had a shower and slept till after 1.10pm by the time she got downstairs, the restaurant was closed and she walked not 100 yards to a wee hotel Gausthas Francishotel, she was now starving, as it was 2.45pm Sue ate the biggest wiener schnitzel she has ever seen, it covered the big main plate! The side plate had the potato, salad and sauerkraut, she devoured the lot, with relish! Sue had then intended to walk the Ringstrasse, to see all the historic buildings but it started to rain, so she spent time in and out of marvellous shoe shops on Maria Hilfer & mentally spent a lot of money! Sue also found out how the get to the Westbahnhof Railway Station, forthe next morning with her suitcase. Sue was back to the hotel by 6.40pm and asleep by 9..00pm
30/5 London/Vienna to Budapest
Gail had an approx 3+ hour flight to Budapest and Sue almost a 3 hour enjoyable train ride from Vienna to Budapest, arriving approx 11.40am We both met up at Marco Polo Hostel (a good budget hotel really) within an hour or each other, we had a nice bright room with big dormer window on 4th floor. We had a bit of a chat till 2.30pm, then to reception to ask lots of question from staff re getting around. We decided to walk to Deak Square, to visit the tourist office, but got lost for hours. Very hard to ask directions, when not many folk speak English. Sue’s pride was hurt as she considers herself a good map-reader and has a good “sense of direction!” It was not until 3 days later, when Sue thought we were going in an opposite direction that the problem was resolved. Gail had recognized several landmarks and Sue worked out, that we had walked down one side of the street, taken the “first right” as instructed by a travel agent, to walk back down the other side of the very same street, way past our hotel!!!! Sue is yet to live it down! Once we were on the right street, we passed by many magnificent and ornate buildings, especially the huge Dohany Synagogue, which we first thought may have been a mosque!!! Finally got to the tourist office approx 5.00pm and they were not that helpful. We were in awe of the magnificent Dohany Synagogue, which has Byzantine & Moorish element built in 1859, it is Europe’s largest synagogue and second largest in the world. The interior is vast and ornate, with two balconies and has the unusual presence or an organ. We spent quite a bit of time exploring in and around it and several beautiful buildings close by. Gail guessed our way home as a kind of a short cut thru narrow cobbled stone streets, rather the big “not so interesting” boulevard we had got lost on! Had a so-so meal at the Hungarian Restaurant “Blue Rose” where we got a 10% discount from our hotel. It was raining and got very cold on our walk back to the hotel.. Both of us were tired so had an early but restless night, as got hot under the doona.
31/5 BUDAPEST
It rained heavily overnight and made our way to 8.40am breakfast (included) in the bar downstairs. It was a typical European breakfast of watery orange juice, yoghurt, cereals, fresh bread, rolls, cold meats and cheeses. We were collected about 10.00am to join 6 others (Americans) for an excellent Jewish Heritage Tour, comprising of one hour in the van and two hours of walking. We crossed the Danube to Buda via the Margaret Bridge for our first glimpse of the majestic Parliament Buildings (modelled on Westminster) on the Danube, which dominates the whole city. Our first stop was Leo Frankel Synagogue, which was a “hidden” synagogue built in a courtyard of an apartment block six-stories high. . During World War II the Nazi invaders, used the synagogue as a stable rendering it absolutely unusable. Since the 1990 regime change, the synagogue has been restored twice. We then drove back to the Pest side of the Embankment, passing the beautiful Parliament building. Sue was upset when she saw 60 pairs if shoes, by the river edge, it is now a memorial to Holocaust victims, as it is where the Nazis shot them. We then walked for two hours thru the Jewish Quarter with our guide, who gave us excellent information. Saw a rather bizarre-looking sculpture, in memory of Charles Lutz, who was the Swiss consul who aided Wallenberg’s heroic attempts to save Budapest’s Jews from Nazi death camps. Then onto Rumbach Street Orthodox Synagogue, built in 1872, but no longer in use, which Yoko Ono had bought and recently sold. Then into a courtyard with connecting courtyards (for easy escape) before entering a replica “living room” showing us how a typical Jewish Family would have lived at the turn of the century. The end of the tour was to go inside the majestic Dohany Synagogue which seats 3000 people. , We noticed a tablet outside that informed us that Theordore Herzl , the founder of Zionism, was born on this spot. During World War II, 20,000 Jews took refuge here and 7000 did not survive the bleak winter. The facts are that there were an estimated 700,000 Jews in Hungary pre the war and there were only 100,000 that survived! .At the back of Shul we visited the Memorial Park to the Holocaust victims funded by actor, Tony Curtis, who is of Hungarian- Jewish descent, as a memorial to his parents the “Schwartz” family. The memorial was a stylised stainless steel willow tree, each leaf, has a name engraved on the back in memory of those that disappeared during the holocaust. There was also a plaque in memory of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish Diplomat who saved the lives of 20,000 Jews. The final stop was the Jewish Museum and Archives upstairs. We then spent an hour in a bank, as Gail wanting to change some travellers cheques! Walked up to Deak Square again, to get a free ice cream (not nice) then we walked down to the Danube to visit the excellent Central Market Hall, beautifully reconstructed in 1995, such a beautiful building outside. It had lots of wonderfully fresh produce, we bought some gifts of paprika and some fresh fruits, cherries and tomatoes. We had to leave at 6.00pm, when the markets closed. We walked along Vaci Utca, the pedestrian street, which has a lot of restaurants (some with gypsy music – very touristy) as well as souvenir shops. We stumbled across “The Jazz Garden” restaurant and had an OK meal there, while the musicians, a jazz quartet, did their warm up. It was wonderful walking back to hotel with some buildings lit up with the dark indigo blue sky as a backdrop. Heaven in Hungary!
