Vienna, Austria

I am a great fan of a good Christmas market and therefore went to Vienna, which was very very cold for a few days. Austria is a German speaking country, meaning their markets are also very close to the high standard set by my trip to Berlin several Christmas' ago.

At the airport we purchased 72 hour travel cards (24 and 48 hours also available) for about 25 euros. We also had to pay a couple of euros extra to initially get the train into the city and again to return to the airport. Whilst we didn't need to show our ticket each time we used the metro and tram, you did need one for random checks. The inspectors circled the exit and it felt a bit like you would get rugby tackled if you failed to show a ticket.

Vienna is home to a lot of palaces. We brought a 'Sisi ticket' for 30 euros, which gave us access to 3 of the palaces with audio guide tours included. We visited Schönbrunn and Hofburg Palaces, home to Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth (also called Sisi). They were both very elegant and beautiful places, one of which also had stunning grounds. The Hofburg has the silver collection on display, with thousands of pieces intricately crafted for the royalty dinners. It then moves into the Sisi museum which tells of Empress Elisabeth, who travelled a lot and was murdered in Geneva. She was also the Queen of Hungary and her coronation dress was on display. It ended with the imperial apartments where they lived. The audio guides where very informative and you typed in the number for what you are looking at.

Schonbrunn Palace

Gloriette

The Hofburg

St Stephan Domkirche (cathedral) stands on the ruins of 2 other Churches. It has a unique multi-coloured tile roof.

Pulpit stairs

The tiled roof

We visited the Liberation Monument, erected by the Russians during their occupation after WW2.

We took the metro to the river Danube and walked to the metro on the island in its centre. It was a bit overcast, but there was a nice view and lots of big boats moored up.

The hotel we stayed in near Strudelhof Palais had a roof terrace with a brilliant view of the city. Next door are the art nouveau steps leading up to the palace. It was a rather steep staircase and overlooked the Liechtenstein Palace and grounds just down the road.

Liechtenstein Palace

Art Nouveau Stairs

The Prater Ferris-wheel is something I certainly recommend. It cost 10 euros for a 10-15 minute circuit. We went at twilight and the wheel gives great views of Vienna, with the advantage of a display of what you can see. It also had the best souvenir shop of all those I had seen whilst in Vienna.

We visited a lot of Christmas markets, all of which had their own mugs. For a deposit you get your drink in a mug, then either return it and get the deposit back, or keep the cup. My favourite mug was from the market in Maria-Theresia Square. However, the market at the Rathaus was the best of them all. It was the biggest market and the Christmas lights were amazing with the town hall lit as its backdrop.

Rathaus Market

The food in Vienna was also really good and the cakes were just so worth it. Torte, Schnitzel and soo much cake.

#Christmas@Kew 2018

This is solely a photo blog after I went to see the Christmas Lights in Kew Garden in London. It took us just over 2 hours to walk round the mile route, but look at all the shiny lights we saw. I brought an off peak ticket, which saved me a fortune, all by going on a Thursday. If you want to drive, parking costs an extra £7 and sells out fast.

Enjoy.....

City of London - Open House 2018

Every year for one weekend buildings across London open their doors to the public. The majority of these are places that don't usually have public access. As you will see from the photos it was a rainy weekend.

The City of London is only 1 mile square. Some of the buildings needed to be pre-booked or used a ballot system in order for entry. There are a lot of other free places to visit across the whole of London. You can either find out more online or get a book from the library. The information usually comes out in August for open house weekend in September.

We visited 3 different Churches within the city. One of them being St Stephen Walbrook. This church is the place were the Samaritans was founded and was build by Christopher Wren as a protype for St Paul's Cathedral. It's altar was made by Henry Moore in 1972 and is a large central stone  (8ft wide) commissioned by Lord Palumbo. The surrounding kneelers were made by Patrick Heron, an abstract artist, in 1993

St Stephen Walbrook

We managed to get onto a pre-booked tour at the Leadenhall building around the architect's offices on the 14th floor. The building leans back from the street as there is a protected view of St Paul's Cathedral from Fleet Street. The lift lobbies at the back of the building were put in last and mean that the whole floor space is available for use. Unused lift lobbies are home to the toilets. 

The view from the 42nd floor of the Leadenhall Building, at 198m high were very good. Had it not been raining the view would have been amazing. It overlooks a number of landmarks, including Tower Bridge, the Shard, St Paul's cathedral and the Thames.

