Belfast Town

It was a Bank Holiday long weekend in the Republic, so Michael and I took advantage of the extra day and caught the train to Belfast.  There we met James and Amber, who flew over from London and we set about showing them the city.

The weather was remarkably pleasant (ie not raining), so we were able to walk to the St George’s Market where Michael and James each tucked into a Belfast Bap.  Michael had been looking forward to this lunch for days and it didn’t disappoint.  Amber and I chose a much lighter lunch, then, after a brief look at the market, we walked over to the Titanic Quarter.  We left James and Amber to have a look at the Titanic Experience on their own.  It is a fabulous exhibition, however, as Michael and I have visited it twice previously, we decided to venture back into the city.

 

The Belfast Pride Festival was taking place and we were able to watch thousands of people celebrating Northern Ireland’s LGBT community.  It is strange to realise that the people in the north of Ireland do not enjoy the same marriage equality that is the right of people in the Republic.  One can only hope that the situation will change sooner rather than later (as indeed it should back home in Australia).  The parade was very colourful with many weird and wonderful costumes on display.

We met up with James and Amber back at our hotel before heading out for dinner at Molly’s Yard.  Michael and I had dined in this restaurant housed in a converted Victorian stables on our first trip to Belfast.  This visit, the second time around, did not disappoint.  We all enjoyed our meals and it was nice chatting about travels past and future plans.

Amber was starting to feel the effects of her cold, so we dropped her back at the hotel to enjoy an early night whilst the three of us took a walk into the city centre.  Michael and James shared a drink at Kelly’s Cellars, a traditional Irish pub dating back to 1720.  The building has whitewashed walls and uneven floors and a band was playing.  The joint was jumping as they say, so we stood in the courtyard where we were able to still hear the music and hold a conversation at the same time.  We walked around some more before the rain poured down and we called it a night.

The rain was still pouring the next morning so after breakfast we took a brisk walk to the Ulster Museum.  Currently on display is a giant, 77 metres long Bayeux style tapestry depicting key scenes from every episode of the TV show, Game of Thrones.   Each week, new scenes are added after the latest episode is aired.  The series is not to my taste, however even I was impressed with the tapestry.  There were two ladies working on the next panel as we were there and I couldn’t help thinking that Michael’s mother would have enjoyed sitting there working on the tapestry and chatting with the other ladies.

We returned to our hotel where we were picked up for our Black Taxi Tour.  Michael and I were thrilled to discover that our guide was to be Steve, the same guide we had nearly two years ago.  Once more Steve provided a balanced view of the troubles as well as a comprehensive account of the history of Northern Ireland as he took us through both the Catholic and Protestant areas of Belfast.  At the end of the tour Steve asked Amber and James to guess his religious background and they both guessed the opposite to each other.  I think that they enjoyed the tour and gained some understanding of the complex issues that still face Northern Ireland today.

Steve dropped us into the city centre where we quickly showed James and Amber some of the narrow alleys and murals.  Then it was time for lunch at Yardbird, which claims to be one of the oldest buildings in Belfast, dating back to 1780.  There was no time to linger over lunch though, as James and Amber needed to head out to the airport for their flight home.  It wasn’t a long weekend in England, so they could only stay the one night in Belfast.  It was lovely seeing them again as always, and it won’t be very long until I see them again.

Michael and I spent the next day wandering the streets and shops and getting involved in long conversations with the locals.  Belfast people, like most Irish, are very friendly and as soon as they hear our Australian accents, love to tell us about their Australian experiences/connections.  One gentleman told us about his visit to Melbourne in the 1960’s and how he still remembers the stained glass ceiling at the National Gallery of Victoria.  Another elderly gentleman told us all about his daughter who is a doctor in Ivanhoe.  I was pretty chuffed when he asked Michael if I was his granddaughter, less so when Michael responded that he was talking Blarney!  Later, we got talking to a younger man in the coffee shop and he recommended a visit to a nearby whiskey shop.  When we arrived, we found the shop locked, so we popped in to the pub opposite to find out if he knew where the owner was.  The barman told us that the owner would be back soon and while we waited he regaled us with the history of the street and pub.  It was a really relaxing way to spend the morning.

Lunch was at a fabulous old deli, Sawers, which was established in 1897.  We took a seat under the awning outside and watched the weather change minute by minute from sunshine to rain and back again, whilst sharing a charcuterie board and sipping wine.  Then it was time to return to our hotel and collect our bags for the walk to the station.