1/6 BUDAPEST
A lovely sunny day, Walked to Keleti Railway Station, .to change our train ticket, for an earlier train to Prague, on Sunday, so as the whole day not wasted in travel, It was on our walk there, that Gail recognised that we had walked this way before on Day one! We had to laugh! Sue then realised how close our accommodation was to the station and knew she had been over-charged on her taxi ride upon arriving, even though she had “bargained” with the hustling taxi driver. We then took a 4 hour guided tour of Buda & Pest, with a couple from Hong Kong. it gave us a broad overview of the city., we had an excellent guide. Crossed the Danube again to Buda, passing the Gellert Hotel Thermal Baths, the oldest Hungarian spa hotel which is an Art Nouveau jewel, en route to the Gellert Hill, for magnificent views over the Danube and the city.. We then headed for Castle Hill thru nice green forest to the Castle District, which is a quaint and delightful old village, with cobbled stone streets. We were truly in awe at the magnificently beautiful Matthias Church, named after the much-loved 15th Century Renaissance king who was twice married here and who was the main donor of the building. The original structure dates back to the 13th century. The interior had beautifully decorated frescos and the exterior roof of the church, was a colourful mosaic. It s a place we will remember fondly. Liszt performed his composition “Coronation Mass” here in 1867. The neo-Romanesque Fisherman’s Bastion, behind the church, perched on the edge of Buda’s Castle District, was also impressive,. Built in 1905 mainly for decorative purposes despite its Military appearance. We loved the panoramic views overlooking the Danube, Margaret Island and bridges Parliament, St Stephen’s Basilica, the Chain Bridge and many other famous landmarks. We walked to view the Palace, (now a conference centre) we then we drove thru the tunnel (built by a Scotsman) to cross the lovely Chain Bridge to return to Pest. Drove to the large City Park, built in 1896, as part of the Hungarian millennial celebrations to view a castle built for the Expo .the architect won the prize for this architectural mishmash of 4 different styles of architecture, it is now home of the Agricultural Museum. Then we walked over to Heroes’ Square, with its massive monuments, the lake behind the square us used for boating in summer and ice-skating in winter. There was a wonderful painted facade to the Art Gallery, very similar building to Sydney’s Art Gallery. We then drove along Andrassy Avenue, the smart part of town with embassies and grand homes. We passed the Opera House and St Stephen’s Basilica, Dohany Synagogue, before we were dropped downtown. We had 1.5 hours to have a pub meal a tasty bean soup and yet another Hungarian Goulash! We took an 8.15pm cruise of the Danube, there was a delightful pink sunset before nightfall, when all the historic buildings were lit up, which was delightful. Took a taxi back to the hotel, as Sue now had a head cold.
2/6 SENTENDRE
There was heavy rain overnight and stayed that way all day! We left the hotel about 9.30am and walked to Hotel Astoria to catch The Metro (underground) to Bathyany Square, to catch a HEU train, which departed every 20 minutes to Szentendre, 21km north of Budapest. It is a gorgeous little town that has been an artists’ colony since the early 1900s. About 100 artists live there and there are many galleries, handcrafts and souvenir shops. Both of us bought a handmade embroidered blouse, “supposedly sewn by a 97 year old lady” but we heard that phrase in many shops! Found a cheap café for cappuccinos and a pastry, then walked the winding cobblestone streets to the top of the hill, that lead the Roman Catholic church yard with lovely views of the red-tile rooftops, and many church spires. We had visited the Serbian Church and Museum en route & we were in and out of various shops and galleries, as it rained most of the time we were there. We ate our sandwich lunch on the 3.20pm train back to Budapest, then the Metro back to very near our hotel.. Shopped at the supermarket, then had a 20 minute rest, before going out in the rain yet again, to walk to Dohany Shul for the service at 6.00pm as was on the eve of a Jewish holiday, The congregation was sparse but the cantors voice was a delight, as well as the organ playing and the choir singing We braved the rain again to walk next door at the King David restaurant, for a disappointing and bland Kosher meal, the gefiltre & oriental fish and the chicken soup were OK
3/6 BUDAPEST
We woke early but Sue kept us late trying to understand the Hungarian instructions on how to use the washing machine! We finally departed the hotel about 10.30am to walk to Deak Square, then onto St Stephen’s Basilica, another huge and very ornate church, breathtaking. We took the elevator, then the stairs, to walk to the base of the tall dome, to walk around and admire the 360 degree views over Budapest,. It it was wonderful to pick out the landmarks and the large boulevards that ring the city, looked like a spider’s web. As we came down the front steps of Stephens, a student sold us tickets to a concert that night of ‘Music of the Danube” which we felt would be a fitting end of our most enjoyable visit to Budapest. We walked back to Deak Square to take the No, 16 bus to the Castle District, as we wanted more time to spend in Matthias Church.> We will probably always remember Budapest for what we now refer to as the “Buda incident.” We were on a bus going to the Castle. We were sitting on a small seat right in front, Gail against the window and Sue facing the aisle. The bus got very full and an elderly looking man pushed his way to the front and held on to the pole next to Sue. He had a bag, which kept banging against Sue and as he got closer to Sue she turned to Gail and said she was uncomfortable as he was too close. When we got off the bus, we were stopped by a young man who said he was a policeman, he showed us his badge and asked Sue to check that she had everything. Now Sue does carry a handbag, as she wears a ‘travel vest’ with deep inside pockets, which close with Velcro. But sure enough, her wallet had gone from her inner pocket. The policeman was on his mobile phone and within 10 seconds a car full of more plainclothes police screeched round the corner with smoke coming from the tyres and chasing the bus. Less than a minute later they were back with Sue’s wallet, from which the money, but not the cards had been removed. But they said they had also recovered the money. It was truly like being part of a wild- west show. We were then taken in the car to try and identify one of the 4 elderly men they had pulled off the bus and who were handcuffed at the side of the road. They all looked so similar that we couldn’t. They assured us that these men were not Hungarians but a gang from Rumania. Then we were crammed into this same little unmarked police car with 3 different plainclothes police (at a guess, all about 27-30) and off to the station to make a statement. It took so long to get there and was so far out of the centre that we began to get very worried. Gail thought we were being kidnapped! But we eventually got to this empty looking building which at least had a police station sign on it and were taken to the 2nd floor where other young plainclothes police wandered in and out. They finally got a translator on the phone and she asked first Sue then Gail questions and then translated for the policeman who was typing the statement. The amazing thing is that we had counted our money the night before and Sue remembered exactly what she had, even the denomination of the notes. And it was all returned in tact. After all this, they asked where we wanted to go and took us back to the Castle area. It was an amazing experience, which thankfully ended happily. The first policeman had obviously been on the bus and saw what was happening. It was disappoint to get to Matthias to find it closed till 7.00pm for an event. We had a walk around the Fisherman’s Bastion and the craft market before taking the bus back to Deak Square then the Metro back near our hotel, there was no time now to visit Margaret Island as we had planed. We were tired after our eventful day, and had a wee rest before venturing out, for the concert. When we got out of the Metro station at Deak Square to walk to the concert, the heavens opened with a huge storm, heavy lashinf rain, the water in the gutters were like rivers, our shoes were soaked, as was our clothing right up to bottoms. Our backs were also wet, as our umbrellas and spray jackets did not protect us as well as we would have liked! The Music Room was very ornate with white walls and ceilings with a gold decorations and the concert was fun, playing a lot of popular classical music. The conductor was flamboyant, dressed in red & black and he “conducted ” with great enthusiasm, the audience in the encore in our “clap along” we came away on a high, though the brass section at times, was too loud. We took a different route back to Deak Square and got a little lost, and had to avoid many a huge puddles. & plastic, agricultural pipes, which were pumping out water. We stopped at a coffee shop/bar near our hotel to warn us up. then back to hotel to pack up and got to bed after midnight.
