Autumn Travels: Copenhagen Part 2

On our third day we decided to venture out of Copenhagen and took the train to Denmark's ancient capital, Roskilde. It was only a 25 minute train journey, and was covered by our Copenhagen Cards. 

The Roskilde Cathedral, or Domkirke, is where many of the kings and queens of Denmark are buried. Unusually the current Queen's tomb has already been constructed, but is covered with a wooden case and will not be unveiled until after her death - at her request it includes a bench around it for people to sit on! The cathedral was built in the 12th and 13th centuries on the site of at least two older churches and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Only in Denmark would your find a tricycle parked inside a church, being used as a mobility scooter by an elderly gentleman!

After visiting the Domkirke we walked through a park down the the fjord, where there is a Viking Museum. By this time we were getting hungry, and had assumed we would be able to find lunch somewhere near the sea. However the museum restaurant was rather more upmarket than we were looking for, and other places were shut because it was out of season, so we turned round and walked back into the city centre where we found a cafe and had a slightly larger lunch than we intended! 

By mid-afternoon we were back in Copenhagen so we went for a walk around the picturesque Nyhavn, the canals of Christianshavn, and Freetown Christiania - an abandoned military base which was taken over by squatters in the early 1970s and put in place its own rules and regulations (including 'legalising' cannabis, which was sold there openly on the aptly names Pusher Street). These days it is part commune and part flea market. In the evening we went back to the Tivoli Food Hall for something to it. None of us were very hungry after our large lunch!

On our final day our flight home was not until late afternoon, so we had a few hours to explore some more of the city. We caught a train out to the eastern side of the city and went to see the famous Little Mermaid statue. 

To get to the statue we walked through the grounds of the Citadel. Built in the 17th century, it is an odd mix of military base and public park. 

On the way back we went through the barracks and did a complete circuit of the five sided park, which for some odd reason includes a windmill. 

We then walked to the Rosenborg Castle and through the King's Gardens. By that time we only had about 40 minutes left before we needed to head back for lunch at Tivoli and to pick up our bags from our hotel, so we decided on a quick visit to the Botanic Gardens which are on the opposite side of the road to the Castle. 

The park part of the Botanic Gardens is free to enter and was beautifully autumnal. The Copenhagen Cards gave us access to the greenhouses and the palm house, and we just had time for a quick tour before hopping onto a train back to the Central station before our 72 hour cards expired. Even though we packed a lot into our four days, there was still plenty more we could have seen and done. This lovely, friendly, relaxed city is definitely one we hope to return to someday. 

Autumn Travels: Copenhagen Part 1

Last week was TG's half term holiday from school and, inspired by our success in making it to France and back in September, we booked a trip to Copenhagen for 4 days. We had been once before - in fact, it was our first short city break thanks to picking up ridiculously cheap flights, and gave us the taste for more travel. We only went for two days and one night the first time, in February 2016, and didn't have the chance to see much of the city. Also, it was bitterly cold, with wet, icy stuff coming out of the sky much of the time - snow we could have handled, but this was just nasty!

This time we had much better luck with the weather and had a wonderful time. We travelled light, with just small backpacks, as we decided we could manage with minimal luggage rather than pay to take more. After an early flight we arrived in Denmark at about 11.30am - everything went smoothly, and the only thing different to a pre-pandemic trip was that we needed to show our vaccination certificates. At the airport we bought Copenhagen Cards, which cover all public transport around Copenhagen and the area around the city, and entrance fees to a wide range of sites. We had done some calculations in advance and reckoned it would be worth buying, if only for convenience - in fact it did end up saving us money as well as making everything much easier. We then got the train into the city, dropped our bags at our hotel and spent the afternoon exploring the city centre and taking a canal tour. 

