Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘2015’

Mar 19

5 Comments

Sydney 2 ~ Beaches, a zoo with a view and strewth, it’s a new year

Given Australia’s reputation of weather extremes, what were we going to find? Would we be struggling in the seven fires of hell? Would we drown in thunderstorms? Nope, it was pretty similar to a Wellington summer. Even though one of us was operating at half-pace we managed lots of expeditions and celebrated the arrival of 2016 determined to see the mighty Sydney Harbour fireworks display. Unfortunately that part bombed a bit! Read more

Mar 8

8 Comments

Sydney 1 ~ That Bridge and limping about the CBD

We went to Sydney with Mike’s children to see out the old year and welcome in the new one. It was an excellent week though plans had to be revised when Mike’s back crapped out and I’m amazed that we were still able to do what we did. This post, the first of two, is a mishmash of our central city explorations and bridge fascination across the week. Read more

Nov 8

8 Comments

Final Hamburging and home

Final trip post! For my last day in Hamburg I supplemented foot explorations with a hop-on hop-off bus to partial success, before beginning my 40 hour journey to get home. I was lucky that a disappointing discovery on the way didn’t have a greater impact in what had been a fairly epic adventure. Read more

Nov 1

10 Comments

Hamburg from the water

Hamburg is 110km away from the open sea but it is a port city, the second busiest in Europe no less. Its waterways are its lifeblood and on my first day there – the penultimate day of my trip – I went on a maritime tour to get a feel for the modern version of the place my great-great grandfather sailed from in 1876. Read more

Oct 26

2 Comments

In their footsteps (2): Journey to Hamburg

Poland Day 26. In 1876, members of the Fabich family embarked on the long and hellish journey from their home to start a new life in New Zealand. While it’s not possible to emulate the sea voyage (thankfully), I could at least mimic the train journey beforehand that got them to the port city of Hamburg. Read more

Oct 18

17 Comments

In their footsteps (1): The villages

Poland Day 25. Given the south-to-north trajectory of my trip, and given my Polish ancestors came from the north, it worked out that my last full day in Poland would be spent visiting some of the villages they’d lived in. Read more

Oct 11

7 Comments

Where WW2 began

Poland Day 24. I didn’t have an advance plan for what I’d do but after a bit of research the night before, it was obvious. To round out one of the themes underpinning my trip, I’d use my last day in Gdańsk to see the place where WW2 began. Read more

Oct 8

4 Comments

Wartime gritty to resort city

Poland Day 23. It was time to head back to Gdańsk and see what I could see in whatever was left of the day. Read more

Oct 1

6 Comments

Wolf’s Lair (Part 1)

Poland Day 21. I ventured east of Gdańsk to the site of Hitler’s main HQ during WW2. Read more

Sep 30

6 Comments

Where Teutonic Knights once roamed

Poland Day 20. The Teutonic Order played a major part in Poland’s history and not far from Gdańsk lies what was the most critical part of their network – also the world’s largest brick castle. Read more

« Older Entries
%d bloggers like this: