Friday was go go go. The disruptions to the transport system affected us a bit. After the Tower of London we spent 45mins waiting for different busses that just didn't show up before by chance noticing the one we wnated on a different road, and only after that realising we were looking for the wrong station and therefore bus route after all! But apart from that the delay due to congestion was our only drama.

The Tower of London is tops. There are tours through it lead by Yeoman Warders which are really great fun, full of stories and jokes and information. The Crown Jewels are worth it too.
After that we looked around the entrance of St Pauls, and whizzed past Trafalgar Square and a smattering of other standard sights.

Lara got in an hours worth of shopping (much to her distress actually) while I chilled back at the hotstel, before we got all dressed up to go and see The Lion King.
Of the half-dozen or so musicals I've seen, this is by far the best! The production, the costumes, the music, the way they change viewing perspective, it's fantastic!. The cast for our viewing were a bit over it I think, but it was still just great all round.

Up early this morning to leave on the tour. The most representation nation on the bus is Australian, but we've got South Africans (Saffas), Brazillians, Koreans, Malaysians, and American and a Kiwi. It seems like a great bunch actually, and we're cruising along just nicely together at the mo. Our first coach was an hour late (flat tyre) buteventually we were taken to the ferries at Dover where we boarded on foot and enjoyed a top lunch before jumping on board our tour coach in Calais.
We scored with this coach! The one booked for our tour carked it just this morning so we were given a business class coach instead! Nice big seats, groups of 4 with tables, and a bit sound table area at the back (the "love seat").

It's made for a good experience so far, and we're just pulling into our hotel in Paris.


Top Deck Coach
Calais->Paris, France

Yesterday was a nice and easy day. We chilled out around the house, venturing outside once to wander around the village, and then again later in the evening to head to the next village to be presented with a 1L stein to teach our mates back home about black moss with.

This morning we caught up with a great uncle of ours (grandmother's brother). He's recently broken his hand (and so was unable to see us any earlier) but caught a train in to Nuremburg station where we met him before catching ours from there to Frankfurt Airport. He was easy to spot at the station because of his forearm in plaster and his skin (dark olive) that each of that family have. He was shorter than expected, but also quite lively and good fun. We had no problem making conversatio nfor a couple of hours over coffee and it really set off our Germany stay to be able to spend time with him.


So today. Yes we made it to London just fine. The trains (but not the Underground) were running again except for Kings Cross Station, so were able to catch the Heathrow Express to Paddington and walk the few minutes to our hostel.
We tailed it back to a place we'd passed for pizza, garlic bread and beer for £5 and got even more for our money. The friendly owner gave us lots of great advice (starting with "you know you can walk to Picadilly from here"). He showed us through a guide of musicals that were playing and Lara and I decided to head in and see if we could pick up something at the (very) last minute. His final words were "You've got an umbrella?" so we ducked back to the hostel and grabbed our rain jackets, spending valudable minutes doing so.
Sure enough, only 10mins into our walk the rain started. About 10mins after that we were wondering if the "rain jackets" were part of a practical joke on the part of our uncle and aunt who lent them to us, because both of us were feeling quite wet under them. But still, we were on the path, hope fading but still burning.
We passed streets that were blocked off by police, and every time another 4 police bikes rode past with sirens blaring we chuckled to ourselves at the potential foolishness of the endeavour. And after it all most of the musical halls were closed, as were the ticket-selling outlets, and we were left tired and wet (though actually not very wet under the jackets) and 45mins walk from a bed.
But we are in London! I was kept quite buoyed by that, and Lara was too a little later when she saw some potentially good shops.

So tomorrow. Let's wait and see. It will proabably be that everything we want to see will be closed, which would be a disappointment. I could use another day of sleep, but not right now.

Free Internet Computers at Wake Up Hostel,
Paddington, London, England

Figuring we should splurge on our folks Lara and I phoned them just now while on the train. Dad answered and after saying he was just about to SMS us he asked if we'd heard about London. We were too slow to pass comment. Dad told us there have been bombings in London town - on Undergrounds and on a bus.

