This year, just like last, we spent midsummer in Sweden. As always we had a great time, this year despite the weather. Highlights were the possibly sunniest day which we spent taking the old train between Anten and Gräfsnäs and the two nights we stayed in Trönningenäs just outside of Varberg. I also think that everyone visiting Göteborg should eat at Restaurang Räkan on Lorensbergsgatan, the food is simply heavenly!
Well, we’re back in rainy, dreary Cambridge after a week and a half in rainy, dreary Alingsås. But hey! It was Christmas and we got to spend it with family. The weather really isn’t that important then. Though it would have been nice with snow on the 23rd when we went to Liseberg to see the lights. Also I wouldn’t have minded a dry New Years Eve, walking from the restaurant to the car is so much better than sprinting through heavy rain.
The trip was great. Thea was in great shape and it was good I had been keeping up with the gym during the autumn. Novah was adorable, just as the last time. My sister was tired, but who can blame her? Her partner seemed to attract bugs like crazy. My brother and his partner were great as always. Both sets of parents were going strong. We even got to see my aunt and uncle, my cousins and their kids. Great! What more can one desire for the holidays? Not much, I tell you!
This bank holiday weekend (26-28 August) we went to Cardiff. The drive there was uneventful, just as I had hoped and traffic was less crazy then expected.
The first impression of Cardiff was mixed. We got slightly lost on the way in—print-outs from online route planners can be really confusing to follow. Well, it only meant we got to see a bit more of Cardiff than expected At first Cardiff—actually all of the part of Wales that we saw from the car—looked very run down. It looked old and tired. Then we drove through the university area and the impression changed somewhat. Driving on we went down High Street and I again I was starting to wonder if going to Cardiff was such a hot idea. We found our hotel after a few missed turns and U-turns.
Novotel in Cardiff is made up of two buildings, one old and one new. The old one used to be a fruit warehouse, I think, and the new one is a typical Accor building. The result is a really nice hotel, with an interesting interior. Off course the room was what we expected—after all it’s a chain hotel. We were happy with it.
Since we arrived a bit early we couldn’t get access to our room just yet so we chucked our bags in their luggage room and walked out to find a place to eat lunch. The centre of Cardiff turned out to be nothing special, basically a collection of the same stores you can find in any medium to large town/city in the UK. It was slightly disappointing really. We had lunch at Zushi, a sushi place frequented by Miss Church (personally I think she has a very busy schedule because she seems to frequent every place in Cardiff). Good sushi and not overly expensive. The gyoza was not quite as good as I had hoped though.
After lunch we walked back to the hotel and checked in, then we took off in the opposite direction, away from the city centre, to Cardiff Bay. Now, here’s what sets Cardiff apart from other places! We strolled around a bit enjoying the weather. We went through the Dr. Who exhibit at the Red Dragon. Unfortunately the Norwegian Church was closed so we ended up having a drink at Eddie’s American Diner—very good root beer float!
For dinner we wanted to try The Wharf—a pub we’d seen walking to the bay. It turned out they had stopped serving food. We ended up having dinner at a Thai place in the brewery quarter in the centre instead. The lasting impression of walking around in Cardiff on a Saturday evening is that people in Cardiff go out, a lot, and they drink, a lot. It also seems that people in Wales get married, a lot!
Sunday we went to Cardiff Castle. The guided tour we took mostly concentrated on the last owners of the Castle, the Bute family. Personally I found that to be a little disappointing, but it’s understandable since the Butes had such a big impact on Cardiff in general. We were looking for something Welsh for lunch but the closest we came was a small place just off High Street that served Welsh rarebit and lamb pies. After lunch we relaxed in the hotel spa for a while and then went to the bay to have dinner. The pubs and restaurants were just as busy as the day before and we got the second to last table at a Turkish restaurant located on one of several small piers.
