Prague and Vienna

After finishing up my first UK contract at Manheim Auctions at the end of September, I decided it was a good time to go and visit a couple of countries in Europe. On this trip, I decided that Prague and Vienna would be suitable as both places had been recommended as ‘must see’ and they were connected by a train line. 

Arriving in Prague complete with my Czech Koruna I cleared customs and made my way out to the bus stop where I thought I had figured out how to get from the bus to the metro and then on to my accommodation. I thought wrong. Firstly I couldn’t understand how to get a ticket for the bus as all instructions were in Czech and did not accept notes was all I had. I person standing at the bus stop must have seen the look of confusion on my face and told me I could pay the driver for a ticket. I hoped on the bus and approached the driver, he waved me away, looked annoyed and said something in Czech so I took a seat and hoped I didn’t get caught as travelling on public transport without a valid ticket can result in some heavy fines! A voice then announced that there had been disruptions on the bus route so we would have to transfer. I got off the bus with everyone else and managed to work out the correct tram (no metro as this wasn’t working either!) to the correct stop. From there it was a short walk to the hostel. I managed to miss my hostel and turn a 20min walk into an hour’s walk. The street signs and numbers seemed to make no sense to me so I ended up asking a barman for directions, to which he pointed me to the right place. It was time for bed!

The next day I decided to walk around the city of Prague or Praha as it is known in the Czech Republic. I crossed over the Charles Bridge, named after King Charles IV and constructed in the 14^th / 15^th centuries.

From here it was on to the Old town square where the Jan Hus statue dominates the centre of the square and the Old Town Hall Tower, Astronomical Clock and St. Nicholas Church can be found.

I then walked to Wenceslas Square in New Town and had a bite to eat while sitting in the middle of the square (which is actually a boulevard) and watching a tour group point out some buildings. Unfortunately the tour guide was not speaking English so I didn’t get any free info! I then walked down to the statue of St. Wenceslas aka The Good King Wenceslas.

It was about time to head back to the accommodation before finding a place to eat dinner so I travelled back via the Jewish Cemetery. According to halakhah, Jews must not destroy Jewish graves or remove the tombstone. This meant that when the cemetery ran out of space and purchasing extra land was impossible, more layers of soil were placed on the existing graves, the old tombstones taken out and placed upon the new layer of soil. This explains why the tombstones in the cemetery are placed so closely to each other. This resulted in the cemetery having 12 layers of graves.

After a hearty meal of Beef Goulash, Czech style (which by the way is very tasty) I decided to have an early night in as I still had plenty to see in Prague the next day. Awaking to some light rain I was glad I had come prepared with my raincoat. I took a short walk up to Prague Castle. The Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defence towers.  Two guards stand at the entrance to the Castle and there is a changing of the guard that takes place. Having seen most places of interest I decided to spend the day walking around and going further afield then I did the day before.

Making my way to the central rail station in Prague, I boarded my train to Vienna. A note here, if in Prague, buy your ticket from the station in Czech Koruna as it is cheaper than buying a train ticket online. 

The train ride highlighted some of the poorer areas of the Czech Republic and was quite a pleasant journey through some beautiful country scenery. The train had a restaurant cart on board where I had a coffee and sandwich. Arriving in Vienna I got myself a 72hour public transport ticket which allowed me on all forms of public transport and made my way to the hostel. Once again I managed to turn what should have been a 5 min walk from the nearest station into an hour’s walk by getting off at the wrong station. I dropped my bag off at the hostel and headed out for dinner. I found a restaurant serving Wiener Schnitzel and Austrian beer! Perfect! After eating I started chatting to a couple over from Australia about their travels before heading back to the hostel and the hostel bar! I had a great night chatting to a couple from America, a guy from Leeds and a group of 18 year olds from Germany, the Austrian beer is  strong but thankfully also quite cheap.

Suffering from a minor headache from the night before I was very thankful for the sunshine and blue sky. I took a walk into the city and made my way to the following points of interest: The Imperial Palace – Hofburg, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Inner City Parks, National Theatre, Vienna State Opera, Mozart Memorial Statue and the Austrian Parliament Building.

A lunch of Apple Strudel at Cafe Central, where Sigmund Freud and his friends used to meet to discuss intellectual matters was in order. It was a lovely building and I can see what you would want to spend some time there. Back onto the Tram to travel out to another park where I could just lie in the sun and watch the planes fly across the sky.