4/6 BUDAPEST TO PRAGUE: Alarm woke us at 4.55 for 6.15 taxi to Keleti Railway station, for our 7.00pm train to Prague. As we had not reserved seats, so we had to change our seats about two hours into our journey. We dozed off thru what looked like delightful scenery at the start. We ate some bananas, tomatoes, cheese and crackers, but for something to do, we then went to the dining car to have the most delicious sweet cheese filled pancakes and cappuccinos. The two men that had claimed “our” seats were helpful and moved our luggage for us. We arrived in Prague about 1.35pm changed our Hungarian forints to Czech crowns and took a taxi to the Albatross Botel. The Botel is a permanently moored boat (like a large Manly Ferry) which was very comfortable accommodation, and about a 15 minute walk to the Old Town, so a great location, the only noise came from a disco boat passing one night. There was a very cold breeze as we walked uptown to get our bearings and bought a very expensive gelato. The ices cream cost as much as the fish, boiled potatoes & salad, we bought for supper! . We were “amused” at the beggars in the streets, Sue called them a “preying mantis” as they were in the Muslim prayer position, kneeling with their head on the pavement, bottom in the air with their arms outstretched in a prayer position, usually holding a plastic coffee cup or baseball cap, which one is supposed to throw money into! The looked like fellow travellers, and were amazed at how long they could stay still in that awkward position. We stumbled upon the Old Town Square (Stare Mesto) and were amazed of the numerous tourists that were everywhere, very crowded. We saw the Astronomical clock and walked the many narrow, cobbled- stone streets with beautiful buildings everywhere one looked, as well as many church spires. Many people were touting for us to buy tickets to concerts. Every spare hall, church, synagogue or municipal hall seemed to have a concert performing each night. We got friendly with a guy dressed in “Mozart” costume, he told us where to eat reasonably, in a cafe type place with sort of good home cooking, as most restaurants were expensive. After our supper we took many twists and turns down the narrow streets, to find our way to the 14th century Charles Bridge. At 7.15pm there were still a lot of tourists walking the picturesque bridge, though somewhat spoilt by the numerous junk souvenir stalls and hawkers, wanting to draw your picture etc. We walked back to “our” Mozart Man, to thank him for the restaurant tip, plus we purchased tickets from him for the next night, at the Municipal Housel, Mozart’s “Requiem” in the Smetana Theatre, Prague’s biggest concert hall. He walked with us to show us the way. We were back at the Albatross by 8.30pm, tired after our early morning rise, though we did watch a bit of the Ladies French Open tennis on TV.
5/6 PRAGUE
Both of us woke early than had a bit of a lie in. We spent an hour or so looking at travel brochures for tours, to make a plan for our 4 days in Prague. We were delighted to find that breakfast was included in our accommodation and a good buffet selection it was, though breakfast was about to finish when we arrived at 9.00am. We spent the morning on business, post office, banks, and trying to organise a Jewish Quarter tour of Prague, that had been recommended by our guide, in Budapest, but we did not have enough people. We arranged a City and Prague Castle tour for a 2.15pm pick up at the Intercontinental Hotel, we were not collected till 2.30pm. We loved the view of Prague Castle (Hradcany) crossing the bridge to Lesser Town (Mala Strana) and were enthralled with the beautiful view of the massive St Vitus Cathedral, which dominates Prague Castle, as it stands high on the hill, It was breathtakingly beautiful inside, with it’s high arches and beautiful stained- glass windows, and the outside so ornate The cathedral’s foundation stone was laid in 1344, We saw the guards before we entered. Prague Castle, is almost a city within itself with three courtyards and according to the Guinness Book of Records it’s the largest ancient castle in the world.. it’s history started in the 9th century, the castle is now the official residence of he Czech head of state. We spent over an hour or more exploring the castle and it’s courtyards, the Golden Lane, before walking down the 102 steps down to ground level, admiring the magnificent views over Prague’s red roofs, church spires and domes and the Charles Bridge, with its 30 statues of saints carved from soft sand- stone, that line the walls of the bridge. We saw the Vltana River flowing underneath numerous bridges, it was such a beautiful sunny, stunning outlook. We caught a glimpse of the palace gardens, before driving thru the Old Jewish Quarter. Gail visited author, Franz Kafka’s Museum while Sue sat in the sun and studied her guide- books. We heard the end of a talk from a Prague Walking Tour guide, Roman, he came and sat with us, as Roman then ”sold” us on his walking tour, (Roman had been mentioned by some of the Americans, on guided walking tour in Budapest! We walked to “our” restaurant for an Asian meal,, we were then just in time to get to the Municipal Hall, tor hear the divine Mozart’s Requiem. The Smetana Hall seats 1200 beneath an Art Nouveau glass dome and the stage is framed by sculptures. An organ played at the beginning, there were approx 40 – 50 folk singing in the choir, there were about 24 musicians in the orchestra, and the four soloists were excellent, the whole performance was delightful. We walked back to the Albatross under the most magnificent dark blue indigo skies. Sweet dreams after midnight.