The next day we checked out and once again went down to the bay. During the weekend they had a “festival” (read “a few stands selling stuff”) in the bay and we had noticed a stand selling Kopparberg cider (you can order online from Designa Drinx). After buying 4 bottles and 4 cans of different flavours of cider we headed home.
All in all it was a great weekend and in we both think that Cardiff is well worth a visit. Also, in our experience Wales has very good weather!
This post has been a long time coming. The previous two parts (part 1 and part 2) are more than a month old…
After a single night in Singapore we continued on to Indonesia and Jakarta. We didn’t really have any plans for the almost 2 weeks we were going to stay, and to be honest I was a little worried about that. Jakarta just isn’t a very good holiday destination. A few days are fine, but more than a week and I start going nuts
It turned out to be very nice though. We stayed with one of Dita’s uncles. The house was more crowded now than the last time. Two grandsons, twins, [Nina's hubby's name], the husband of Dita’s cousin, and new maids. Luckily there’s a lot of space in the house.
The weather in Jakarta this time around was not as bad as I had expected. Almost cool and dry. Well, not cool and dry at all really, but less hot and humid than then my experience from earlier trips. Even traffic wasn’t as bad as I remembered. I also noticed that the economy is doing better. The last time Mal Ambassador was to a large part empty. This time around there were hardly any empty “boxes” left. They were even selling BMWs on the ground floor. I guess this means the economy is better, it doesn’t mean life is better for the Indonesians though.
When planning the trip Dita had planned about 10 days, uninterrupted stay in Jakarta. After only a few days it became obvious that neither of us would survive for that long in Jakarta though. Luckily there are now low-cost airlines in Asia For about 1M rupiah we got two return tickets to Bali. We only stayed three nights but it was a very nice break from Jakarta. Dita has a cousin in Sanur who put us up for the stay. Cheap and good
Bali took us a bit by surprise this time. While Jakarta was bustling with activity and there were obvious indications that the economy was doing better, Bali was sleepy and void of tourists. We have some postcard like photos from the beach in Sanur, clear blue sky and an empty beach. A few years ago you’d have to be up pretty early in the morning to get such a shot. We took our pictures around noon. I can’t say we were disappointed though, the streets were easy to navigate, no queues anywhere, and we almost had WaterBom to ourselves.
Before starting our return trip we spent a few more days in Jakarta visiting family and friends and “enjoying” the traffic. Travelling back to England took two days, first back to Hong Kong with a short stop in Singapore, then to London’s Heathrow the following day. The flights were like good flights are, boring and uneventful.
The third part of hour trip was a short one, a one-day stop in Singapore. We checked in in-town at the train station in Hong Kong, a very convenient thing indeed, then took a train to the airport and boarded the Singapore Airlines plane to Singapore. The flight lasted 4 hours.
There is a world of difference between KLM and SIA. It’s in the small details and the extraordinary service. I can understand people who refuse to fly anything but SIA.
We arrived at our hotel after a short taxi ride. After a small mix-up with the room we got ready to hit the city. Xavier(X), Tris and Tim were in Singapore at the same time and we met up with X and Tim at the Raffles hotel for a few drinks. Tris was busy with her looks and didn’t arrive until a bit later.
They had made plans for dinner already so we split up. Dita and I walked to Chijmes and found a restaurant that served asian food. After dinner we walked to the river looking for a good bar to spend time waiting for X and parents to make another appearance. Apparently we managed to choose a dodgy bar, one that imports “entertainment girls” from Indonesia. How were we to know? We moved on to a bar with its own micro brewery.
All in all a wonderful day, despite the pressing heat and humidity, in Singapore. Amazingly cool to catch up with friends from Holland while travelling in South East Asia
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At first Cardiff—actually all of the part of Wales that we saw from the car—looked very run down. It looked old and tired. Then we drove through the university area and the impression changed somewhat. Driving on we went down High Street and I again I was starting to wonder if going to Cardiff was such a hot idea. We found our hotel after a few missed turns and U-turns.
and didn’t arrive until a bit later.