DENMARK

Every day I was in Britain I saw rain.....except the day I left. It was the first sunny day I had seen and I flew out to Copenhagen and snow! I went to Copenhagen because Jennifer, my youngest daughter went here for a 6 months exchange when she was 15. The city of Copenhagen was clean, with wide streets and tall stark buildings. Snow drizzled for the whole time I was here. Copenhagen began as a Viking fishing village in the 10th century. In the 15th century it became the capital of Denmark.

The first night Jennifer led a walk through the city to an area known as Christianshavn. This area was developed by Christian IV in the early 17th century. It was modelled on Amsterdam and includes canals which are usually lined with houseboats. The area was occupied by squatters in 1971 and it still keeps a measure of autonomy. Drugs are sold openly in "Pusher Street", as well as arts and crafts. 

While here I also went to see the Little Mermaid, a statue inspired by the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen; and the changing of the guard at the palace. This was an impressive sight as the replacement guards were led in by a military band and the whole procedure took place in the square in the centre of the palace. I think Mary and one of her daughters were watching through the palace windows. I gave Princess Isabella a wave and received a wave back.

I was really surprised at how extensive bicycles were used in the city. The city is well set up for their usage, many train carriages even having spaces for commuters' bicycles. Jennifer had told me about the widespread use of bikes but it was still a surprise because it was so well organised. Even in the snow there were bikes everywhere. 

On another day I visited Greve, the town where Jennifer went to school. We walked through the school and were impressed by students working away unsupervised. That night we were able to catch up with Tobias and Simon, who were two school friends who had also come to visit her in Australia. 

The next leg of the trip was a 21 hour bus ride to Paris. At first there were only a few people on the bus and it was easy to spread out and sleep. However the bus filled up as it travelled further south. The trip also involved a ferry crossing. At one border customs police boarded the bus and did a passport check, whether this was procedure or random I don't know, I wasn't even sure which border it was. However they did find a young man from Afghanistan who did not have a passport or identification and they took him into custody.

New Harbour

One wing of the palace.

Changing of the Guard

Bicycles a very common sight in Copenhagen

Even the trains had room for bicycle commuters

Cafes had blankets outside for the smokers to keep warm.

Snow falls in the city

Snowy conditions seem part of life

Jennifer at her old school

Jennifer with old school mates, Tobias and Simon

Jennifer using her phone in the snow

On route to Paris.

ROAMIN ROADS

It rained every day while here in Britain, except the day I flew out. Much of the time I had a hired car and was able to drive from place to place. I did notice a few things. The roads in the cities were often one way. In twisting and turning city centres this made it very difficult to get exactly where you wanted to go. Parking could be on either side of the road......you simply pulled across. So in some places every second car was facing the opposite way. Parking inspectors were very savage and made Australian  parking inspectors look like Meter Maids. Traffic lights were similar but there was orange before green. However at an intersection there were never enough traffic lights, so if you didn't stop a little bit back then you often couldn't see it turn green. This was the same on the motorways. There were very few speed signs. Often I did not know what the speed was. I asked a police man about this in Edinburgh. He replied "its so we can get your money when you speed".

Using indicators might well have been optional because I rarely saw them used. What really struck me the most though was just how polite and helpful drivers were on the road. This struck me time and time again. Cars would stop or pull back to let you in, they would move over to make room for you. I didn't ever see selfish or annoying behaviour. There were some amusing signs. For instance the arrows painted on the road to tell you to get back on your side of the road, and signs which said "Oncoming traffic may be on your side of the road". My favourite was a sign on a section of roadworks which said "Expect delays until 15 May 2015"...a long time to sit there!

One idea I did like was on the motorways every exit was numbered. Where there might be several exits to a town the exit numbers made sure when you were following directions that you took the most convenient exit.

When I picked up the car at least the steering wheel was on the right side but the indicator and windscreen wipers were opposite to what I was used to. I was constantly turning on the wipers when I wanted to turn left or right. The first time I stopped to fill up with petrol I was in the petrol station and couldn't find the catch to get the petrol cap open. I searched everywhere, even tried to flick it open but no success. Finally I asked another driver. He couldn't find it either and suggested I drive down the road to the mechanic and ask him. This I did. It was a car sales place. The salesman said he knew where it was .....but when he looked it wasn't there. After 5 minutes of searching I finally twigged that the back door was locked. As soon as I unlocked it it was easy to press the petrol cap and it sprung open!

Note the exit number in the bottom left corner.....a great idea.

