Berlin, Bears and Segways.

Looking out of the plane window coming into Berlin I was amazed at all the trees that you could see. Forests everywhere. We landed at Schoenfeld an airport out from the city. No questions asked and passport stamped very quickly. Before flying I had quickly checked how to get from the airport to our hotel by train........mmmmmm. Looking back we should have just paid the 40 euros and caught a taxi. Paul and I would still be talking to each other. The info mentioned by the hotel said that the train fare was around 3 euros each and we would need to make 1 change at the Zoological Garden to go to Wittenbergplatz in the Tiergarten area and then a 5 minute walk to our destination. We followed the directions to the station and passed the ticket machines along the way. We even stopped at one and helped another person try to buy 2 tickets to Berlin for 6 euros. We decided that we would get ours closer to the train on the platform. Bad decision as there were no ticket machines on the platform or anyone at a service to sell you one. I said I would go back and buy them but Paul said he would so off he went. He was away for such a long time that I was imaging that he had been abducted or he had got lost on his way back. The train was already there and waiting when a conductor jumped down to sell tickets. Paul arrived and showed his tickets to the train driver who told him to jump on and the conductor would assist him. Train got underway and eventually I asked Paul what took him so long. Apparently the machine wouldn't take 50 euro notes so he used the travel card and it cost him 40euros. I was astonished that he paid this much. He said he just picked the station name closest to what he thought was ours which was a place called Wittenberg. There were at least six places that all had Wittenberg or something similar to choose from he said. When I told him how much he should have paid he was glad that he didn't select first class tickets as these would have cost 100 euros. We explained this to the conductor who smiled at us. She understood that we wanted to go into the city and showed Paul on a map where his tickets would take him......150kms away to Wittenberg.

We got off at the first station and went into an office and explained the error of Paul's ways and purchased our 1 euro tickets for the second stage of our trip. She was able to direct us to the next office where we could ask for a refund. When stating our case to someone with minimal English you knew straight away she was thinking how dumb we were to buy the wrong tickets in the first place. We were refunded the money less the cost of the first stage of our journey. You knew who she would be discussing at office drinks that afternoon.

Next stage of the journey fairly easy and as we walked out of the station we walked straight into a political rally that was happening. Police everywhere and streets blocked off. Paul took a couple of photos with me thinking that his camera would be confiscated. We checked into the hotel for a short rest before catching a bus into the city. Very easy transport and we are charade masters by now so traveling on a bus easy as.

Paul had in his mind that he wanted to do a Segway tour of the City and for me I was miles away thinking about what Berlin must have been like before the wall came down. We jumped off and headed towards the TV Tower where the tour left from. Toby our tour guide and instructor was very nice and we spent around 30 minutes learning how to ride and operate the Segway. I wasn't as confident as Paul but managed to stay on and it was a fun thing to do and experience. Paul of course being Paul was scooting around everywhere and Toby asked me to speak to Paul about slowing down. I said that was impossible as I wasn't speaking to him.

After all the sights and excitement  we grabbed some tea at a small Mexican place called Delores 2 doors up from the Dockers shop. Berlin at this time of night was buzzing and after a short walk we found our bus with an English speaking driver who knew all about us kangaroos.

After a sleep in and breakfast explored the area around our hotel. We stumbled upon the Green Party's live broadcast as it was election day. Everyone was hoping that Angela Merkel would not be returned however we have since heard that she was re-elected. Taxi to the airport for our destination of Mongolia.

Segway tour of the city. Brandenburg Gate

                                                                  Jewish Memorial

Paul with his 5 euro heart that he cut out from a

Felt cape from a bride to be. The money he paid

was probably funding the hens night out.

This car a 'Trabi' was produced in East Berlin and

                                            was in front of the Presidents hotel where

we stayed. Can you spot Bob Hawk?

                                     This was the Green Party's headquarters on election day.
                                     They were doing a live broadcast answering questions
                                       inside the dome.

   
                          A fun way to get around and you see some of these with a keg of beer.

I did think about doing a handstand!

Bear spotting

Another bear with the map of the city.

Mini hot rod cars to hire.

One more photo please Paul

Should we cross here in front of the rally?

Mizen Head and Marconi have things in common

Returning from Portugal we had one more night in Kinsale where all the staff at the Old Bank guest house are one big happy family so Paul thought. Paul had noticed that all the staff were wearing name badges with the same surname…… Mary – Failte, Maureen – Failte, Magna- Failte…..he asked me if I thought they were all sisters. I soon realised what he was on about…….Failte in Ireland means welcome and it is on doors to most shops, pubs etc. Snow globe points for that one Paul or a touch of the sun from Portugal.