Feeling fully relaxed I hopped back onto the tram to be nearer my accommodation. This tram ride was a bit more eventful than the others. At one stop, 2 burley young guys in casual clothes got on and they looked like they spent a lot of time in the gym! When the doors shut they said something in German which I can only assume was ‘Show me your tickets’ and everyone pulled their tickets out for inspection. Luckily I had done the right thing and didn’t get in trouble as this could have been a different story if it had of happened in Prague!

I had a quiet night in as I was up early the next day to catch the train back to Prague and then a flight back to Leeds. My first real taste of Europe was eventful and educational so I’m looking forward to getting back there soon to experience the different cultures, especially the foods!

The UK Story so far - Part One

Last time I left this blog I was job hunting and the delay in the posts means I found one!! So, let’s start back in June. I’ll split this into two posts June – September and October to Now. Job hunting took me 3 weeks and in the meantime, Sarah showed me around Milton Keynes and introduced me to Green Tea Chai Latte... mmmmm. 

During this time I took a trip into London (see previous post), only an hour away on the train for the Queens Jubilee, Thames River Pageant. I’ve never seen so many people in all my life. I didn’t even end up getting to see the river Thames because the crowd was so many people deep but I did get to experience the atmosphere, travel around on the ‘tube’ and see some famous landmarks.

I also managed to get down to Kent to see my Great Uncle Derek and Great Aunt Pam for the day. I was lucky enough that they had all of their sons, daughters in law and grandchildren around for the day as 1 son had been married the previous day. I got to meet a lot of family in one go which was a lot of fun! I even gave them a taste of NZ by taking around a Pavalova Roll. In between working I hope to get down to London and Kent again soon so I can see them again.

Being in Milton Keynes there are a lot of places of interest that are a short coach or train ride away. I’d always wanted to see Oxford so off I went to the University Town. Oxford has so many lovely buildings, a gorgeous park and canal and bicycles and hanging baskets everywhere. It is such a pretty place, I can see why one would love to go to Oxford for Uni! I walked around the town and decided on a traditional English lunch of Bangers, Mash and a Pint of Beer!

Eventually the holiday had to end and I got a phone call about an interview. I went up to Leeds for the interview and had the job secured an hour after leaving the office, I was to start on Monday the following week. The next step was to find a place to live and I ended up getting a room in a two bedroom flat in the middle of Leeds City Centre. I moved in Saturday and started work Monday! I won’t bore you too much about the work as at the end of the day, work is work and this blog is entitled ‘Steph’s Adventures’! I had a 3 month contract working at Manheim Auctions doing some web testing and met some really nice people during my time there. 

A few weeks after starting the job, it was back down to Milton Keynes for the F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone. I felt very spoilt there as we had guest passes of the British Racing Drivers Club thanks to Brendon. On arrival we got to park in the grounds and then got taken by golf buggy between the clubhouses. Watching F1 was such an experience, I had no idea the cars would be so loud!! It was a great atmosphere and even though the first day we used our umbrellas for rain, the second day I had to borrow Sarah’s for the sunshine!

Back in Leeds, I have taken a few day trips away on the weekend to see places such as Kirkstall Abbey

Skipton Castle,

Embsay Railway, Bolton Abbey,

Harrogate, York, Sheffield and Manchester (to watch the All Whites play at Old Trafford as part of the Olympics!).

I also took another visit down to Silverstone to watch more racing, this time with Brendon in the car for Murphy Prototypes. We had a nice group of Kiwi’s there and it reminded me of our kiwi sayings such as ‘mean’ and ‘sweet as bro’. We really are a unique group of people and I’m so proud of that!

I eventually made my way down to London again in early September for an interview which went well but while I was there I got to see ‘Rock of Ages’ at the Shaftsbury Theatre at West End and had a look around. I made sure I visited the Museum of Natural History, the British Museum and Hyde Park!

Sarah joined me in Leeds for my birthday at the end of September and we spent a really nice day in York. We had a good look around and they had a food festival on which meant the place was busier than usual. After a drink next to the river and a meal at Jamie’s Italian we headed back to Leeds on the train. What a great way to spend a birthday!!

This pretty much takes us up to the end of September so next stop is Prague...

