Travel Diary 29. August - 4. September
August 29th, 2008
Dear Diary,
It isn't fun getting up at two o'clock in the morning, but at least driving to Vienna is easy - nobody on the road except for us, something unusual nowadays…
We get a rather British breakfast for preparing ourselves to the food there *haha*, sadly Harry beats me again in chess…
Bristol was a short stay, but lovely, especially the Royal Pavilion and the Bristol Pier.
At Portsmouth I saw the HMS Victory and I could see a ship of the time of King Henry VIII, Mary Rose.
Our bus isn't a British one, but one from Austria which makes it not easier for us to get out or for the bus driver to drive, but it is funny how the people keep starring at us… we once would have even been driving on the wrong side.
We arrive at Southampton late at night…
August 30th, 2008
Dear Diary,
Harry and I got up early to go to the nearby park of our hotel, where we even find a sculpture of a Mr. Richard Andrews - I guess he isn't related to the Andrews Family of Comber.
But it is lovely to have been at the place where the greatest ship of all time went on its first and only voyage, Titanic. Thomas Andrews, the shipbuilder, had spent his last night on British ground at Southampton too; I still find it rather hard that he did die - while his baby daughter waited for his return in Belfast.
I always have a photograph of him with me, and while we leave for Salisbury, I listen to the song "Have you ever seen the rain" - well, and it was raining.
It was our second time that we have been to Salisbury and the Cathedral, so Harry and I didn't stay long, just to have a look at the copy of Magna Charta and later we bought a poster of it.
Then we went shopping… I suddenly stopped and had a close look at a poster; Dudley Moore and Peter Cook were on it. I took two photographs and then we went back to the bus.
While we were slowly driving, we passed an Oxfam shop and I suddenly saw a book of Jeremy Brett… it was too late to say "Stop!" *cry* - I had missed it because I had gone the wrong street… well; I blamed the poster of Dudley that I had gone the other way…
Stonehenge - this time even more people then the last time, but it is always nice to be there, though I think that one should be allowed to be close to the stones… a team was digging close to the stones, maybe they find something new.
Exeter - Cathedral, really one of the most greatest I have ever seen… they were filming, a German Production, probably another Rosamunde Pichler film… I don't quite understand that nobody seems to know her in Cornwall, though her books are just about it and the romantic life.
I went to a bookshop, I saw a book about comedy and on the cover was John Cleese, later we had Cornish Cream Tea - how much I missed that.
August 31st, 2008
Dear Diary,
My father has told me that the Guardian contains a CD with John Cleese, but after asking at the hotel reception if I could have the CD they told me to buy a copy at the petrol station - sadly, they had no Guardian.. I tried to find one the entire day, I was sad and desperate when I got back and didn't have the CD in my hands… *cry*
At the morning they showed "funny news bloopers" at the BBC News, one moderator had said that it had 232° at Windsor - well, pretty hot…
Eden Project - it didn't look tempting to me years ago, I quite enjoyed it, funny conversation at the shop when my dad tried to buy batteries, but again acted as if he couldn't speak English at all… Harry bought himself apple juice, he has problems with his stomach and I fear the worst, but after drinking he feels better.
When I was in Cornwall, my parents had to call the ambulance because I had an allergic reaction and stopped breathing - but that is now many years ago and I luckily never had such a problem again. While my brother needs more care for his body!
Lanhydrock House - a really beautiful manor, I guess at night it would really be filled by ghosts, it's pretty spooky and so huge. The garden and the little church are so wonderful, I would like to stay here for a few days… but surely not more, that someone lived there for generations is just unbelievable, the house is so cold as if no live had ever existed there for longer than a few hours.
Polperro - Cornish Cream Tea, the second… the man who works at the bakery got over-excited when hearing that we would be from Austria. He just spoke of places where they had filmed James Bond; I guess he is a fan. Many others follow, they seemed to have called themselves… most ask if we like the snow and if we have a lot. They are pretty disappointed when we tell them that Austria might be small, but still big enough that we live not near the places they like to hear about.
September 1st, 2008
Dear Diary
The fire alarm started at half past one… horrible drunken Indians have a lot of fun because they have operated the bottom which gave the signal for it, some people are rushing down with nothing on but a few clothes… some forget their cards for getting back into their rooms. It is a horrible mess and they continue laughing…
The hotel promises us free drinks for dinner, but who gives us back the sleep we have missed for two nights, because last night they just couldn't stop being noisy.
And sadly, Harry and I had gone to bed late because I wanted to watch Fiona's Story with Jeremy Northam - I guess Harry is surprised about the variety of productions, I also watched an episode of Tudors with Jeremy as Sir Thomas Moore.
St. Michael's Mount and Penzance - I have found myself a book with a short article about Peter Cook and Spike Milligan and Miss Potter DVD at the Heart Foundation shop.
Land's End - it is stormy, cold and it just rains and rains… but I remember the place when it was so hot that I was sweating wet - strange how the weather has changed, but the place seems still the same. I try to have a hot chocolate, but even that is something that the British can't make properly.