In the evening we went to the Round Tower, Europes oldest working observatory. Rather than stairs, it has a spiral ramp up to the top. That evening the telescope was manned and open for the public to view. We had hoped to be able to see Saturn and Jupiter, but unfortunately it was too cloudy and the telescope was trained on the City Hall clock instead! We had booked dinner at a restaurant we saw recommended on Trip Advisor, which was superb (not surprisingly as it was rated number 3 out of nearly 2000 restaurants in Copenhagen) - it was expensive by UK standards, but moderately priced for Denmark, and was a real treat. As an added bonus it was less than five minutes walk from our hotel. More by luck than judgement the hotel turned out to be in a great location, just a few minutes walk from the main railway station and the Tivoli Gardens. Everything about it was good, especially the buffet breakfast we enjoyed each morning. 

Our second day was pure fun. TG suggested that we should go to the zoo. We had been before on our first visit to Copenhagen, but it was well worth a second trip. Highlights included lion cubs, a polar bear cub, and giant pandas. One of the wonderful things about the city is how easy it is to get around. For the zoo we just hopped on a bus from the end of our street and were there in ten minutes. By early afternoon we had seen everything we wanted to see, so went back to the hotel for a rest before heading out to Tivoli Gardens for the evening. 

Tivoli is the second oldest theme park in the world - the oldest is just outside Copenhagen - and is an utter joy, with a mix of rides and gardens, all decorated spectacularly for Halloween. We timed it to get the best of both worlds, seeing it both in daylight and illuminated in the dark. 

At one side of the park is the Tivoli Food Hall, accessible both from the park and from the street, which has a collection of small food outlets with a wide choice of cuisines. As it was so close to where we were staying we ate there a few times, either for lunch or in the evening, as it was both reasonably priced (by Danish standards!) and it allowed us to cater to varying tastes. TG and I are rather more adventurous eaters than M. That evening the two of us chose bao buns, while M had chicken and chips (fries). M does not do rides, but TG and I went on a couple; we also had drinks and snacks in the park and I tested out gløgg, a Danish version of mulled wine. It was a magical evening. 

Visiting Copenhagen was like entering a time warp. Denmark has handled the pandemic exceptionally well and the vaccination rates are very high, so much so that in September the government announced that Covid was no longer considered a significant threat in Denmark and all restrictions were lifted. Cases there are rising now. but from a very low level, and the high vaccination level means hospitalisations and deaths are extremely low. Apart from a few left over signs and hand sanitiser stations it was like going back to before the pandemic. Not a face mask in sight, everything totally normal, bustling and busy, but we still felt very safe. We would have loved Copenhagen anyway, but stepping outside the pandemic and, I hope, getting a taste of a post-covid world, was a huge bonus. Respite as well as relaxation.

A Dress Challenge

I have been intrigued for a while by the 100 Day Dress Challenge in which Wool&, a small company which sells merino clothing, challenges people to wear one of their dresses for 100 days consecutively. I discovered someone from my old homeschooling circle was doing the challenge and blogging it daily (you can read her blog here) and was inspired to give it a try. I bought a Rowena swing dress in charcoal grey from the EU store and started wearing it, not at all sure whether I would do 100 days, or even whether I really wanted to. My plan was - is - to take it a day at a time and see where it takes me. Slightly to my surprise I am on Day 20 and still going strong. 

I am not dressing very adventurously. Many people do some impressively creative styling, turning the dress into a top, layering dresses, adding skirts (I literally do not own a skirt!) and generally doing clever things. I learned very quickly that tights, leggings, cardigans and scarves are my friends. So are my red Converses - I also have a purple pair, but they are warm-lined and better for colder weather. 

The dress claims to be versatile, and it really is. It came with me to Appleby and switched easily from hiking in the day to dinner in the hotel in the evening. I have worn it for work, for band practice and just lounging around on the sofa. Merino is supposed to regulate body temperature and in some magical way it doesn't get smelly and dirty, so needs washing far less than most clothing. So far Lady Grey has had two baths and she has felt clean and comfortable even after several days wear. 

I have had spells in the past when I have worn dresses fairly often, but mostly I'm a jeans person and had got completely out of the habit of dresses. I realised I didn't have a single pair of tights that fitted comfortably. I saw lots of recommendations for Snag tights and bought a mix of 80 denier and wool tights in black, dark grey, dark red and purple/black stripes. Leggings were slightly better - I had an old cotton pair and some thermal black ones - but I added another pair of the same Marks & Spencer thermals in grey. Nice and toasty for autumn and winter. 

