Frankfurt anyone?

Well imitation frankfurt that is, as I don't eat pork I tried the closest thing to it. It was a trade between my friend D and I, I got her to come out and explore Frankfurt with me instead of staying in her hotel room and she got to me to try one of the sausages Frankfurt is known for. I had a great time exploring the city and I daresay she was glad I dragged her along.

I wish I knew German, the people were so friendly and helpful, trying to communicate with what little English they know that I was ashamed of myself for not knowing even a word or two in German. They are thoroughly proud of their city and are happy to help a few tourist find their way or offer a smile when they see you taking photos.

This is D infront of Cafe Hauptwache where we had our brunch and couldn't stop being surprised at how much beer was loved here. It was a beautiful start to our day and we had great fun just chatting and just soaking in the atmosphere.

Just opposite the cafe there was this church whose chimes rang out during our brunch.


After brunch we headed into central Frankfurt (I needed to find a place to exchange money because I hadn't brought enough Euros with me) and we had a wander around the streets and parks.

The old and the new...


This is one of the more amusing buildings in central Frankfurt...

One of the many statues in Frankfurt, but unlike the others, this one really caught my attention and I simply could not stop looking at it. I later translated the engraving on it "Den Opfern", it means Sacrifice.

Euros in hand we returned to the pedestrian and shopping district (same place we had brunch) which was crowded with people. There were stalls selling all sorts of things everywhere; food stalls selling all sorts of food, from hot dogs to crepes, stalls selling handicrafts from dreamcatchers to wood carved garden dwarfs and there was also fresh produce stalls selling fruit & veg, cheese, meat and wine in an outdoor market. The bustle of the crowds in the markets, the sound of chinking glasses the chatter of friends and the delicious smells was truly a lovely experience.

We continued walking towards the Main river and met with 2 guys and a girl (no pizza place) who were enjoying the sun and skating around. At least the guys were trying to teach the girl to roller blade. They were friendly and fun and even requested to have their picture taken with D after which their grins stretched from ear to ear. It was a picturesque walk along the river with St. Leonhardskirche church across from us and the Eiserner Steg bridge in the distance. We crossed over to the other side and walked on past all these older style houses which were home to some mix of galleries and museums...there must have been 4 or 5 of them in a row. We then said good bye, stopped in at a bar/cafe for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel. It was truly a lovely day out.

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2 in a row

I was the envy of all my friends...i had 2 Bangkoks in a row and on the first the crew was deadheading back (for those who dont know, it means that we were like passengers while another crew worked) - how cool and lucky is that??

The first thing that struck me when i went outside was the smell (and im not trying to be rude here). It was a mix of humid air, hot food, spices, seafood, incense, unusual but you get used to it. I have to say this, for me the first thing i notice about a place is the smell, and that sense is so strong it can bring back memories you havent recalled in so long in perfect detail. Oh and yes, for those curious, Sydney does have a smell too. Anyway im getting side tracked.

What i think is beautiful about this place (and no its not the shopping believe it or not) is its contrast (and the tuk-tuks and motor bike 'taxis'). You have the temples dotted throughout the city very intricate and culture rich, housing such a unique way of life for those of the faith and then you have the bustle and crowds of the city, the people from the fashion savvy younger generation to the quieter more wisend older generation. The mix of poverty against new developments, the contrast of a polluted river, run down houses and streets with the sparkling shopping centres.

So here are some photos of my wandering around BKK over the two trips there.

The Golden Buddha is located at Wat Traimit. The temple itself is more modest than others you can visit but the story behind this Buddha image is what is interesting - made between the 13-15th century it was concealed and only discovered to be made from gold due to an accident in the 50's!... that and the fact that the solid gold image weighs in at 5.5 tonnes (If you want the full story check out this article). A very cheap 20BHT for entry (though no one checked for tickets) and plenty to see.






One spot which i was more than happy to spend hours upon hours was Wat Srakes where i climbed The Golden Mount and and explored the grounds including the temple and the monastary library. The climb to the top is some 300 steps but its quite easy and the views are great especially at the top, you can go to the very top but they had blocked it off the day i was there. Still, i managed to get some great pics from my wandering around. It took 3 reigns for the mount to be fully constructed and the holy relics of Buddha (Siddharth Gotama) were enshrined at the top on May 23rd 1899.
This is a shot of the top of the Golden Mount taken from the grounds of the temple.