St.Ives - the rest of the family tries to eat a Pasty, but I tried a hot dog, but it is not eatable and I try to find a good bakery. The church looks still the same, so beautiful, but sadly we have no time to go the Tate museum... *cry* - I wanted to show it to my brother, who hadn't been here yet.
I found myself a signed copy of Richard Attenborough… *cool*
September 2nd, 2008
Dear Diary
The weather got better. Magnificent landscape. Dartmoor looks like as great as I have always imagined it, somehow it reminds me of my stay in Scotland. I buy myself a postcard where a Sherlock Holmes doll is on it and a newspaper where it says that girls are missing since days and probably are wandering in the moors.
Glastonbury - I had waited for years but it wasn't quite what I had expected. It was have looked great years ago, now you can see that most parts are from a later age and have been included to make the building look better for tourists.
Wells - Harry and I are over-excited to see the places where they shot scenes of Hot Fuzz.
I buy myself a biography of Spike Milligan by his manager and long friend, Norma Farnes, and a biography of Laurence Olivier. I started reading Spike ones and soon was so delighted that I couldn't stop laying it out of my hands for a second - I give my camera to my brother who disappears and I sit for hours and read… never had so much fun in my life reading a book - the next morning, I have finished it.
Cheddar - a short stay, we find another Austrian tourist, who drives with his own little mini-bus - extraordinary that he made this long journey just to buy cheese.
September 3rd, 2008
Dear Diary,
An Austenish Day - first we visit Bath, after seeing the Cathedral again we go to the Jane Austen Museum and are the first there…
Second place we visit is Stourhead Garden, where they shot scenes of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen. It is really the most wonderful place I have seen for years - would have loved to stay forever and explore every inch of it.
At the shop of the National Trust, I find another book of Spike Milligan…
Later we watch an episode of Lost in Austen, Harry likes the series so much that he says that I have to send him the DVD when I am in England.
September 4th, 2008
Dear Diary,
The horse of Cherhill and the stone circle of Avebury.
Yesterday I saw the SS. Great Britain from Mr. Brunel, amazing… I would have loved to see the Great Eastern, but it is lost forever, which is really a tragedy.
Oxford - a really huge place, last time I have been I was so frightened by the groups of tourists, this time nobody seems to be there, probably because of the poor weather.
I buy myself the Bible according to Spike Milligan and a biography of Peter Cook, I had actually been looking for one about Dudley, but nobody in England seems to sell one.
Peter is the star here! I took the one which had the most pictures of Dudley in it... it sounds cruel, but I don't like Peter that much, though the Pythons seemed to adore him - especially John Cleese.
London - Heathrow Terminal 2
I have a bad feeling, last time I had to leave the building which was a horrible experience for me, I was totally on my own and nobody told us what was going on.
A Vanilla Shake calms me down, and I think of my home… I have missed my cat so much and the fact that I will not see her for a long time when I have to leave again makes me miserable. It is the first time that I do not cry while sitting in the airplane, leaving England, but I am happy to go home.
The first thing is looking through the mail, cuddling my cat and then going online to see Paul on MSN whom I have also missed a lot.. he probably got nerved by my short text messages.
Dear Diary,
It isn't fun getting up at two o'clock in the morning, but at least driving to Vienna is easy - nobody on the road except for us, something unusual nowadays…
We get a rather British breakfast for preparing ourselves to the food there *haha*, sadly Harry beats me again in chess…
Bristol was a short stay, but lovely, especially the Royal Pavilion and the Bristol Pier.
At Portsmouth I saw the HMS Victory and I could see a ship of the time of King Henry VIII, Mary Rose.
Our bus isn't a British one, but one from Austria which makes it not easier for us to get out or for the bus driver to drive, but it is funny how the people keep starring at us… we once would have even been driving on the wrong side.
We arrive at Southampton late at night…
August 30th, 2008
Dear Diary,
Harry and I got up early to go to the nearby park of our hotel, where we even find a sculpture of a Mr. Richard Andrews - I guess he isn't related to the Andrews Family of Comber.
But it is lovely to have been at the place where the greatest ship of all time went on its first and only voyage, Titanic. Thomas Andrews, the shipbuilder, had spent his last night on British ground at Southampton too; I still find it rather hard that he did die - while his baby daughter waited for his return in Belfast.
I always have a photograph of him with me, and while we leave for Salisbury, I listen to the song "Have you ever seen the rain" - well, and it was raining.
It was our second time that we have been to Salisbury and the Cathedral, so Harry and I didn't stay long, just to have a look at the copy of Magna Charta and later we bought a poster of it.
Then we went shopping… I suddenly stopped and had a close look at a poster; Dudley Moore and Peter Cook were on it. I took two photographs and then we went back to the bus.