One of the best things about the challenge is that a whole online community has built up on both Facebook and Instagram, which must be one of the most positive and supportive places anywhere on the internet. Watching how others style their dresses is only a small part. One requirement of the challenge is that it has to be recorded with daily photographs, something many people find uncomfortable, and the community supports people as they come to terms with taking selfies and learning to accept the way they look (which, inevitably, is far better than the image that women so often have of themselves). As people come to the end of their challenge they share what they have learned from it, which is often thought provoking and inspiring. And that is beside the love and care that the groups provide for members who are dealing with difficult stuff in their lives that is unrelated to clothing. 

I still don't know whether I will make it through another 80 days, and I'm not entirely sure I understand why I might want to. Maybe by the end it will all make sense. 

Autumn Travels: Back to Appleby

Two weeks of doing very little worked, and I am fully recovered from the chest infection I started the month with. If I was going to get ill, the timing could have been a lot worse as we had booked to go back to our favourite hotel at Appleby in Cumbria last weekend - just what I needed to complete my recovery! M retired from his job with the NHS 111 call centre and worked his last shift on the Thursday, and we headed north on the Friday for a long weekend. 

Unusually we were unlucky with both the traffic and the weather. Driving up took as at least an hour longer than usual, and Saturday was cold and wet. We had waterproofs with us, but it felt too unpleasantly damp to want to be outdoors for too long. We spent a bit of time at Windermere and found a nice cafe for lunch, then took the car ferry across the lake and managed a short walk around Hawkshead, the small town nearest to Beatrix Potter's farm at Sawrey.

All was not lost despite the weather as we were able to warm up in the hotel spa in the evening. Sunday was showery, but with enough dry spells for us to get in a four and a half mile walk around Keswick and Derwentwater. 

A couple of years ago we climbed up Walla Crag, the hill in the photo below, but this time we just skirted around the bottom. It was raining a bit at this point, but the weather certainly made for dramatic views! 

The views in the Lake District really are gorgeous. I am hoping that we can take TG up there next year - she has started to appreciate natural beauty and I think she would love it. The only downside of Cumbria having been our destination of choice for short breaks on our own is that we have ended up not taking our daughters up there (although the older two did go when they were very tiny).

By the time we had walked through the woods to the lake the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come out. 

Fortunately the traffic was better driving home on Monday, although there was heavy rain at times which is never fun to drive through. Considering that we have usually been up to Appleby in the autumn or winter, we have generally been very lucky with the weather. I think this was the first time we have had a wet weekend - we have had snow, but not so much that is stopped us doing anything. Despite the rain we still had a good time - the spa, lovely hotel food and Sunday's walk were pretty good compensation!

Packages and Flowers

The sitting with my feet up and knitting continues, though I did go out for a 15 minutes walk both yesterday and today. I knitted the body of the little baby cardigan, then decided it had come out even smaller than it was supposed to be. I measured, and sure enough that confirmed it was narrower than it should be. I don't normally bother knitting swatches because I nearly always hit the right tension, but this time I was caught out. I decided to knit it again on slightly larger needles and hope for the best. I have nearly finished the second attempt and I think it may still be very slightly undersized, but she is a very tiny baby so should be OK. At least baby clothes are very quick to knit! 

The flowers above were a lovely "get well" surprise from H, who dropped in with them yesterday lunchtime. She only stopped for a brief chat as she was also taking flowers over to her BF's mum, whose father died last week (he was both very elderly and very ill, so it was expected), and needed to get home to carry on with her studying.  As a trainee accountant she gets blocks of time scheduled for college and private study, and has to make the most of them as the exams are both frequent and demanding. I love having adult daughters! 

Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing some rather eclectic online shopping. Last week two yarn orders arrived. This week so far it has been gin, clothes and packing cubes. I really want to make my clothing purchases more sustainable and ethical, and have been thinking that I should start actively looking for used items before buying new. I wanted a cardigan or jacket to wear when I need something more dressy than my usual casual stuff, and found this silver-grey kimono thing on Vinted for £4. I am pretty pleased with it, though TG says it is "too shiny". I pointed out that I was looking for shiny, but she wasn't impressed! 