This is of the Buddha image inside the temple. The surrounding walls are very detailed especially the panels between the windows which are painted with scenes from the life of Buddha. It never fails to amaze me the amount of detail and work that goes int these illustrations.
The Monastary Library, I took a quick peek inside, i couldnt resist. Books everywhere, lots of prints for distribution, monks in white and other people going about their business, hardly anyone noticed i was there, i wanted to stay and flip through a few things but a) almost everything was in Thai and b) i felt like i was intruding. There was this one monk in white sitting by a table and she had her eyes on me the whole time, not in a what-do-you-think-your-doing-here way but in a very sweet interested and i-know-something-you-dont mischevoius way if that makes sense. I was just as interested in her and smiled at her before creeping out the back.

Lastly some photos from my wanderings. The first is one of my favourite photos - looks really professional doesnt it?






This last photo was taken as it started to rain lightly. It took me a few moments to notice that it had and i hadnt seen or felt rain for at least 2 months, the realisation bought a smile to my face and i welcomed the change in weather and instead of trying to avoid it, i enjoyed the feel of it on my skin, trust me, after being in the sand pit for a while with nothing but sun and heat, rain is a blessing :)
VP

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London Layover

London, London, London...And lots of pics :)
London is beautiful! I loved it. The first day was spent at Notting Hill Carnival (the color!!) and then visiting and riding the the London Eye. The second day was spent in true tourist style onboard the Big Bus Tour taking lots and lots of photos. I couldn't believe I was there and still cant, even with the photos to remind me. But instead of going on and on about it...here are the photos. Hope you like 'em.

Notting Hill Carnival.
Unfortunately I lost my friend during our wandering around and then couldn't find a train station that was open and got squashed in a crowd twice (not fun and a little scary but hey chalk it upto experience and no harm done). Aside from that the color and the music, the energy, dancing and excitement was truly contagious. Definitely worth seeing.

The London Eye.
Dinner and catching up with an Aussie friend whose been living in the UK for the past 7 months at the Giraffe nearby followed by a 135metre high breathtaking view of London at night from the London Eye.

A view of the London Eye, the river Thames and parliament House.

Me inside one of the London Eye "Pods".

One of the views (north).

A birds eye view of parliament House at night (south).

St. Pauls Cathedral (north).

Me and the Eye.












Day 2 and the Big Bus tour.
A few scenes from around London, as many as my camera could capture. It wasn't an easy task as the bus was quite fast and although I had the option of hopping off and taking my time and hopping back on another bus my time was limited as I was flying back that afternoon. But it was wonderful being up on the double decker bus, in the fresh air and beautiful weather and for that moment in time I could have said I was in a dream seeing all the sites of London pass by.
The National Gallery on the left with St Martin-in-the-fields on the right.

Nelsons Statue in the middle of Trafalgar Square with the ever present crane, the National Gallery in the background and of course those double decker buses and some other tourists enjoying the (I am told) rare pleasant weather of London just like me.

The top part of St Pauls facade and as you can see it is undergoing some sort of work - construction, repairs or maintenance I'm not sure which.


The Royal Exchange with the statue of the Duke of Wellington.

The Tower Bridge which people (me included *blush*) often mistaken for the London Bridge. Its nearly 300 stairs to the top if your interested in climbing up...

The Tower of London. Home to the flightless ravens...the story goes that if the ravens ever were to leave the tower then London would fall...so naturally they've had their wings clipped. :)


The city of London is not without its guards...this is one of the guards you'll find as you are leaving. There is a whole ceremony the queen has to go through to enter the city, (I'm not entirely sure about this but I will check up on it and edit later) the mayor is called to the front gates to escort and protect her with his sword, without his permission she cannot enter, its a tradition that has been kept though it is not really necessary now.

On taking a little cruise down the river Thames I spotted something that really tickled my interest...an unusual place for a pub but there's just something about it that I like.

For the love of Shakespeare!!! Those who know me, know I love classical literature and my love of everything Shakespeare is something I cannot explain. Here is one place I definitely will be checking out. The International Shakespeare Globe Centre.







And so my first taste of London was delicious... I understand why people love it so much. I cant wait to do more exploring. Hopefully I didn't overload anyone with so many photos - and trust me I took much, much more but it would be ridiculous to put them all here.
VP

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