Arriving in the UK

Thanks to my UK Passport, going through customs was a breeze.  I went straight through the e-gate and cleared customs in record time. After travelling through a few countries, I think Australia and NZ are the only two countries that require you to fill out a customs declaration form, everywhere else I have collected my bag and walked straight out the exit door.

I found my way to the car hire and picked up my rental for the day along with a Tomtom Satellite Navigation so I wouldn’t get lost. Or so I thought. I was having a bit of trouble sticking the Tomtom to my window so I asked the guy at the booth as I was driving out to help me. He ended up dropping it and as I picked it up I think I might have pressed ‘Alternative Route’ without realizing. I started following directions from Tomtom, which are not the easiest to understand and to cut a long story short, the estimated 1 hour drive turned into a 2 and a half hour drive. I was taken onto the M1, then off the M1, through a few little towns and villages until eventually I found my way to Milton Keynes where Sarah was waiting for me. We went out for dinner at a nice Italian Restaurant and I had a couple of beers after a very long day.

The next day we drove down to Brands Hatch race circuit to watch Brendon race in the Masters series which involved driving old F1 cars. Luckily I had Sarah with me this time to help out with the navigation. We arrived at Brands Hatch without getting lost and met up with Brendon. Brendon won his race in which he was driving Nigel Mansell's old F1 car and he came 2^nd in the Touring Cars race. I felt very spoilt as I got to hang out in the Pit Lanes and Brendon’s sponsor let us spend our downtime in a very lavish motorhome. It was such a fun day out at the track and was great to see Brendon racing. At the end of the day we even got a private drive around the track! 

It was then time to get down to business and start looking for a job. I updated my CV and started applying for anything that I might have a chance of getting. I decided my best strategy would be to cast my net wide and see what happens. The first day I got a phone call about a job in Milton Keynes but couldn’t make it to the interview stage as the client only wanted contractors that had a car.

Apart from looking for a job, I also had to open a bank account and get a National Insurance Number. For the National Insurance Number interview, Brendon and Sarah drove me down to Bedford where I had to meet with someone and go through the interview questions. Basically this was about who I was and why I wanted an NIN, because I would like to work was my response to that question.After my interview we all went and had lunch at an old English pub called the Embankment which overlooked a canal. It was lovely and sunny and a good day out.

The job hunting hasn’t gone too badly considering I’ve only been here a week. Before the Queens Jubilee Long Weekend kicked off I had 2 good indications that I might have an interview the following week. As Monday and Tuesday are both public holidays, I have to wait until Wednesday to find out so essentially I feel as though I too have the long weekend off!

On Sunday the 3^rd of June I took my first trip into London City. I took the train from Milton Keynes to London Euston Station. From there I then transferred onto the London Underground and took the Victoria line to Oxford Circus and then the Central Line to Shepherds Bush. There was a Westfield shopping centre here where I had a look around and picked up some Peanut Butter M&M’s from the Newsagent next to the Underground Station.  I then got the Central Line to Bond Street and walked along Oxford Street towards Oxford Circus. 

From Oxford Circus I took the Bakerloo Line to Charing Cross to join more than 1 Million other people that had come out to watch the Thames River Pageant for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in my life. I got a small glimpse of the actual river but I got there a little too late to secure myself a good viewing position. I ended up watching most of the pageant on one of the big screens put up along the Thames. It was a great atmosphere with so many people and every time the Queen or the Duchess of Cambridge came on the big screen the crowd went wild! It was nice to see New Zealand represented in the pageant with a Waka!

After watching the pageant for a while I made my way up to Leicester Square and walked around to get my bearings. I have to come back here as there are so many shows I want to see such as, The Lion King and Wicked. I then made my way back to Euston on the Northern Line and then onto Milton Keynes.

It is now the final day of the long weekend so back to work (job hunting) tomorrow! Not a bad first week in the UK!

Abu Dhabi and Dubai

 Upon my arrival into Dubai airport I said goodbye to my NZ Passport and hello to my UK Passport. After getting through customs I had a 1 hour wait before boarding the complimentary coach to Abu Dhabi which was another 2 hours of travel time.

I arrived at my hotel, the luxurious Grand Millennium Al Whada which is my first 5 star hotel and the service was fantastic. I went out to the local mall which was right next door to have a look around and get dinner before heading back to my hotel for a quiet night in. 