I had been thinking of getting packing cubes for a while so that I can keep luggage nice and organised when we go away. These are compression cubes, with a double zip that makes it possible to squish clothes down into a smaller, neater space. I proudly wrestled a ridiculous amount into the larger one to show M what it could do, only for him complain that it looked far more trouble than it was worth! They are going to be put to the test at the end of the month. We have booked flights to Copenhagen for a short break during half term, and decided - possibly foolishly - that we could manage without paying Ryan Air an extra £60 for the privilege of taking standard carry-on luggage. Three nights with a small bag is possible, right? It will be with my clever little cubes! 

Feet Up, Knitting

The last few days have looked a lot like this ...

The medication sorted out my chest infection but it has left me with absolutely no energy. At least it has moved on from feeling as though I have been hit by a bus to just feeling as though I am made out of soggy spaghetti. I'm still not up to going back to work, so this is likely to be another week with a lot of time spent on the sofa knitting, reading and watching TV. I did at least manage to finish a pair of socks - I'm trying to get ahead on gift knitting for Christmas. Normally I try to match the stripe colours to make an identical pair when I knit socks with self-striping yarn, but my brain is mush and I didn't even realise I had forgotten until I was halfway through the foot of the second sock. Ah well. They are funky stripes. I have now moved on to baby knitting - a cute little yellow cardigan for our former neighbours' new granddaughter, born last Tuesday. Tiny Summer weighed in at just 5lbs 7oz, so I'm knitting the smallest size. Our formerly-petite TG weighed an ounce less and I remember that as a baby TG would grow into each size at around the age she was supposed to grow out of it, so 0-3 month baby clothes only began to fit her when she hit 3 months. Based on that I'm working on the smallest size of this Alouette pattern and assuming it will fit through the winter. In fact, the same rule held true for TG until she hit her teens and a late and spectacular growth spurt, confounding our assumptions that she had inherited petite genes - having always been one of the smallest in her class at school, she is now 5 foot 6 and apparently still growing! 

I hadn't left the house for a week, apart from a 10 minute walk on Friday, but on Saturday I had to go into town as TG had an appointment for an eye test and M was working. Fortunately most of the trip involved sitting down! TG is getting more short sighted, but teenage vanity has kicked in and she is reluctant to wear her glasses so is going to try contact lenses. She now has a new optical prescription, new glasses on order, and an appointment booked for a contact lens teaching session in early November. I also ordered new glasses. I had my eye test done back in August, but hadn't got round to choosing frames - my current ones are breaking, so I really needed to do it sooner rather than later. 

After we had finished at Specsavers we went to the Italian cafe where H used to work for lunch. TG had a craving for spaghetti carbonara, which we can't make properly at home as we don't have bacon or other pig products in the house. Lunch out seemed a good plan as this cafe does the best carbonara, and it meant I didn't have to worry about cooking a proper meal later. I opted for smashed avocado on sourdough with poached egg and pancetta. We picked up pizzas from Waitrose for the evening, so once we got home I could flop back on the sofa and not need to move much for the rest of the day. I did pay for it a bit with feeling overtired yesterday, but it was good to get out for while. Also it allowed me to assess whether I would be fit enough for a full day at work today - answer, no! In the evening I was supposed to be going over to a friend's house for a girls' night, but that would have been way beyond my energy levels so I joined them on Zoom, along with another friend who is still trying to get mobile after a bad ankle break. Blended in-person / Zoom worked pretty well. Yesterday, I flopped! 

Summer Travels: Beautiful Sunny Paris

Lots of photos here because, well ... Paris! First that lovely moment of getting seated on my favourite train, the Eurostar. There is double border control at St Pancras station, checking us out of the UK and for entry into France, so that when the train arrives at Gare du Nord passengers can just walk off and away. That meant that once we were on board we knew we were really, definitely going to make it to Paris. As she was unvaccinated TG had to have a covid test the afternoon before we left, and her negative test certificate was carefully scrutinised by the French border staff, but all was well. For H and I, we simply had to show a QR code on our phones to prove we were vaccinated - we were very easily able to load the NHS code into the French anti-Covid app. I love it when things work! 