View of London from Landing 42

The Gherkin

More of London from Landing 42

We visited Customs House alongside the Thames. There were a number of presentations and stands giving information. The Long Room is home to a large open plan room and neighbours the robing room, where originally the judges would get dressed into their finery. From the quayside you get a great view of Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast.

View from Customs House quay

Finally we visited Billingsgate Roman Baths. They are very well preserved as they have been protected since the 1800's when they were first discovered. It was built at the centre of another building. It clearly shows the 3 different sections of the Roman Baths - the cold, warm and hot rooms, along with the fire to keep the hot room hot.

Billingsgate Roman Baths

Barcelona - Spain

Barcelona is a busy coastal city with lots to do. I recommend getting a Hola Bon travel card; they are valid for various lengths of time from 48-120 hours. They cover all forms of transport and will also get you from the airport and back again. My travel card was for 72hrs and only cost 22 euros. It's great to help you get around the sprawling city and beats the aerobus with costs 6 euros each way to and from the airport.

FC Barcelona football stadium

I arrived to meet protests, following the one year anniversary of the Catalan vote for independence, which the Spanish deemed illegal. It meant that roads were closed and there were lots of police around.

I travelled between places via the metro. There are a number of different lines and the metro is clean and efficient.

I started at Port Vell, which is home to a column with a statue of Columbus looking out to sea. The harbour is home to lots of yachts. Rambla de Mar takes you across a bridge that swings to let the yachts through to a shopping mall and the aquarium. Port Vell is the oldest part of the Barcelona port.

At Diagonal (yes it's a real place name) I visited Casa de les Punxes. It cost 12.5 euros, which included the audio-guide. The guide started automatically as you entered each room, which was quite cool. It began with the legend of St George and the dragon, before going round the rest of the first floor. Then you take a lift up to the roof terrace and go inside the multiple peaks and tower up on top. It was another place with a great view of the city. The building was originally 3 separate adjoining homes, one for each of 3 sisters whose father had bought the plot of land. It was designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and is an example of Modernisme. It was actually somewhere I found by accident, but really enjoyed the tour of the building and the roof.

The tower on the roof terrace

I visited Park Guell, which is a park complex created by the architect Gaudi, who also had a home there. It is located at the top of a huge hill - there are even escalators in the street to help you get up there. The view was pretty good though once you made it up there. It looked a bit like it was undergoing major restoration, but you could see a fair bit of the unique design of the park. You have the opportunity to visit the house that Gaudi lived in for 20 years, bought for him by his father.

View of Barcelona from Park Guell

Gaudi's house

The Sagrada Familia is a Church which is still being built. It was designed by Gaudi and is still a work in progress. They hope to have it finished by 2026 to mark 200 years since building began. When you see the intricacies of the architecture you can understand why they are still going. If you want to visit inside the Church you will need to pre-purchase tickets online as the tickets had all sold out by early the same day I visited.

Across the road from this was a free F C Barcelona exhibition of posters. It was quite interesting to see posters from across time promoting the team. There are also lots of other shops in this area which can be visited.

I then went to visit Camp Nou - the home of F C Barcelona. There are a range of tickets you can buy, I had a flexible ticket for self directed tour. I got a 6 euro audio guide which I didn't really use - I either missed some of the numbers or it wasn't worth it. You begin in the massive trophy room and work your way around the museum and then out to the stadium. It was a brilliant afternoon out. 

Media - interview room

Press Room

The tunnel

Media display

Part of the trophy room

At Placa Espanya I went up to the 5th floor of the 'Arena.' It cost one euro for the lift to the top and back down. The top has a 360 degree viewing platform with restaurants at the centre. The view was amazing and gave a great view of the national palace. The arena also has an exhibition space and is a shopping mall at the lower levels.

View of the National Palace

The Arc de Triumf is a massive arch built in 1888 and is next to the Parc de la Ciutadella. The park was very big with lots inside, including the zoo. It is also home to a mammoth, sculptures, water features and lots of pretty flowers.

The Mammoth

Water feature

Arc de Triumf

I visited Glories which has another shopping arcade. It is also home to Torre Agbar which is a skyscraper built in 2003 with colours (think the Gherkin in London - it is very similar).

Torre Agbar

I had a night out where I had typical Spanish dinner; tapas and Sangria. Sangria is Spanish wine served cold with fruit (think Pimms) and tapas is a number of smaller dishes. I was very brave and ate everything (with exception of the chilli), which meant trying mussels for the first time. I found that food and drink in Barcelona was pretty good value.