The walk was pleasant but as we neared the station we could see an armoured police vehicle blocking one of the streets.  A short while later, another three police cars arrived and we could see about 30 or so teenagers congregated.  Michael and I had stopped to see what was happening when we clearly heard the thud of either a rock or brick hitting one of the police cars.  We took that as our signal to move along and mind our own business.  The following day I read in the news that officers were attacked and cars had been torched by masked youths apparently angered by the removal of wood from the site of a nationalist bonfire.  Petrol bombs, bricks and bottles were hurled and police and a number of cars were destroyed.  I guess it was just another day in Belfast.

Power and the Passion

 

Michael and I headed over to London to stay for the weekend with Amber and James.  We have this journey down pat now, breezing through the security at Dublin airport, enjoying an efficient flight followed by a trouble free train journey to arrive at their home mid afternoon.  Naturally it was lovely to see them again and we spent our time catching up with their news and enjoying a few different gins.  Dinner was at a fabulous gastro pub within walking distance of their home, called the De Beauvoir Arms.  It was so nice dining in a pub without the distraction of televisions on every wall and the food was delicious.

 

On Sunday morning, we took a lovely walk along the canal to Victoria Park to see the newly opened market.  There were all kinds of seasonal fruit and vegetables for sale as well as an array of meats, cheeses, fish and baked goods.  Everything looked lovely and fresh however I knew that Amber had arranged a lovely lunch for us, so I refrained from purchasing anything other than a cup of coffee.  Michael couldn’t resist buying a Scotch egg for his morning tea.  The next stop was the Hackney City Farm.  Yes, there is a farm in suburban London.  We saw pigs, goats and chickens along with donkeys and geese.  It reminded me of the Collingwood Children’s Farm in Melbourne, where we used to take the boys when they were little.

 

Amber booked a wonderful restaurant for our lunch – ROKA Aldwych.  Situated right opposite Australia House, it is a Japanese robatayaki restaurant.  The meal was unbelievably good, with dish after dish being delivered to our table with unlimited wine as well.  It would definitely be worth a return visit and the service was amazing.  I waddled out of there and certainly didn’t need any dinner that evening.  James and Amber continued home whilst Michael and I took a much-needed walk down Regent Street.  The street was closed to traffic for the day and food stalls and entertainment had been set up along its length.  It was good to have the opportunity to walk down the centre of the street, as we were able to have a good look up at the building facades as we walked.  There are some really lovely features, like mosaics, on some of the buildings, which you don’t really get to see when you walk along the footpaths.

 

The main reason for our weekend in London was to see Midnight Oil in concert.  Michael and I caught the train to Hammersmith and we didn’t need directions to the Apollo Theatre, as it was directly opposite the train station.  The theatre itself is a beautifully restored Art Deco style building, which opened in 1932.  The band came on stage and the crowd instantly came alive.  The music was awesome and Peter Garrett has not lost his touch, belting out hit after hit and dancing in his unique style.  I swear that man has unnaturally long forearms!  He is still politically motivated aiming a number of barbs at Trump, May and Australian politicians.  The song lyrics are just as relevant today, which is a little depressing when you realise that some things have not changed since the ‘80’s, like the plight of the indigenous population and environmental concerns.  It was a fun evening and it was good to see old and young people appreciating the music.  My only disappointment was that they didn’t play my favourite Oil’s song, King of the Mountain.  Still, I can’t complain, as they played just about every other hit song over the course of the evening.

 

Our time in London was drawing to a close but there was still one special, magical treat to come.  My Mother’s Day gift from James was Afternoon Tea at The Ritz.  I had been looking forward to this for months, as James had to tell me in advance so that I could pack a suitable outfit.  I had purchased a dress (the first time that I have worn a dress since leaving Australia), new shoes and handbag, and was feeling pretty swish.  James looked especially handsome in his suit and I felt a little guilty that Michael wasn’t joining us.  What can I say about the occasion, other than it was perfect?  We dined in the spectacular Palm Court, which is decorated with beautiful mirrors and chandeliers whilst a pianist played softly in the background.  The food was superb – delicate finger sandwiches, fresh scones with clotted cream and strawberry conserve and gorgeous, little cakes.  There were silver pots of tea and fine china plates.  A serving cart was brought to our table and we were served thin slices of gateau.  It was a thrilling experience and will always be a special memory of my time in London.  Thank you James.    

 

        

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

James and Amber had told us wonderful things about Copenhagen, so we decided to take a look for ourselves.  A brief, comfortable Ryan Air flight followed by a short train journey took us to the Grand Hotel in the heart of Copenhagen.  The hotel must have once been grand however the grandeur has somewhat faded now.  Nevertheless, our room was comfortable and we were situated right next to the Tivoli Gardens.