Our original plan was to go up to Montmartre to see the views from Sacre Coeur, but after 10 minutes waiting for a bus the girls decided that food sounded better than views. We abandoned the bus queue and got the metro down to Rue de Montparnasse which is lined with Breton style creperies. It was a lovely warm, sunny day, so we sat outside and ate galettes (savoury buckwheat pancakes). I washed mine down with a bowl of cider (yes, that's right, a bowl!). 

The best thing to do on a nice day in Paris is just to walk, so we did. We headed in the direction of the Seine, via the Jardin de Luxembourg. 

Before we got to the river we stopped to pick up dessert from a patisserie. I love the way pastries come in beautiful boxes.  

The raspberry tarts were for the girls. I had the apricot one. And yes, they were as good as they look. We found a memorial garden (I'm not sure what for?) right by the river with benches where we could sit and eat. 

We crossed the river via the Ile de St Louis, where we could look across to Notre Dame, surrounded by scaffolding and cranes as work goes on to restore the cathedral after the disastrous fire. I think the hope is that it will be finished in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024. 

I had noticed on the map that we were not far from the Memorial de la Shoah (Holocaust Memorial) and suggested to the girls that we should visit. The memorial had both outdoor and indoor sections. Outdoors there was a wall engraved with the names of all the Parisians who were murdered and a large bronze circular sculptured with the names of the extermination camps they died in. Indoors was a small museum and this Star of David. I'm afraid I can't remember what the Hebrew written on the wall behind said. It was a well done, thought-provoking memorial and we were glad we visited. 

Back out into the sunshine, we headed back to the Seine and walked along the river all the way to the Eiffel Tower. The road by the river has now been restricted to just pedestrians and bikes, so it was a nice, easy (though hot!) walk. 

We did a short detour to take some photos outside of the Louvre. We didn't go in, partly as we didn't have much time, and partly because it was much to nice a day to want to spend it indoors. 

We walked through the Arc de Triomphe and the Jardin de Tuileries, crossed the river and then did another mile or so on the other side until we reached the Eiffel Tower. We thought about walking through the garden under the Tower, but there was quite a long security queue so we though better of it. 

By this time we were all tired. We had an early start, catching the 5.45am train in to London to get the Eurostar, so we walked back across the river (again) and picked up crepes from a stall. Despite all the walking we weren't too hungry as the galettes and pastries had been filling, so we decided that we didn't need a full meal. We caught the bus back to Gare du Nord to collect our cases from left luggage, then headed off to the cheap and cheerful Ibis Budget hotel we had booked for the night on the line out to Disneyland, nicely situated so that we would be able to get to the parks early the next morning. 

Some Enforced Rest

Last week was just as busy as the week before, if not more so. TG got her braces fitted by the orthodontist on Monday morning, then had to go back in the afternoon because a couple of the fixings detached themselves. It settled down until today when a couple became loose again - we think because the teeth are set a bit behind the others - so she has to go back again on Monday. She is readjusting to the limitations.  Not being able to eat whole apples is a particular annoyance, as she usually eats at least one every day (there was a time when we had to restrict her to no more than two as she would probably have eaten them by the bowlful!). On Tuesday R came over for dinner, Wednesday was band practice, I took Thursday off from orchestra because I needed a free evening, then on Friday friends came over for dinner and H and M2 came for a roast dinner on Sunday evening.  

Saturday was the highlight of the week for myself and TG. Back in June I booked tickets for us to see Hairspray on stage in London. It was fantastic - warm, funny, energetic, superbly staged and performed. We had tickets for the matinee, and I had also booked lunch at the theatre as they were offering a fun, themed menu for a very reasonable price. I had a waffle with fried chicken, and TG had one with pulled pork; desert was chocolate brownie ice cream sundae for her and key lime pie for me. The menu also included a cocktail each (alcoholic for me, mocktail for her) and tubs of popcorn to take into the theatre. The whole package really added to our enjoyment of the afternoon, and also meant we got into the theatre early and didn't have to queue. 