6/6 PRAGUE & KUTNA HORA
After our 8.30am breakfast we walked uptown to do more banking and visit the supermarket to get our picnic lunch, Then walked and found our way to Wenceslas Square, in New Town (Nove Mesto) originally a medieval horse market, but now is a broad, sloping boulevard, than a classical square, which has witnessed a great deal of Czech history, as many rallies have gathered here over the centuries. There is an equestrian statue of “Good King Wenceslas” of Christmas carol fame, he was a 10th-century pacifist duke of Bohemia. The National Museum, built between 1885-1890 in Neo-Renaissance style, is a dominant feature at the top of Wenceslas Square. The boulevard leading up to the museum, houses many smart well known designer shops and department stores, such as Marks & Spencers, book stores and such, it was typical of an upmarket shopping mall anywhere in Europe. We had a light shower of rain as we ate our picnic lunch in Old Town Square and then walked down to the Intercontinental Hotel for our pick up for out 5 hour tour to Kutna Hora, approx 65 km from Prague. It was once the second most important town in Bohemia, as was a silver-ore mining town. This medieval town once enjoyed explosive growth, becoming the seat of Wenceslas II’s Royal Mint, .in 1308 and minted the “Prague Penny,” and then was the residence of it is now listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List with many historic sights. Our first stop was the Seldec Ossuary, which we called the “Bones Church.” In 1278 Abbot Henry made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and brought back a jar of “Holy soil) as he called it, this made the cemetery a popular burial site. In 1318 over 30,000 bodies were buried there after the plague, this gave rise to the creation of the ossuary. The ossuary itself dates from 1511, when a half- blind monk was given the task to gather the bones, putting them into a crypt to make way for “new customers.” When the silver mines expanded the needed to dig up the cemetery When the Schwarzenberg family purchased Seldec monastery in 1870, they allowed a local wood-carver to get creative with the bones that had been piled up in a crypt for centuries, this was the remains of 40,000 people. The result was spectacular: garlands of skulls and femurs are strung from the vaulted ceiling, while in the centre dangles a vast chandelier containing at least one of each bone in the human body! Four giant pyramids of stacked bones squat in each corner of the chapels and crosses, chalices and monstrances of bone adorn the altar. There was even a Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms made from bones. It was a macabre feeling to be there but it did to stop us taking photographs, to remind us we had seen it, rather than have dreamt it! After an ice cream we then drove onto Kutna Hora’s greatest monument, the Gothic Cathedral of St. Barbara, rivalling Prague’s St Vitus in size and magnificence, its soaring nave culminates in elegant, six-petalled ribbed vaulting. Work was started in 1380 and abandoned in 1558 when the silver began to run out. It was finally completed in neo-gothic style at the end of the 19th century. The chapels preserve some original 15th- century frescoes, some of them showing miners at work. The terrace to the east end shows the finest view of Kutna Hora, which we ambled down. The sun was now shining and we had a little time to explore the narrow, cobble stone streets and sit in the square. The mini van dropped us off at Wencelas Square, as there was a major traffic jam as some rally was in progress. We bought books on Prague, before finding our ay back to Old Town Square and back to “our” restaurant., the Chinese meal was just OK.
7/6 HLUBOKA CASTLE & CESKY KRUMLOV
We had been looking at several day trips to Cesky Krumlov and thanks to the receptionist at our hotel, it was she who suggested we take the tour that included Hluboka Casltle, this magnificent castle and grounds, certainly rivals Prague Castle. . We were collected at 9.15am for our two- hour drive thru the very lush southern Bohemia. We drove thru beautiful countryside, passing thru wee villages, green forests, lakes, and fields of yellow canola, as they need the oil for industrial and cooking purposes. There were 6 of us in our mini van, a French and a Spanish couples, so our guide was multi-lingual. We had a guided tour of Hluboka Castle, a dazzling white fairytale landmark, its roots date back to the 13th-century, but has been rebuilt several times. The building that we saw dates from the 19th-century. it was built in the romantic style but its early Gothics structure remains a mystery. For the next 3 centuries Hluboka Castle was the property of the Bohemian rulers. It was well maintained, partly because there was from its windows, a good view of the estates of a powerful neighbour and potential enemy of the Crown, the Rosenberg family. The castle has a unique blend of fragile beauty and majestic grandeur, towers, spires, battlements, and buttresses combine harmoniously, romantically and unforgettably. Our brochure stated without a doubt, it is one of the most beautiful chateaux of all of Bohemia, its walls and ceilings are covered with noble wood with unusually rich, carpentry and carving decorations. The rooms were equipped with beautiful chandeliers, late Renaissance stained glass, Chinese vases from the 18th-century, tapestries, produced in Brussels in the 17th-century, Delft crockery and a wonderful library containing 12,000 volumes, and a panelled ceiling We were fortunate that rain fell heavily while we had our tour inside the castle and as we came outside, the sun came out to brighten our day. We walked back down the hill to a tasty lunch at the local pub, which was included in our tour. We noticed how much cheaper than Prague to food was. We ate a really tasty potato soup, grilled chicken and mushrooms, chips and salad (two kinds of cabbage,) dessert was a delicious spice cake with cream, followed by a cup of coffee, all for approx $10 per head, great value, even the beer looked inviting. It was about a 30 minute drive to tour the most picturesque town of Cesky Krumlov, upon our arrival there, Gail realised that she had left her camera back at the pub! The castle is the second biggest in Bohemia with its 40 buildings, 5 courtyards and took 6 centuries to build! The castle was founded in 1250 by the Lords of Krumlov, whose emblem was a five petal rose. The castle belonged to the Krumlov family till 1302 when the Rosenbergs installed their official residence here. During the Rosenbergs period the castle (and the city) underwent a steadily growth, art and culture flourished. In 1602 debts forced Peter Vok of the Rosenbergs to sell the Cesky Krumlov estate to the Emperor Rudolph II Habsburg. The castle was abandoned till the 1660’s when with the third generation of the Eggenbergs dynasty local economy and culture underwent a second expansion period. In 1719 the mansion was acquired by the Schwanzenberg family, Josef Adam of Schwanzenberg (1722-1782) converted the city in the administrative, economic and cultural centre of South Bohemia. In the 19th century the Schwarzenbergs abandoned the castle as their official residence. In 1947 the Castle, as the rest of the Schwarzenberg properties, were taken over by the communist government. Since then the Castle has been open to the public and several restorations have taken place. We wandered the wonderful winding alleys with their cobbled-stones and mostly, were overwhelmed with this breath- taking, most picturesque wee town, on the banks on the Vlatava River. Every scene seemed to be picture postcard perfect, with its green hills backdrop, the river, Gothic & Renaissance architecture with many ornate decorations, plus the dignified churches. The one huge disappointment was that the only tour of the Castle available in our time frame, was a with a German speaking guide, we had hand-outs, written in English, but was not really good enough, as we had many questions that needed answers. We felt that the Rosenberg family, the Duke of Eggenberg and the Schwanzenberg family did not have the flair and taste that we had seen in the other castles we had visited. We collected Gail’s camera on the drive back to Prague, we came back via a different route to our outbound journey. We saw picturesque villages and ponds and our entrance to Prague, was a drive along the river, which was quite lovely. To cap off the most wonderful day, we walked over the Charles Bridge by sunset and nightfall, on a delightful balmy evening. We felt like we were in fairyland (surely Prague must be the model for Disneyland) with the Prague Castle and many historic buildings were all illuminated with the backdrop of the indigo sky, it was simply stunning. We walked back to Old Town Square, which was also illuminated and bought a wrap each, from the seafood shop. By the time we walked back to our Botel and saw some French Open Tennis highlights, it was after midnight before we retired for the night, with sweet dreams of a perfect day.