Wow. Talk about adding excitement to expectation. So far we have no official news about what's closed or whatever, so I wonder if we'll even have to fly home early. Or if we'll have to be strip-searched (coming from Cambodia?). Or have to stand up to somenoe suspicious in our travels.

Let you know. Or not, in the worst case.

Car 257, Seat 37
Nuremburg->Frankfurt IC2026

First and foremost: Black Moss. Take a >1L stein and fill it with 1 part beer and 1 part cola. Add 2 shots of cherry liqueur. Pass around at a party and allow to simmer. Brings life and merriment to any party, and helps bring down language/cultural barriers.
Lara and I were invited along to the birthday party of our hosts’ best friend, which was tonight. Here us green Aussies were introduced to this Franconian cocktail which we enjoyed thoroughly. The people at this party were also lovely and friendly (and patient) with us foreigners.

Today we walked. We walked through Ansbach, through a really great museum; even if it was all auf Deutsch, the building, design of exhibit areas and the items themselves were all interesting and well executed. It’s called the Kasper Hauser museum as it dedicated one section to the story of Kasper Hauser. This guy was found on day in Nuremberg. Just found, walking down the street, popped out of nowhere it seemed. He couldn’t walk properly, couldn’t make conversation, and was carrying a (later identified as a forgery) letter. There were all sorts of official attempts to work out who he was, where he came from and how he came to be so traumatised (it was thought he’d been kept in a cage or small room, hence being unable to walk/talk).
There’s a little more to it though. The year after he was found (this is all early 19th century) he had his first of a few assassination attempts against him, and soon after an unknown but very rich English Lord came to town and inconspicuously took Kasper under his wing, giving him education, shelter and spreading a rumour that he was going to be taken back to England. All this started and fuelled the ideas that Kasper was an heir to the Franconian throne, and a rapidly rising heir seeing as all the others were strangely dying in the recent years.
At any rate, Kasper wasn’t destined for a royal position, he was murdered in Ansbach (lured into the forest bz the promise of information about his true identity) soon after. The police meticulously saved every scrap of evidence, and have recentlz checked his DANN from it against the line he was claimed to be from. The DNA results were inconclusive one way or another, so his identity is still unknown.
The part that made this worth the 2.5 paragraphs of background, at least to me, was the extension or abstraction of Kaiser’s story by which he became a symbol of the actual identity of mankind: "where from and where to".

In the afternoon we walked. At Bad Windsheim there is an open-air museum where almost 100 old buildings from around Middle Franconia have been moved to (disassembled then reassembled). It is quite interesting and can take up a good half day just walking through it. The different livings of the different centuries is shown quite readily and the museum employs people to farm, brew and do whatever else these old Franconians did, the way the old Franconians originally did it. Certainly good value.

Tomorrow is a rest day for us, before we leave for London on Thursday. I was feeling quite flu-y most of today and Lara’s also quite beat so we’re both very thankful for the opportunity to chill and rejuvenate with these wonderful people in their house.
I believe this Friday marks halfway through this journey. This time last week Lara and I had just bid farewell to most of our travelling companions that we had so far. That really feels like another world in another time, and I suppose in that sense, it would be easy from here to not return home. But don’t cry for me Argentina (read: Mum and other soppy friends... Steve?), our feet will find Terra Australis again before the end of the month.

Residence of our family friends,
Heilsbronn, Germany

Today we saw Nuremberg. Every place we go to has so much history! Nuremberg is a city, so fair enough, you can see the modern Euro-style buildings as you drive around. But in the middle of the city is another city, the old city. It’s comes complete with castle, gothic churches and a few other landmarks of note. What isn’t immediately apparent is that all the houses of the old city are build in the medieval fashion. Some of them are genuinely hundreds of years old, but when it came time to rebuild the city after 90% (literally - you should see the photos!) of it was destroyed in the war, the authorities decided that buildings should be within a certain height range, have the roofs slope at a certain angle, have the long side facing the street, etc etc. So now this inner city is styled from the middle ages.
A third (or something) cousin drove us to Nuremberg and we wandered with her for a bit before we all took a guided tour. This was great, well worth the 10 Euro or so (including castle tour) each. The churches are just amazingly ornate inside, and there’s a story behind each and every part of it, these stories are just great to hear.