The next day I booked to go on a Desert Safari which started at 4pm so I spent the day down at the Marina. I caught a local bus to get there and at a price of 1AED which is about 30cents it was very cost effective. The buses have a Ladies only area at the front which was something new for me.

At 4pm I got picked up from the hotel in a Toyota Landcruiser which would be our vehicle for the afternoon. We drove about 45mins out of Abu Dhabi towards Dubai and into the desert. First up it was Dune Bashing which is driving and sliding around the sand dunes in the 4X4. This was a lot of fun and at some points I thought we might tip over as we slid down some pretty steep dunes! 

After this we visited the Camel Farm and took some pictures of the camels before heading out to our camp for the rest of the evening. Once we got to camp I got to have a Camel Ride, a Henna Tattoo, a lovely dinner, watch a Belly Dancer perform and smoke some Shisha. I had originally thought the Shisha was some kind of drug but it turns out it’s just flavoured tobacco and when in Rome…

For my final day in Abu Dhabi I boarded a Hop on Hop off tour bus around the city. Our first stop on this was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which is only open to tourists between 9am and 11:30am. It is also the only Mosque open to tourists as to enter any of the other mosques around the UAE you have to be of Muslim faith. After donning a burka I got to walk around the Mosque and it is an amazing building. All of the detail and intricacy and design is outstanding. I’m really glad I visited this. 

Next stop was the Abu Dhabi Mall for lunch for an hour before I headed to the Heritage Centre. This has replicas of the houses and a museum of artifacts from before the discovery of oil and Abu Dhabi became the build up area it is today. By the time I finished this is was late afternoon so unfortunately I didn’t get to Yas Island which I was a bit disappointed about but it only gives me a reason to come back! Maybe in the winter next time as the 41 degree heat is extreme.

After much debating with myself as to if I should catch a bus back to Dubai or a taxi I finally settled on getting a taxi as I can’t fit anything more into my suitcase therefore shopping is off the cards!

Arriving in Dubai I checked into the hotel and then walked over to the Mall of the Emirates for lunch and to look around. By this stage I think the heat had gotten to me as I’d had enough of the malls and the heat. I like to be outdoors and walk around but that’s very hard to do in what is essentially desert. I decided the best thing for me to do was go back to the hotel and try and nap for the afternoon just to have a break from the people, the language barriers, the cultural differences. I needed time out!

After sleeping away the afternoon I felt refreshed enough to venture out for dinner. I got as far as the hotel bar where I stopped for a few beers, food and watching sport on the tele.

Dubai is hot, as in really hot. The worst thing about this for me is not being able to wear what I want. I think I found this the most frustrating part. At least in Thailand it was high 30’s but I could wear shorts and a singlet so it wasn’t too bad. In Dubai where it’s low 40’s I have to wear pants and keep my shoulders covered. If you want to visit the UAE, may I suggest the middle of winter, I’m sure that’s a lot more comfortable.

On my last day in Dubai I ventured out on the Metro which is the local train service and headed out to the Dubai Mall (yes, another mall!!). If you’re in Dubai, the Dubai Mall is far superior to the Mall of the Emirates. Getting off the train, the Burj Khalifa is directly in front of you and this building is impressive! Every other building is dwarfed by this gigantic structure. 

Back into the Mall and the air conditioning after walking the 10 minutes from the station was a relief. I went for a walk around one of the floors and made my way to At the Top which is the tour to the top of the Burj Khalifa. These are all timed and pre-booking is essential as it sells out. I got to the viewing platform which is 125 floors up and checked out the view. While I was in the UAE, there was a dusty haze most days so the views were a bit limited but I could still see enough to be impressed. 

Once of was back on the ground I headed to the Dubai Aquarium. This had all sorts of fish, sharks and stingrays. This fish tank is huge! I went for a walk in the tunnel which is an impressive piece of engineering considering the amount of pressure this tunnel has to withstand.

 

Then it was outside to watch the Dubai Fountain. This has been designed by the same company that designed the fountain in Las Vegas outside the Bellagio. I’ve seen the Las Vegas Fountain and that was impressive so it’s nice to be able to say I’ve seen the Dubai Fountain as well. The only thing that was markedly different was the music, whereas the Bellagio Fountain has very American Music playing along to the water show, the Dubai Fountain has Arabian music. 

It was then time to head back to the hotel and re-pack again for my final flight (at this stage) to London….