8/6 PRAGUE
Sue wanted a photo stop of the castle from one of the bridges, we then walked thru the Jewish Quarter to meet our walking tour guide, Roman under the Astronomical clock, at 11.00am for our 2.5 hour most informative walking tour of the Jewish Quarter. There were 3 other couples on our tour, for which we were grateful, as had seen numerous walking tours with groups of 20 or more folk, which seemed to be far too big. Romam was not Jewish but very knowledgeable on the history of the Jews of Prague and their way of life. Our first stop was the Hebrew clock (which goes anti-clockwise.) Counter corner was the Old-New Synagogue, which was built in early Gothic style around the middle of the 13th-century, the main hall is the only existing medieval type hall of its kind. . It is the oldest, still active synagogue in the whole of Europe. We also visited the Pinkas Synagogue built in 1535, after the Second World War, the synagogue was turned into a Memorial for the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia murdered by the Nazis. On its walls are inscribed the names of the Jewish victims, their personal data and the names of communities to which they belonged. In 1968, however, the Memorial had to be closed because ground water had penetrated the building’s foundations, thus endangering the structure. During work on the underground waterproofing of the building a discovery was made of vaulted spaces with an ancient well and ritual bath. The Communist regime deliberately held up renovations and the inscriptions were removed and it was not until 1990 was it possible to complete the building renovation. Finally in 1992-1996 the 80,000 names of the Jewish victims were rewritten on its walls. Even more sobering was the permanent exhibition, “Children’s Drawings from Terezin 1942-1944” is housed in the upper section. Among the Terezin prisoners there were over 10.000 children under the age of 15 at the time of imprisonment. Of the 8000 that were deported from the east a mere 242 survived the wartime suffering. We then visited the Klausen Synagogue (it takes its name from Germen word “Klaus” meaning “small building,” at the exit of the Old Jewish Cemetery. It served as the largest synagogue in the ghetto and at the same time served as Prague’s Burial Society. We enjoyed the permanent exhibition of Jewish Customs and Traditions. Or visit to vie4w the Old Jewish Cemetery, was memorable, it was first established in the first half of the 15th-century, along with the Old-New Synagogue it is one of the most important surviving monuments of Prague’s Jewish Town. The oldest tombstone dates from the year 1439. Today the cemetery contains almost 12,000 tombstones, although the number of persons buried there is much greater. The cemetery was enlarged a number of times in the past. It is assumed that the several burial layers superimposed on of top of the other. The various groups of tombstones in amongst the green grass, makes the cemetery very picturesque.. The most prominent person buried here is the great scholar and teacher Rabbi Low, who is associated with the legend of the robot “Golem.” We then moved on thru the Ceremonial Hall & Mortuary, which was built in pseudo-Romanesque stye in 1911-12, As part of the Jewish Museum, The Ceremonial Hall of the Prague Burial Society Hevrah Kaddishah (founded in 1564) later became an exhibition space housing a permanent exhibition “Jewish Customs and Traditions.” We had been to the Maisel Synagogue a couple of times which was built 1590-1592, in Renaissance style was seriously damaged by fire in 1689 and was then renovated in the Baroque style. It was renovated again in pseudo-Gothic design in 1893-1905, The Maisel Synagogue is currently used the Jewish Museum, for exhibition space. We bought tickets to a concert at the Spanish Synagogue in there. We ate a just OK three course meal for lunch, then walked over the Charles Bridge to Mala Strana (Little Quarter) which clusters around the foot of Prague Castle, to visit St Nicholas Church, the district’s most distinctive landmark, which was disappointing as far too ornate for our tastes. We enjoyed walking around the narrow cobbled-stoned streets but we were both weary after a day of walking. We headed to the Spanish Synagogue. built in 1868 in a Moorish style, very ornate inside, with the cupola above. The concert “Jewels of Czech” was most enjoyable with a tenor, from the State Opera, a violincello player from Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, an international virtuoso playing violin and a woman piano accompanist, from Prague State Opera. We found a different route to “our”supermarket, to buy some rolls and smoked salmon for supper, back at our botel, we then had to pack.
9/6 PRAGUE TO MALTA
We took a 10.15am taxi to the airport to find we departed from different terminals, Gail departed 12.55 to London to spend approx 7 hours there, killing time. Her flightto Malta from London, at 21.00 arrived in Malta late and she did not get to our nice timeshare apartment at Mellieha, till approx 3.20am!, Sue had been listening for her from 2.30am as she had to let Gail in!! Sue spent 5 hours hanging around Prague airport dozing and getting her travel diary up to date. Sue departed for the one- hour flight, to Vienna at 15.35 where she spent two hours at the airport before her 18.55 flight to Malta. She was pleased to get some food on the 2 hour 15 min flight, Both Gail and Sue had a taxi to meet the at the airport. Sue arrived at Pergola Timeshare at 10.30pm and had to deal with a few “issues” like door not locking, making up the sofa bed in the living room as only a one- bedroom apartment with a double bed, it was 12.30am before Sue finally got to bed. Of course, Sue had to get up to let Gail in at 3.20am and we chatted for an hour before we got to bed as both extremely tired. Malta is small island 27km by 15km = 300 square km with a population of approx 400,000. There are 330 Catholic Churches on Malta,, about 50% of the population attend church regularly,
10/6 MELLIEHA
A lazy day was required, we did not rise till 9.30am to admire our most wonderful view from our balcony, we looked straight out to a magnificent big domed church with the beautiful Mellieha Bay, to the side,it was so picturesque in the early mornings, with the sun rising. We spent a lot of time doing our “homework” looking at tours and brochures and make plans for our week on Malta. We left about 12.30 to walk to the supermarket to get our supplies, we had fun checking out different products and prices. We walked back at 2.15 by which time most shops were shut and the “tomato man” with his truck had gone! Late afternoon we went for a long walk to check out our surroundings and then down to the beachm at Mellieha Bay. We were looking for the bird sanctuary, but it was the closed, as wrong season for migrating birds to be there. It was very hot and sunny, which we had not experienced elsewhere. We sat and admired the view and the magnificent colours of the aquamarine waters and their “excuse” for what they called a beach, with its thin strip of white sand, with what looked like, storm clouds approaching. Due to the heat and high winding road we had walked down, we caught the bus back up the hill to Mellieha village. We watched some of the ladies French Open Tennis Finals, before going down to a buffet meal at out hotel, which was rather bland, apart from an excellent vegetable lasagne and a yummy chocolate cake, there was a singer with guitar to entertain us, with a nice repertoire. We made it bed around midnight.