Lunch was the first thing on our agenda so we headed straight to the Tivoli Gardens for a Danish hotdog.  The Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world, operating since 1843 (the oldest, amusement park is located in Klampenborg, Denmark which opened in 1583) and is a fun place to visit for both adults and children.  There are amusement rides set amongst beautiful gardens with lakes and fountains and peacocks strolling amid the crowds.  There are also shops and restaurants and we had a lovely time wandering the area.  In fact, we loved it so much that we visited the gardens 3 times over the course of our stay.  In the summer time, a huge fireworks display is held every Saturday night and we had put it on our list of things to do, until we found out that the display didn’t start until 11.45pm due to the fact that it doesn’t get dark until then.  Michael and I are well and truly in bed by that time so we reluctantly gave that a miss!

We took a canal tour, which was a relaxing way to experience the harbour and canals and it was interesting to see the mixture of old and new architecture along the way.  We saw the famous statue of the Little Mermaid, which only days before our arrival had been drenched in red paint in protest of the hunting of pilot whales around the North Atlantic islands that are under Danish control.  Luckily for us, the statue had been cleaned by the time we saw her.  It wasn’t the first time that the statue has been vandalised and I don’t suppose that it will be the last.  We also saw the Danish frigate HDMS Peder Skram, which is famous for accidentally firing a Harpoon missile in 1982, severing power lines and destroying four unoccupied summer cottages and damaging a further 130 buildings.  Luckily no one was injured and the incident has become known as the “whoopsie missile”.

The next day was a bit drizzly but not enough to discourage us from walking around the city.  We had a look at the Design Museum, which was interesting before heading to the Glyptoteket.  This museum houses an impressive collection of ancient art including Greek and Roman statues and Egyptian mummies.  There is also a large collection of French artworks by artists such as Manet, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, Cezanne and Rodin.  We spent a lovely couple of hours admiring the different works. 

In the afternoon, we visited the Carlsberg Brewery.  The tour was self guided, which I enjoyed, as I really didn’t want to attend another guided tour of a brewery (there are only so many times one can listen to the story of how beer is made).  Once again, the stables were a highlight, as were able to get up close to the draught horses and were able to see one of the horses being washed down.  The tour ended with the obligatory tasting, which Michael enjoyed immensely.  We then took a walk around the outside of the brewery to see the original gates with the immense statues of the elephants. 

The next day was filled with glorious sunshine and we set out to explore more of the city (after our breakfast of Danish pastries).  We strolled though the beautiful gardens of Frederiksberg until we came to the Copenhagen Zoo.  We hadn’t intended to visit the zoo, however it was such a lovely day we decided to have a look.  It was a good size zoo, well laid out and with a large variety of animals.  My favourite part of the day was watching the polar bear swimming.  There was a large Tasmanian exhibit, which housed kangaroos, wombats and Tasmanian devils.  We couldn’t help noticing the severed horse’s head lying in the middle of the devil enclosure.  It was especially disconcerting as the very next exhibit contained the horses.  The sight of the severed head called up a distant memory of a dismembered giraffe, which I later checked on the Internet.  It was Copenhagen Zoo that caused a controversy in 2014 when it killed Marius, a healthy, young giraffe, publicly dissected him and fed his parts to the zoo lions.  The following year the zoo killed a young lion before once again publicly dissecting it.  I guess the Danes are not squeamish about such things.

We were enjoying the sunshine so much that we took another canal cruise to see a little more of the city.  Copenhagen really is an attractive, well-planned city and it was interesting listening to the guide’s commentary.

Later that afternoon we visited the Christiansborg Palace, which is still used by the Royal Family for various functions and events as well as being the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Supreme Court.  The Royal Receptions Rooms are richly adorned with furniture and works of art.  The Great Hall contains 17 tapestries recounting the history of Denmark and presented to Queen Margrethe on her 50^th birthday by the Danish business community.  It was all very interesting and we were also able to view the ruins of the previous palaces underneath the existing palace.  Naturally, we exited through the gift shop and it was fascinating to see the amount of souvenirs with Princess Mary’s face on them.  Princess Mary is a bit of a cult figure in Denmark not unlike the Princess of Wales was in her time.  It is interesting to note that the Danes do not refer to her as being Australian but rather as being Tasmanian. 

Dinner that night was a real treat as James had recommended a wonderful restaurant for us to try.  It was called Vakst and the heart of the restaurant was a large greenhouse, which was built up between two floors.  The food was Nordic and unbelievably good and was presented beautifully.  My dessert was green strawberries – divine!