BATH

The Roman Baths are a historical site in the town of Bath. Rain water falling on nearby Mendip Hills drains through to deep below the earth where it is heated and pushed back to the surface through fissures in the rocks. It reaches the surface at a constant 46 degrees Celsius. A shrine was built here by the Celts to honour their god, Sulis. When the Romans came they continued to use the name Aquae Sulis, meaning "waters of Sulis". They constructed a temple here between 60 and 70 AD, and over the next 300 years a bathing complex was also developed. This included the cadarium (hot baths), tepidarium (warm baths) and frigidarium (cold baths). When the Romans left Britain in the 5th century, the baths eventually silted up and fell into disrepair. 

The remains of these Roman Baths are all below the modern street level. The museum at the Baths display items which have been found during excavations. These include over 12,000 Roman coins recovered from the Sacred Springs here, probably as offerings to the gods. There are also about 130 curse tablets. These were curses written on a piece of lead and thrown into the pool so that the gods would bring bad luck to the person named. Most of these curses relate to the theft of bathing clothes. There is a wide assortment of other artefacts on display.

The impressive structures above ground date from the 19th century. They include Roman statues to give the atmosphere of the original Roman Baths. The Baths were closed for bathing in in 1978 after a young girl died from contracting meningitis from bacteria in the water. New facilities nearby allowed bathers to use the Baths and the water coming from the spring can be drunk for the high levels of minerals contained in it. 

View of the Baths

View of originalRoman section of the Baths.

Part of the Roman tiled floor

Guides in costume show what the Baths were like.

Underfloor structures now revealed in the Roman 'drying' room

Part of the carvings which decorated the Roman buildings on the site.

Head of Minerva recovered from the pool

Shops in the area using the Roman theme

GLASTONBURY

The weather, particularly in the south of England made plans change from day to day. Some places I couldn't get to because of the flooding. From Bath I took a day trip to Glastonbury. Glastonbury is a small town in Sommerset on the river Avalon. It has a population of around eight and a half thousand people. Glastonbury is known for its yearly Festival of Contemporary and Performing Arts which has attracted crowds of 175,000 people some times. It is also known as a spiritual sanctuary of England. Some in Australia would say its a little like Nimbin.

The most prominent feature in Glastonbury is the Tor. This is a huge hill with a tower on top. Archaeological evidence shows there have been two church of St Michael here, the only remains visible now is the 15th century tower. Abbot Richard Whiting was also executed on the Tor by order of Thomas Cromwell, the first Earl of Essex.

It is a steep climb to the top of the Tor but the views are worth it. To some the Tor possesses magic. While up here I heard one man, with divining rods, explaining how a visit to the Tor each morning and night had cured him of his inoperable brain tumour. It also has links with the legend of King Arthur and may have even been the site of the fabled Camelot. Nearby is Chalice Wells. This is purported to be the resting place of the Holy Grail, supposedly brought here by Joseph of Arimathea.

To many the Tor is believed to be the home of Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Fairies. This is mirrored throughout the town. Many shops sell fairies and gnomes and there are shops decorated to promote this feeling.  I also spoke with one man who told me he was a Druid. He told me about the nearby bogs and how they were being reclaimed as bird habitat now peat was no longer a valuable fuel source.

After Glastonbury I travelled to Stonehenge. However flooding in the area made it impossible to get to the sight and I had to be content taking photographs across a paddock and from a rain affected dirt road.

A local Druid

Glastonbury Tor

View inside the tower

View from the top

View of the town

The Chalice Well

A shop in Glastonbury

Stonehenge

WALES

It was time to head south and I decided to visit Liverpool first but took a wrong turn as I arrived in the city and ended up driving through a long tunnel, paying tolls and heading towards Wales before I knew it. There was no place to turn around so I kept going. I stopped for lunch in Chester then at Llanberis where the plan was to walk up Mount Snowden. However the weather was so bad and Mount Snowden covered in snow I booked accommodation ahead at Caernarfon and pushed on. When I say pushed on this meant driving all over the Welsh countryside to go a few hundred miles forward. As in England roads and lanes are very poorly sign posted. Wales also had a lot of twisting winding backroads but the countryside was absolutely beautiful.

Arrived late in Caernarfon to find the accommodation was not booked until the 26th January! But the couple who ran the place kindly opened up. It was only a short stay here, just overnight, but it is really a place I would like to come back to and spend time. It was magical ........and the castle was absolutely huge. I did manage an early morning walk.......which wasn't too early because the sun doesn't seem to come up until 9 o'clock. I took some photos of the sunrise and the castle.

Llanberis

Mount Snowden in the background

Waterfowl

Welsh back roads

Caernarfon harbour

Caernarfon Castle

Streets around Caernarfon