After saying goodbye to Kinsale and all the Failte sisters, we proceeded to Schull which is a small village where I was hoping to meet up with Sheila Whyte who had been my boss at the Geraldton Grammar School. After leaving Geraldton Sheila took up a position at Curtin University in Perth before returning to her Ireland home. Sheila has always been a very positive person to have in your community and from what we heard in Schull seems to be the case there as well. Sheila’s bookshop ‘Whyte Books’ is an amazing place so have a look on Facebook under Whyte Books and you will see what I mean. We arrived in Schull late afternoon just in time to have a drink with Sheila at one of the locals. Sheila had been very busy all through the summer months and was taking some days off to walk in the Wicklow Mountains.

Moving on from Schull we headed towards the Mizen Head Peninsula, Ireland's most south westerly point. Lots of high cliffs and rugged landscapes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The Mizen Signal Station had the first Radio Beacon in Ireland in 1931 and is open for viewing. Marconi had been in this area and where we had lunch at Crookhaven Harbour was where he came to get his first radio message across the Atlantic. He fitted the first telegraphic equipment on the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse allowing communication between passing ships. All along this part of the coastline it is treacherous to passing ships and it must have been a relief when the fog came in to have a signal warning you of the fog.

Paul and I were very impressed with this area and were looking forward to the Sheep's Head Peninsula, the lesser visited area by us tourists but a well known spot for walkers.

Which dinghy?

Arched Bridge at Mizen Head

                                      Barleycove is a large sandy beach on the way to Mizen

Railway Bridge

Drumbeg Stone Alter with a pondering Paul

                                                          The Mizen Signal Station

What a view from Mizen Head

                                                 The view of the paths to the bridge

The two of us

                                                               PC on the arched bridge

                                                                    Along the way

                                                               A small fishing village

Paulo the fisherman was always whistling.......and like a bat out of hell!

      
                                                     No Bull.....Portugal is a great place.

                                            
                                                   Check out the cobble-like paving.

                                              .
                                                                   Portuguese souvenirs

 Small grottos

Algarve Coast is the southern most region of Portugal.

Paul and I managed to get ourselves to Cork Airport with it being about 30 minutes from Kinsale. The plane journey only took around 2 and a half hours and was all smooth flying. The seat numbers were 13A and B.....I thought they didn't use those lucky numbers in planes and hotels. When we did land at Faro most of the other tourists on the flight broke into a round of applause. Paul and I thought that this only happened on Garuda flights to Bali not Aer Lingus. We worked out that it was because they were showing their appreciation to all the crew on a safe journey and they were now on holidays.

Once we were granted our visa we went through to the arrival lounge where David was waiting to take us to Luz on the Algarve coast about 80k’s from Faro. Driving in Portugal is completely opposite to Oz and it took us a little while to get our heads around this. Paul who was usually the passenger in the front seat did try to sit on David's lap a couple of times. The road system and the standard of the highways were pretty good and the speed limit was 120 however most of the Portuguese wouldí drive around 150. It didn't take us long to settle into the Portuguese lifestyle as Yvonne and David were very generous hosts and made us feel very welcome. Lots of laughs about the good old days with just an odd drink or two of a night on their balcony looking at the beautiful vista.

David our tour guide took us on outings during the day and we managed to see some of the sights that surround this area. The cliffs near their house and other parts of the coastline are absolutely amazing. We did a boat cruise along the coast line and lucky for us it wasn’t too hot. Yvonne has a real handle on the Portuguese language and is really good at organising outings for us 'foreigners'.

One of the places we visited was Silves where we explored a Moorish Castle. The castle walls are made from a red sandstone and Silves was the capital during Moorish rule. We had a couple of visits to Lagos a larger town which is more of a maritime town. We all know from our school days that the Portuguese were great sailors and at another place named Sagres this was evident as Henry the Navigator used this as an important education centre for map and instrument making.

I would say that all of the towns and villages have narrow streets and are paved with a traditional cobble-like paving. Some of this paving is so worn that it is really slippery. A lot easier to walk on when you have been to Clive's bar and had a few cocktails. Clive who is the owner of Clive's is an Englishman who has been living in the area for around 30 years.

Most of the houses in Luz where we were staying are painted white or a light terracotta colour with the terracotta clay tiles on the roof, however, you do get the odd house that would be painted a salmon pink colour. Lots of shrubs and trees that are also found in Australian gardens like the Oleander, Plumbago, Bird of Paradise and a larger version of the Bird of Paradise. Groceries and alcohol are very cheap. The restaurants very good as we tried an Indian and an African. One of my favourite little treats were of course the little custard tarts - pasteis de natas, which went well with a coffee. David and Yve also created some very tasty meals and of course provided the perfect setting.