We absolutely loved our time in Copenhagen and would definitely like to return again, perhaps in the wintertime to see how different the city would look.  

From Clare to Here

James, Amber and Amber’s mum, Clare, came to visit us for the weekend.  We had not met Clare before, so wanting to make a good impression I had my hair done in the morning.  Unfortunately for me, the winds were up and I met them at the bus stop looking like Phyllis Diller on a bad hair day (not quite as bad as the first Skype session we had with Amber, but that is another story).  We dropped their suitcases off at our apartment and then headed out to have some lunch.

Everyone assured us that it wasn’t too windy to sit outside and enjoy the view of Grand Canal, so we took our seats at a lovely café and ordered our lunch.  First we watched our table napkins blow away, closely followed by our menus.  Our meals arrived and my salad took flight.  It wasn’t until the vacant chairs from the nearby tables sailed by that we admitted that perhaps we should have sat inside.  We persevered until our meal was finished and decided that we would have our coffee indoors at a different café.  It is a downside of living on a small island that when the winds are up, there is no escape.

We had a bit of a walk around Dublin, showing the sights to Clare.  Once we were away from the water, the winds dropped and walking was much more pleasant. The Irish Whiskey Museum was next on our agenda.  We joined the long queue waiting our turn to purchase our tickets.  We couldn’t believe how busy the museum was and how slowly the queue was moving, until we saw the gentleman manning the counter.  He was a very friendly fellow and had a grand old chat to every single person at the counter.  When it came to our turn, he heard our accents and asked which part of Australia we were from.  When he discovered we were from Melbourne, he told us that he spent some time there and asked which AFL teams we followed.  He was tickled pink to discover that Michael was a fellow Sydney Swans supporter and he and Michael waxed lyrical about the team and reminisced together about Barry Hall famously punching Brent Staker.  Amber, James and Clare couldn’t believe it!  The queue behind us was getting longer and I explained that this is just how the Irish are.   The tour itself was very interesting as we were not only given information on the history of whiskey but also a little on the history of Ireland.  There were interactive exhibits and we finished with a tasting at the end of the tour. 

 

We did a little more walking around before stopping for a drink at the Palace Bar.  This is an original Victorian pub, built in 1823 with lovely stained glass windows, high vaulted ceilings and a beautiful mahogany bar with mirrors.  Suitably refreshed it was soon time for dinner.  We had chosen an Irish restaurant, Gallagher’s Boxty House, which was a bit of a gamble as we hadn’t been there before.   A Boxty is a type of potato pancake from the counties of Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh.  Luckily the restaurant proved to be a hit with each of us enjoying our meals.  A brief walk around Temple Bar followed our meal and then it was time to head for home.

 

It was a late start on Sunday morning for us, as the shops in Dublin do not generally open until 11.00am.  Clare wanted to do a little souvenir shopping so we took her to some of the better Irish shops known for their quality Irish goods.  I never tire of looking at the beautiful woollen items for sale however, I just know that there is absolutely nowhere to wear them in Australia (unless I was to suddenly take up skiing).  James had hinted that he would like a roast for his Sunday lunch, so we headed over to FX Buckley for their signature roast beef.  It was a nice way to finish our time together before walking them to the bus stop for their journey back to the airport.

It was only a quick visit but it was lovely to see James and Amber and to finally meet Clare.

Downtown Tallinn is beautiful

Michael and I decided it was time to revisit one of the highlights of our first trip – Tallinn.  We caught a mid-morning flight from Dublin with the aim of arriving in Tallinn in the afternoon, leaving plenty of time to enjoy a Saturday night in the beautiful city.  The best laid plans of mice and men, go oft awry.

 

The first indication of possible trouble was when the pilot said that there was a snowstorm in Tallinn, which might affect our landing time.  We weren’t too concerned as this announcement was at the beginning of our flight, so there was plenty of time for the situation to change.  The next announcement came as we neared the approach to the airport and we were told that the storm was still in progress and that we would be in a holding pattern waiting to see if the weather improved.  The final announcement informed us that we would not be landing in Tallinn and instead would be diverted to Riga.  Unfortunately for us, that meant that we had a four and half hour bus journey from Riga to Tallinn.  There was no point complaining as the one you cannot influence is the weather.  The end result was that we fell through the door of our spacious apartment at 11.00pm.