11/6 MARSAXLOKK & VALLETTA
As most places were shut on a Sunday, we decided to take the half day tour to the south of the island, to the Limestone Heritage site, Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk Markets. First stop was “The Limestone Heritage” quarry, as Malta is just a limestone island and most buildings are built of limestone. We had an insight into old and new limestone quarrying, saw a movie then walked around the various sites, with depicted the history of limestone quarrying, we watched a craftsman carve an ornament with a hand held tool, which looked so easy, and he invited Gail to have a try, she found out how difficult it was! It was a grey overcast day and it started to sprinkle as we arrived at the Blue Grotto site. Gail was wise and decided not to go out in the wee motorised boats, to view the caves and the Blue Grotto from the water. Sue did take the 20 minute trip, but advised Gail that it was “a bit of a dud” nothing special at all, just a bunch of caves, but to be fair, the overcast skies made it most difficult for the water to be that spectacular blue. Gail amused herself visiting the roadside stalls. We then headed to the main fishing village of Marsaxlokk whose waterfront is lined with “luzzus” (boats) painted in traditional colours of red, blue & yellow, that add colour to this peaceful bay which was once the site of the first Turkish landing during the Great Siege of 1565. We had an excellent Dutch woman as our guide, who spoke several languages, but she blotted her copy- book, when she said “follow me” as she was to show us how to catch a bus to Valetta. She walked so fast that most on the tour lost her, including us! It was a very crowded when we arrived at lunch- time and the rain arrived as well and set in. We strolled around the markets, buying some fruit before the stall owners packed up and went due to the rain. We chose an outdoor restaurant for a red mullet fish lunch, with salad and chips and Gail got speaking to an English couple Paul & Yvonne, who used to live on Malta, who gave us a few tips. We then joined them at another table, which had an big umbrella to shelter us from the steady rain. We explored a bit more of Marsaxlokk then had a hot cappuccino before taking our first yellow bus (all Malta’s busses are yellow, new & old). It was a half hour ride to Valetta and we had to stand the whole way. Even though it was still raining, we decided to walk around Valletta, a walled city, to get our bearings for future visits, without the crowds, till 5.45pm. Gail almost lost her camera for the third time! Actually, Sue had put it down with other parcels when taking photos, and had neglected to pick up the plastic bag, which Gail’s camera was in! Sue had to do a quick, fast run back to collect it, as she knew it was, down by St Elmo’s Fort. Sue was very pleased to see the bag still there, where she left it! We took the rattly old bus back to Mellieha, the gears “screamed” every time the driver changed gears! The journey took approx 3/.4 of an hour and we got back to Pergola, our timeshare about 7.00pm to watch the evening news and were sorry to hear the Federer, had lost the French Open Tennis. We had a hot soup supper, plus yummy oatmeal biscuits from the supermarket
12/6 VALLETTA
We were up at 6.30am as we wanted to be in Valletta by 9.30am and went straight to the tourist bureau to get maps and information. Valletta is a compact town, barely a kilometre long and 600 wide with a regular grid of narrow streets confined within the massive medieval fortifications, which was built after the Great Siege of 1565, by the Knights of the Order of St John. We headed straight to “The Malta Experience”to book for 11.00am show, it is an audio-visual movie of Malta’s 7000 years worth of history, it was fabulous and we learned a lot, but Sue was struggling to stay awake in the dark! We bought a few items in the shop. It was a hot 25 degree day, and we admired the magnificent view over The Grand Harbour entrance before we wandered back through the narrow cobble-stone streets, lined with houses with a myriad of wee balconies, to get back to a jewellery/glassware shop, which Gail fancied one or two items. We also watched their 15 minute movie on “The Maltese Cross” Paul had recommended a restaurant “The Kings own Band” where we ate a chicken burger lunch with a group of “loud” Maltese Australians even the waitress used to live in Sydney. We spent some time in the museum trying to buy tickets to the Hypogeum, where there are megalithic temple structures from 3600 to 3000 BC (there may have been up to 7000 bodies interned there) but we learnt that you had to book, via the Net at least two weeks in advance! They suggested we go there in person and take “pot luck.” We spent a wonderful two hours exploring Malta’s most impressive church St, John’s Co-Cathedral built between 1573 and 1575.as the conventional church of the Knights of St John, it took over from the Church of St Lawrence, in Vittoriosa as a place where the Knights could gather for communal worship.. It was raised to a status equal to that of St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina – the official seat of the Archbishop of Malta – by a papal decree of 1816, hence the term ‘co-cathedral,’ The facade is rather plain, and framed by twin bell- towers but the interior is a colourful treasure of Maltese baroque. The nave is long & low and every wall, pillar and rib is encrusted with rich ornamentation, giving the effect of a dusty. gold brocade – the Maltese Cross and the arms of the Order (a white cross on a scarlet background) we could see everywhere. The floor was a patchwork quilt of colourful marble tomb slabs in black, white, blue, red, pink & yellow, depicting skeletons and skull & cross bones! There were six bays on either side of the nave, eight of which contain chapels to the various langues (or divisions based on nationality) of the Order of St John., We also spent time in the Cathedral Museum which houses vestments and a vast collection of Flemish tapestries depicting bible scenes, based on drawing by Rubens, but the Museum is dominated by a Caravaggio’s masterpiece painting (c1608) of “The Beheading of St John The Baptist”. We were rather reluctant to leave this most ornate and impressive cathedral, but our day in Valetta ended on a “high” as we headed to the most magnificent panorama of the Grand Harbour and the creeks and dockyards of Vittoriosa & Senglea, from the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Our first stop was to admire the outside of the beautiful Auberge de Castille, built in 1741 which was once, the home of the Spanish & Portugese langue of the Knights but now acts as the Maltese Prime Minster’s offices. We had thought of catching a ferry to Sliema, but was rather late, so we caught the yellow bus back to Mellieha and had another European buffet dinner which was not that exciting .It was after 12.30am before we got to bed after a most wonderful and enthralling day.