This was our third visit to a theatre over the last couple of months (and our last for a while - we don't have anything else booked) and it was very noticeable that hardly anyone was wearing a mask in the auditorium. On our first trip a majority of people were, and the previous time it was probably about 50:50. A good number of people put them on to move around the theatre, but then took them off again when they sat down. It did feel as though the air flow was pretty good, and presumably the vast majority of people were vaccinated, so hopefully the covid risk wasn't too high. It does seem as though we are at the stage where we are learning to live with it. Encouragingly, case rates overall are seeming pretty static, despite a big bulge in cases in school kids following the beginning of term and despite people mixing more and masking less. 

Another encouraging thing is that booster vaccine doses are happening for people over 50, clinically vulnerable or in front line roles who had their second dose more than 6 months ago. M had his on Friday morning - I will have to wait until November for mine. Also the government have finally decided to authorise vaccines for 12 to 15 year olds, starting this week. They are being given through schools, and TG got hers today. She's feeling a little fragile this evening, but at least it is done. The school had such a good take up rate that they couldn't get through everyone in one day and are having to arrange to get the vaccination team back another day to finish the job. For now they are just giving younger teens one jab, to minimise the risk of pericarditis, I think. My best guess is they will boost it with a second jab later on in the winter. 

The enforced rest bit? TG picked up the nasty non-covid cold that is going round at school, brought it home and shared it with us. M felt pretty bad on Friday night and Saturday - cold plus post-vaccine effects wasn't a good combination - and had to phone in sick from his Saturday 111 shift. I had it mildly until Sunday when it started to get much worse, and by Monday morning it was well on its way to a chest infection (unfortunately a fairly common pattern for me if a cold gets out of hand). I realised what was happening, and M kindly went down to the doctor's surgery first thing to see if he could sort out a telephone appointment for me. By 8.20 the asthma nurse had phoned me, offered a face-to-face appointment if I wanted it (in the end we decided it wasn't necessary) and prescribed steroids and antibiotics, which M had picked up from the pharmacy by 10. I had to take Monday and Tuesday off work, and spent 48 hours either in bed or on the sofa, resting and hydrating according to the nurse's instructions. The medication has now kicked in and I have felt a lot better today, but think I will be mostly resting for the rest of the week. At least it happened this week and not last! 

Summer Travels: Caldey Island

I am way behind with posting these summer holiday pictures, but I want to keep a record and they are a nice reminder of lovely sunny days as I listen to the rain pouring down outside! 

During our holiday in Wales we took a short boat trip out to Caldey Island. The landing stage is at the edge of a beautiful sandy beach which could easily be mistaken for somewhere far more exotic than the UK. 

At the centre of Caldey is a large Trappist monastery. Originally founded as an Anglican Benedictine abbey in the early 20th century, most of the monks converted to Roman Catholicism just before the 1st World War. In the 1920s the Catholic Benedictines moved to Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire and were replaced by the Trappists in 1929. The large Italian style monastery is very different to the small village of Caldey, which has around 40 permanent inhabitants. 

We enjoyed a walk around part of the island, with some impressive views, then grabbed sandwiches for lunch from the cafe which is on the far side of the green from the monastery. 

The Abbey isn't open to the public, and even the Abbey Church was closed due to the pandemic, but we went into the small parish church which has some rather lovely modern stained glass. The island also has the remains of a 12th century priory, which itself replaced an early Celtic monastery. 

The island is known for its red squirrels, but I didn't manage to spot any live ones, only this wooden squirrel decorating a bench. 

We spent a bit of time enjoying the sun on the beach before catching the boat back to town. On our last day we went back out to sea on a seal spotting boat trip, which circumnavigated both Caldey and its uninhabited sister island, St. Margaret's, which is now a nature reserve. At the right time of year its cliffs are full of puffins, but they are migrants and had gone off to northern climes for the summer. We did see plenty of seals  - look closely at the photo below and you may be able to see some grey blobs on the rock. It needed a camera with more range than my iPhone to get a decent picture. The layers of colour in the rock came out well though! 

Both trips were a treat. I am a sea lover and to spend time out on the waves with spray on my face just makes me happy.