 

Sunrise is 5.00am in Tallinn at this time of year, so we were up nice and early and eager to make up for lost time. We were pleasantly surprised to see our apartment in daylight actually backed onto the wall of the old town. It really couldn’t be in a better location. We wandered the town in search of breakfast and spotted a sign advertising a roof top bar and café.  Michael thought it would be the perfect place to enjoy the view over Tallinn, so we took the elevator to the top of the building.  We alighted to find the glass doors closed to the café and the cleaner standing on the inside who made shooing motions towards us and then proceeded to twirl her finger around her ear and tapping her head, obviously telling us that were stupid or mentally deficient.  Michael and I then had the embarrassing wait for the lift to return so that we could descend, all the while being glared at by the cleaner.  It wasn’t the most welcoming start to our holiday.

 

We found a much friendlier café down the road and after enjoying a lovely Estonian breakfast we set out to explore the city.  Tallinn has changed considerably since our last visit, four and half years ago.  The old town is immaculate, with buildings freshly painted and restored, with works ongoing.  There has obviously been a tourism boom, with cruise ships stopping and bus loads of tourists arriving throughout the day.  We were there at the beginning of the season, so we can only imagine how busy the city becomes during the peak of summer.  The good thing is that the old town streets and restaurants become quieter in the evening when the bulk of the tourists return to their ships and coaches.  We had a lovely day wandering the streets, especially as despite having a snowstorm the prior day, the clouds had cleared and the temperature was pleasantly warm.

 

Dinner in the evening was at Olde Hansa Medieval Restaurant.  We really thought that we had stepped into a time machine and had been transported back to medieval Estonia.  The staff dressed as in medieval times, and there were musicians strolling through the restaurant, playing medieval instruments and music.  The menu was filled with dishes prepared as they would have been in medieval times and there was even bear on the menu.  I had suspected that this item might appear on the menu, as we had seen tins of bear and beaver meat for sale in some of the shops earlier that day.  Michael knew better than to even try and order the bear, so he settled for the wild boar instead.  We had a wonderful meal and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with the staff addressing us as m’lord and m’lady respectively.  Michael enjoyed that so much, that he suggested that I start addressing him as m’lord at home.  One withering look from me and he gave up that idea.

 

The next day we ventured into the new area of town, a region that we didn’t have time to explore on our previous trip.   

We saw The Broken Line monument, which is a memorial to the tragic incident in which the passenger ferry, Estonia, sank between Tallinn and Stockholm in 1994, with the loss of 852 lives. We also had a lovely walk along the foreshore, marvelling at the sudden change in the weather from snow to glorious sunshine, as we enjoyed our al fresco lunch.

 

Michael was keen to enjoy another medieval dinner, so we headed over to the Golden Piglet Inn, which is famous for its true Estonian cuisine.  We ordered the meat platter for two and were not disappointed.  The platter consisted of an enormous, crispy pork shank, pork neck, meatballs, chicken breast, potatoes and sauerkraut.  Michael enjoyed the meal so much that we returned the following evening for our farewell dinner and ordered the same platter.

The next day was our culture day, with visits to the art galleries.  The first stop was the Kadriorg Palace, which now houses foreign art from the 16^th to 20^th centuries.  The palace itself was built for Catherine I of Russia by Peter the Great, and is a beautifully restored baroque building.  We enjoyed looking at the artworks in such lovely surrounds. 

 

The next stop was the Kumu Art Museum, which houses Estonian art from the beginning of the 18^th century.  The museum is one of the largest in northern Europe and is a modern building, which opened in 2006. There were many interesting pieces to view and we spent close to two hours just exploring the galleries.

 

Our final stop for the day was at the Museum of Occupations.  This museum was full of fascinating exhibits and is dedicated to the 1940-1991 period in the history of Estonia, when the country was occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany, and then again by the Soviet Union.  We watched a number of videos detailing the events of the time from occupation, repression, resistance and the Singing Revolution.  It was a harrowing reminder of the country’s not so distant past. 

 

We only had the morning of our final day to explore before we needed to make our way to the airport.  In many respects, we had left the best until last, as we viewed the St Nicholas’ Church.  This former medieval church built in the 13^th century was partially destroyed by Soviet bombing in World War II and has now been restored and houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia.  The most famous artwork is Danse Macabre by Bernt Notke, which depicts the skeletal figures of Death taking the wealthy as well as the poor.  There is only a fragment of the original 30 metres wide painting left and it has been beautifully preserved.  It is a chilling reminder of what eventually befalls us all and it must have been awe inspiring to see the original painting intact.  I can remember being played the orchestral piece when I was in 5^th grade at school and the teacher explaining the meaning of the music.  It must have made an impact as I still recall the lesson to this day.

 

Tallinn is an absolutely stunning city and a destination for a truly relaxing and enjoyable break.  It would be nice to return to Estonia and explore some of the other cities and countryside.