All great things must come to an end and before no time we were packing our bags and heading back to Faro. Yvonne had organised a lift for us back to the airport on a shuttle bus however it turned out to be a chauffeur driven car. The driver was very friendly and we were soon on the freeway heading to our destination. We were asked by the driver if we minded if he went a little bit faster and the answer I gave back was no. Cod Almighty was silently called on again, as I knew once I had uttered that tiny little word that it was the wrong answer. Paul's leg still bears the scars of where my fingernails were hooked into his leg. The driver was unlike most men I know as he could do more than one thing at a time, drive fast, talk on his mobile whilst driving fast and change lanes whilst driving very fast and talking on his mobile. Arriving at the airport with time to spare Yvonne sent me a text asking how the driver went. She relayed to me a story of when David and her took a chauffeur
driven car to the airport and the driver drove so fast that he scared the snot out of her. I never told Yve ( until now) that both Paul and I will never have to blow our noses again!

The mobile phone tower disguised as

a palm tree

Big Lego blocks

One of the many boats used to view the grottos

                                      The view of the cliffs at Luz from the Whyte's balcony.

                                                         A very windy day just like being in Gero

Paul pretending he is on a Portuguese potty.

                                                           Entrance to a pottery shop

A spot of windsurfing

Silves with the Moorish Castle. Thanks to Y & D

                                                                                   Silves

                                                                           Silves

You are either married or living in Kinsale

Another K town

We had been told by family and friends who had been to Kinsale how nice this place is. Paul and I would have to agree with them. Narrow winding streets with brightly painted houses and yachts in the harbour.  Lots of tourists when we called in for a few days however it suited the place. Trac had worked in Kinsale back in the 80’s at the Blue Haven so we thought we would book a room there. Paul taking the initiative rang and mentioned that his sister Mary –Attracta used to work there but it was a while ago. Maureen the manager had met Trac in Australia so small world. The Blue Haven was booked out however we moved into the Old Bank which was also managed by BH. Nice old Georgian Building.

We did a historical walk of the town with our guide Dermott who mentioned that the Irish always backs the losers and one of the examples of this was when the Spanish came to help them against the English. Both the Spanish and Irish were defeated and all the Catholics booted out of the place. Lots of fun and lots of history to this town. We also did a harbour cruise and a ghost walk/tour. With the ghost tour we had to turn up to the Tap an old hotel owned by a Mary O’Neill. Her son Bryan did the tours with the assistance of his mate Sebastian. Talk about laugh and being scared at the same time. Sebastian would dress up and pop up somewhere in the graveyard, out of a wheelie bin and other places you weren’t expecting a ghost to be. One child of about 10 was really peed off and was wanting to know when we were going to see the real ghosts! The best story is the one of the “White Lady” where on the eve of her wedding night the Commander’s daughter asked her husband to go and pick her some flowers growing down by the water. The groom not wanting to get wet asked a soldier to do it and the groom took over the soldier’s sentry duty. Unfortunately for the groom he fell asleep and the commander doing his rounds noticed that the soldier was sleeping instead of guarding the fort. To teach the soldier a lesson he shot him not knowing that this was his son in law. The daughter discovering what has occurred flings herself from the cliffs killing herself on the rocks below. The father not being able to live with what he had done also shoots himself. The ghost of the white lady is often sighted around Charles fort.

Another place we visited was Cobh (pronounced Cove) Cobh is a port from where 2.5 million people immigrated to escape starvation in the 1800’s. For many years Cobh was the port of Cork with a strong connection to Atlantic crossings being Titanic’s last stop in 1912. I would say more like the second last stop before it parked up into an iceberg. Another event which involved the Lusitania was when this ship was torpedoed off the coast of Kinsale in1915 and it was here at Cobh that many of the survivors were brought and the dead buried. It was also home to the world’s first yacht club founded in 1720 but now operates from a new site at Crosshaven. We visited the Cobh Heritage Centre housed in the old Railway Station which demonstrated the plight of the immigrants leaving Ireland.

We booked another night in Kinsale on our return from Portugal. Portugal was going to be our holiday from our holiday.

Paul with the big ears

Charles Fort

Kinsale buildings

Lovely little shops and narrow streets.

Another drinking session by Paul and Sue

The hospital inside the fort used by the army. Charles Fort

was razed to the ground by the locals and has only recently

been partly restored after all the hippies were kicked out.

Cobh street scape

Another laugh

Different view of the fort

Kinsale Harbour

Entry to the fort

My new business