13.6 MOSTA CHURCH, MDINA
Another early start to be at Mosta Church by 9.30am, to beat the multiple tour groups that followed. Mosta Church is another big domed builded that dominates the whole local area. It was built between the years 1833 – 1860 with funds raised by the local people. We admired the stunning blue, gold and white interior, as well as the high, decorated dome, from the inside and also to check out the bomb that fell thru it in 1942, on 9th June in World War 11. Three enemy bombs struck the Mosta Dome while 300 parishioners waited to hear Mass. Two bombs bounced off and landed in the square without exploding. The third bomb (1000 pounds) pierced the dome, smashed of a wall and rolled across the floor of the church, miraculously no one was hurt and the bomb failed to detonate! We caught the #81 bus to Mdina, in Central Malta.The Citadel of Mdina was fortified from the earliest times, as long ago as 1000 BC when the Phoenicians built a protective wall, and they called it “Malat” meaning “place of shelter” It was given its present name by the Arabs, who arrived in the 9th century. It was a very hot day and we were touted to take a horse-drawn carriage tour, to Rabat (suburb of Mdina) in hindsight, we could have easily walked, but it was a pleasant way to tour. The apostle St Paul, was shipwrecked off Malta in 63AD and we visited St Paul’s Church, in Rabat, built in 1675, and took the stairs beside the church, that lead down to the Grotto of St Paul, which is a cave, where he is said to have preached during his stay in Malta, We also explored St Paul’s Catacombs, which date from the 3rd century AD where there was not a lot to see, many narrow stairs and a labyrinth of rock-.cut tombs. We had a nice photo stop then back to Mdina to see the audio-visual “The Mdina Experience” Sue battled to stay awake again, in the dark. We ate our sandwich lunch in the shade, outside the walled city, which is mush smaller than Vallertta, but hold many beautiful buildings.. In medieval times Mdina was known as the Noble City, as it was the favoured residence of the Maltese aristocracy, and the seat of the governing council, today it is known as the Silent City. We did our own walking tour thru the narrow streets visited St Paul’s Cathedral, which was too ornate for our tastes. We admired the expansive views from the city walls, taking in northern & central Malta, including St Paul’s Bay, (where he came ashore after shipwreck) Mosta Dome & Valletta. We then caught the bus down the few kilometres, to Ta’Qali Crafts Village, hoping to find wonderful glassware but again, were disappointed. We walked up the long Oleander lined road, to the craft workshops, housed in old Nissen huts on this WW11 RAF airfield, we were hot and tired and not much there to excite us, We walked a good few km to the Mdina Glass blowing complex, but again very expensive glassware that were not very attractive and a rip-off! I think we got sun-burnt, walking back to the bus stop and then waited 20 mins in the hot sun, for the bus back up to Mdina, to change to another bus, to take us to Dingli Cliffs. It was an unremarkable Moorish little village, with stone fences, but only 500m to the south-west, the land falls away at the 220m-high Dingli Cliffs, with views over the Mediterranean, where we walked along the cliff tops for some time. We caught the 6.10pm bus back to Mdinda then changed buses to get to Mosta, then a third bus, back to Millieha. We went straight to the IL Mithna restaurant, which had been an old windmill, for a very nice meal indeed, in a lovely ambience with good service. We were two very bone-weary, and exhausted ladies walking back to our digs at 9.30pm and hit the hay two hours later!
14/6 THREE CITIES TOUR –SENGLEA, COSPICUA & VITTORIOSA
Woke to a superb sunny day after a good sleep & hurried to 8.15 pick-up for our tour to the three cites, we were annoyed that we were not collected till 8.50am,. One Italian mother, child and grandmother, went back to their hotel in disgust, maybe just as well, as the kid was “unsettled”. We seemed to take forever to get to the meeting point at Senglea, 9.30am, via a different route we had not been on before. We drove thru though Cospicua and met our walking tour guide, Joe, who spoke 4 languages, Maltese, English, French and Italian, he was a mine of information., When the Knights first arrived in Malta in 1530, they made their home in the fishing village of Birgu, (now called Vittoriosa) on a finger of land on the south side of Grand Harbour, overlooking the inlet, which is now known as Dockyard Creek. Our meeting point was at the tip of Senglea Point, with the most magnificent views over the length of Grand Harbour back to Valletta. Senglea was pretty much razed to the ground, as it was heavily bombed during World War 11 being so close to the dockyards where most of its inhabitants worked...There was little of historic interest remaining but we enjoyed walking the narrow streets, to see how people lived. Two vans met us to take us to the war museum site at Vittoriosa, again, we had the most magnificent views over Dockyard Creek, where many yachts were moored, it was a grand sight on this gloriously hot sunny day as the blue sea sparkled.. We were highly amused when our guide in the Church of St Lawrence, told us that a martyr was barbecued! The priest overheard this remark and told Joe, in an angry voice, “this sort of language was not allowed in the church,” the priest stated that it was better to say the martyr was “roasted!” Joe and the priest had a heated discussion about this for some time. The Church of St Lawrence was built on the site of an 11th-cenrury Norman church. St Lawrence served as a conventual church of the Knights from 1530 until they moved to St Johns Co-cathedral in Valetta. Our tour ended on a high, as we boarded a “fregatina” a typical small outboard boat (almost gondola like) for a tour of the famous harbour creeks of Grand Harbour, it was a wonderful half hour out on the azure blue waters, in the very hot sun, we too, were being barbecued, as we had no covering on our fregatina. It was such a different perspective from the water, to see the cities and forts, all built in limestone, simply stunning... When the Knjghts of St John arrived on Malta in 1530 they set about building many forts around Grand Harbour, as they feared attacks from the Ottoman Empire. Their fear became a reality in “The Great Siege of 1565,” in May, when the enormous Ottoman fleet carrying more than 30,000 men arrived to lay siege to the island. The Knight la Valette commanded a force of only 700 Knights and around 8000 Maltese irregular mercenary troops.. The siege battled on through the long hot summer and due to the courage and resilience of the ordinary people of Birgu and Senglea, they were victorious and the towns were given honorific titles, Cittta Vittoriosa (Victorious City) and Citta Invitta (the Unconquered City.) Our delightful tour was over and Joe, our guide, kindly wert out of is way to drop is off near the Tarxien Temples, in the suburb of Paola, about 2km away. The Tarxiem Temples are hidden in the back streets, and the megalithic structures were excavated in 1914 and are thought to date from between 3600 and 2500 BC. There are four linked temples, built with massive stone blocks up to 3m by 1m by1m in size, decorated with spiral patterns and pitting and reliefs of animals including bulls, goats and pigs. The large statue of a broad-hipped female figure without a head, poses much thought and speculation. There was a hole there to put another head on the body, Sue wondered if it was a “bad hair day” thing, way back then! After finding out we could get in at anytime, at Tarxien we walked for 20 minutes to the Hypogeum, to see if we could get a ticket, due to cancellation, as we were unaware that it is essential to pre book at least 10 days before! The Hypogeum is an incredible underground necropolis, discovered during building work, in 1902. It consists of halls, chambers and passages hewn out of the living rock, it is thought to date from around 3600 – 3000BC and an estimated 7000 bodies may have been interred here. Unfortunately, we were not able to get tickets for a tour, we had to get back out into the hot sun, to walk back to Tarxien, we were both hot, weary, and very hungry, so stopped for our “picnic” lunch on the steps of a closed shop, on a very narrow street, with loads of people staring at us, from the passing buses! Refreshed, we waked back to Tarxien and admired and pondered of the meaning of all we were seeing of the remains of the temple, we had more questions than answers. We caught the yellow bus back to Valetta, for a cool drink at our favourite spot Upper Barrakka Gardens, the view was stunning, looking back over The Grand Harbour and the Three Cities that we had just toured, it helped to get our bearings and perspective, from the sea and the land, we were reluctant to leave this wonderful spot. We visited our last church, the Church of St Paul’s Shipwreck, one of Valetta’s oldest churches from 16th-century it has a dazzling gilded statue of St Paul, a golden reliquary containing some bones from the saint’s forearm and part of the column, on which he is said to have been beheaded in Rome. We saw many shoe shops and Sue did her retail therapy and bought a bargain priced pair of Spanish leather shoes for L6.95 (approx.AU$28) We were both dozing off on the bus back to Mellieha., we watched the news on TV, mainly World Cup Soccer, then down to a Maltese buffet dinner at 8.00pm It was a different chef, but the food was mostly the same as the other buffets, we had been to there. The potatoes were tasty though, as was the lemon cheese-cake. Gail started packing her bags after dinner, while Sue looked thru her photos and deleted a lot, bed after midnight again!