It’s really novel for Lara and I as young city Australians to come to a part of Southern Germany and visit villages and cities that have such a rich (known) history that goes back so far. Nuremberg is very close to if not 1000 years old - even the castle there. Just imagining the life there when these towers were new as well as impressive is pretty cool, and the legends and facts that come with it are fantastic. I didn’t even know that the kingdoms of Europe were once (and for centuries) under the rule of emperors. At one stage the empire included as far afield as Mexico - the saying was that the sun never went down on this empire. The empirical palace in Nuremberg (there’s one in every major city of the empire) is not so much exquisitely designed as it is deeply awe inspiring to see and stand where these Kings above Kings once danced or prayed.

Nuremberg also captured me in the form of a frauline (yes a German on an English speaking tour) who was also part of our group. I noticed first that she holds a regal posture, was tightly figured, and had a classic demeanour. And never before have I gained so much from offering "Gesundheit". We shared a charming short while discussing Franconia and beers, comparing our Mandarin abilities (I was hopelessly outgunned after one sentence of course) and generally making playful small talk. When we parted she instructed me to try the beer from her home town, and I promised to think of her when I did. And I will, if I can somehow remember its name.

Residence of our family friends,
Heilsbronn, Germany

In the afternoon Lara and I were picked up and chauffeured away to the house of a great aunt (the wife of our grandmother’s half-brother) in Neuendettelsau. This was a wonderful afternoon, sitting around the table with this 93 year old lady (still old-school but cheeky) telling us to eat and eat, and three of her children, and two of her grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Four generations around one big table out on the back patio, it was really nice.
Later in the afternoon some of us (including our great aunt) went for a walk through the town (though they call it a large village only). We stopped and saw the place where our grandmother as a child was kept during the war, a children’s home where she looked after two younger siblings while their parents were interned in Australia (having been taken from Papua New Guinea where they were missionaries). We also wandered around some more, seeing some mission houses and the missionary training centre and such. It was quite a decent walk for a nonagenarian, but she did just fine and quite enjoyed it I think.
For dinner the five of us that remained enjoyed mackerel and salad. I go through a whole fish and it was really quite nice, especially with a dollop of creamed horse radish.

It was such a marvellous time with these people. I’m glad we were able to visit our aunt (who apologised that her husband was no longer with us), and also felt special to be a part of the family gathering.

Today we see Nuremberg.

Residence of our family friends,
Heilsbronn, Germany

Sunday, so the first thing is church. Not quite what we expected (which was a very traditional service in a big cold church), it was a special "family service" at the place we went, in Burglein. We sat on benches in the lovely sunshine and watched the children act out a story and sang along to a brass band and listened and sang with the children (to the well tuned guitars - a pleasant change for this trip!). The pastor’s message was great: don’t push things away when opportunities arise of if you have a desire; live life today and get out and do it! Our hosts figured this message is for our parents who really must come to visit Germany. It was delivered well by the pastor and included lots of interaction. When he asked "What is something you would do to make yourself happy?" it took a good 5-10mins to get around the whole group (most people had something to say) and after he made his main point (to seize the day), people spoke with the benches around, again for another 5-10mins. Church is so much more integrated into community life in these many small villages, it’s nice to see such a genuinely simple spirituality.

We were given a look inside the church afterwards. Again it is hundreds of years old, and built in a certain style inside which was interesting to see. It’s certainly very much more ornate than anything I’ve seen in Australia, but still felt nice and cosy (despite the size and it being empty at the time).

Lunch was at a nice restaurant just out of Heilsbronn that has a little children’s play area, a large pond with ducks and swans, and an enclosure with rabbits and guinea pigs. Really pleasant atmosphere and nice food beer.

In the afternoon Lara and I had our first meeting with our extended family. A truely memorable occasion but I’m way too tired to write about it now. My fishbone has finally worked its way out of my food pipe into my stomach, and the shower is free: all the sings that I should sleep now and write later.

Residence of our family friends,
Heilsbronn, Germany