15/6 GOZO
We only had six hours of sleep as we had to collected for our day trip to Gozo, at 8.15am. We were thoroughly annoyed that we were not picked up till. 9.15am, hanging around in the street, was no fun, as it was another hot, sunny day perhaps 30 degrees or more. It was a 10-minute ride to the ferry terminal, for a 20-minute ferry ride, to Gozo. We had been told that Gozo, was very different to Malta, as supposedly much greener and more picturesque, but due to the drought, it was the same as Malta. There is more rural land than Malta has, it was all brown, hot and dry, but more laid-back than Malta, as Gozo is one-third the size of Malta, but has about one-tenth to the population. Approx. 30,000 people live here and farming and fishing are the main activities. We drove to the Dwejra, on the west coast, to take a small boat trip, to view the Azure Window, in the limestone cliffs from the water. Sue was a bit hesitant after the experience at the Blue Grotto, but our guide said, she “thought the Blue Grotto trip was a rip off and this was truly lovely” and it was! Being a hot sunny day, the water was indeed a sparkling azure blue, and the window in the rock, was well worth the visit It is a popular diving and snorkelling spot, with many limestone caves in the cliffs. Sue walked around the limestone rocks for a short time and the view thru the Azure Window, from the rocks, was equally impressive, with the small boats passing in & out of view, thru the window. The bus drove back the same route we had come, passing many villages, domed churches and then thru Victoria, (also known as Rabat) the chief town of Gozo, passing the Citadel (Il-Kastel) which we were to visit later, heading for Xlendi for our lunch stop. We had heard at Dwejra that our tour did not include the temples at Ggantija (which the Saturday tour does) so we were quite upset, as was another Australian woman, Estelle, so our guide kindly organised us a quick lunch and a taxi, to take us to the temples, which meant we missed a tour stop, at the craft market, which were happy to miss. Xlendi was once the most beautiful fishing village but unregulated building has turned it into just another resort town. We had little time to admire the aquamarine waters in the bay, as we gobbled down our quite nice lunch, before the taxi arrived. The megalithic temples of Ggantija (means giant-ess) are located on the crest of a hill, which commands a splendid view over southern Gozo, They are the largest of the3 megalithic temples found on the Maltese Islands. The walls stand over 6m high and the two temples together, span over 40m. The temples are thought to be Malta’s oldest, dating from the period 3600 to 3000BC. The largest of the megaliths measures around 57 tonnes, and the wall may have stood up to 16m tall. There was an information stand, where you pressed a button to hear the theories of maybe, why the temples were built, but it seems little is known about them, again more questions than answers to ponder.. The taxi waited for us and took us to meet our group at the bottom of the Citadel, in Victoria. Passing thru the gate there are some Roman inscriptions dating back to 2nd-century AD. We saw an audio visual of “Gozo Heritage” before climbing the ramparts to the top for panoramic 360 degree views over Gozo, seeing the huge dome of the Rotunda at Xewkija, with Comino & Malta in the background. On a clear day one can see Sicily. We looked at the odd shop on the way dawn and were so hot, we ran out of water so bought a drink and sat in the market stall square, our meeting point. We took the 4.30pm ferry back to Malta and were back at the Pergola around 6.00pm. We made a complaint at reception about waiting almost an hour for our tour bus to collect us this morning., We settled our account for the week and found we had just enough money to have a hamburger supper at Melieha village, at the Solanda Hotel, where a group of English guys, were gathered in front of the TV for World Cup Soccer, to see England win 2 nil over Trinidad. The roar of the crowd., was almost like being at the stadium! We walked back to our hotel on a balmy evening hoping for an early night but no such luck! There was a disco party by the pool, underneath our balcony and the music (if you could call it that) was LOUD!! We got to bed after 11.00pm despite our good intentions, when the music stopped.
16.6 DEPARTURE DAY
We both had a restless night after our supper, which seemed to be siting on our tummies, plus the fact that Gail had a 4.30am departure, via taxi, for her 7.15am flight to London. Rather then hanging around Heathrow for 9 hours, she “deposited” her luggage, tried to get into the Michelangelo drawing exhibition at the British Museum. From there, she walked down to Harrods, which she said she won’t ever visit again, as it is awful! Gail took the 19.05 flight to Johannesburg, Sue arose to farewell Gail, plus she had to lock the door, then back to bed for a bit. She had to pack plus tidy up, feeling somewhat seedy, the cleaning staff wished she had been out earlier, but Sue just made it for the 10.00am vacation of rooms, then left her luggage in reception, It was a hot 36 degree day and Sue had hoped to explore the church and the village, but felt it was much too hot for that, It was even too hot to be in the sun or have a swim, she just lay in the shade by the pool, then ate a “picnic’ lunch of leftovers. Taxi collected her at 1.00pm for her flight to Vienna at 3.50pm.for the two-hour flight. Spent overnight at Airporter Hotel for her 20 plus hour flight to Sydney, the next day, with Austrian Airlines via Kula Lumpur. Sue got back to her flat at 4.00pm Sunday and it was a miracle that she was at work to start her 8.00am, shift on the Monday, she was back to reality fast, after a wonderful adventure and she wonders “where to” next?
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