While we were slowly driving, we passed an Oxfam shop and I suddenly saw a book of Jeremy Brett… it was too late to say "Stop!" *cry* - I had missed it because I had gone the wrong street… well; I blamed the poster of Dudley that I had gone the other way…
Stonehenge - this time even more people then the last time, but it is always nice to be there, though I think that one should be allowed to be close to the stones… a team was digging close to the stones, maybe they find something new.
Exeter - Cathedral, really one of the most greatest I have ever seen… they were filming, a German Production, probably another Rosamunde Pichler film… I don't quite understand that nobody seems to know her in Cornwall, though her books are just about it and the romantic life.
I went to a bookshop, I saw a book about comedy and on the cover was John Cleese, later we had Cornish Cream Tea - how much I missed that.
August 31st, 2008
Dear Diary,
My father has told me that the Guardian contains a CD with John Cleese, but after asking at the hotel reception if I could have the CD they told me to buy a copy at the petrol station - sadly, they had no Guardian.. I tried to find one the entire day, I was sad and desperate when I got back and didn't have the CD in my hands… *cry*
At the morning they showed "funny news bloopers" at the BBC News, one moderator had said that it had 232° at Windsor - well, pretty hot…
Eden Project - it didn't look tempting to me years ago, I quite enjoyed it, funny conversation at the shop when my dad tried to buy batteries, but again acted as if he couldn't speak English at all… Harry bought himself apple juice, he has problems with his stomach and I fear the worst, but after drinking he feels better.
When I was in Cornwall, my parents had to call the ambulance because I had an allergic reaction and stopped breathing - but that is now many years ago and I luckily never had such a problem again. While my brother needs more care for his body!
Lanhydrock House - a really beautiful manor, I guess at night it would really be filled by ghosts, it's pretty spooky and so huge. The garden and the little church are so wonderful, I would like to stay here for a few days… but surely not more, that someone lived there for generations is just unbelievable, the house is so cold as if no live had ever existed there for longer than a few hours.
Polperro - Cornish Cream Tea, the second… the man who works at the bakery got over-excited when hearing that we would be from Austria. He just spoke of places where they had filmed James Bond; I guess he is a fan. Many others follow, they seemed to have called themselves… most ask if we like the snow and if we have a lot. They are pretty disappointed when we tell them that Austria might be small, but still big enough that we live not near the places they like to hear about.
September 1st, 2008
Dear Diary
The fire alarm started at half past one… horrible drunken Indians have a lot of fun because they have operated the bottom which gave the signal for it, some people are rushing down with nothing on but a few clothes… some forget their cards for getting back into their rooms. It is a horrible mess and they continue laughing…
The hotel promises us free drinks for dinner, but who gives us back the sleep we have missed for two nights, because last night they just couldn't stop being noisy.
And sadly, Harry and I had gone to bed late because I wanted to watch Fiona's Story with Jeremy Northam - I guess Harry is surprised about the variety of productions, I also watched an episode of Tudors with Jeremy as Sir Thomas Moore.
St. Michael's Mount and Penzance - I have found myself a book with a short article about Peter Cook and Spike Milligan and Miss Potter DVD at the Heart Foundation shop.
Land's End - it is stormy, cold and it just rains and rains… but I remember the place when it was so hot that I was sweating wet - strange how the weather has changed, but the place seems still the same. I try to have a hot chocolate, but even that is something that the British can't make properly.
St.Ives - the rest of the family tries to eat a Pasty, but I tried a hot dog, but it is not eatable and I try to find a good bakery. The church looks still the same, so beautiful, but sadly we have no time to go the Tate museum... *cry* - I wanted to show it to my brother, who hadn't been here yet.
I found myself a signed copy of Richard Attenborough… *cool*
September 2nd, 2008
Dear Diary
The weather got better. Magnificent landscape. Dartmoor looks like as great as I have always imagined it, somehow it reminds me of my stay in Scotland. I buy myself a postcard where a Sherlock Holmes doll is on it and a newspaper where it says that girls are missing since days and probably are wandering in the moors.
Glastonbury - I had waited for years but it wasn't quite what I had expected. It was have looked great years ago, now you can see that most parts are from a later age and have been included to make the building look better for tourists.
Wells - Harry and I are over-excited to see the places where they shot scenes of Hot Fuzz.
I buy myself a biography of Spike Milligan by his manager and long friend, Norma Farnes, and a biography of Laurence Olivier. I started reading Spike ones and soon was so delighted that I couldn't stop laying it out of my hands for a second - I give my camera to my brother who disappears and I sit for hours and read… never had so much fun in my life reading a book - the next morning, I have finished it.
Cheddar - a short stay, we find another Austrian tourist, who drives with his own little mini-bus - extraordinary that he made this long journey just to buy cheese.
September 3rd, 2008
Dear Diary,
An Austenish Day - first we visit Bath, after seeing the Cathedral again we go to the Jane Austen Museum and are the first there…
Second place we visit is Stourhead Garden, where they shot scenes of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen. It is really the most wonderful place I have seen for years - would have loved to stay forever and explore every inch of it.
At the shop of the National Trust, I find another book of Spike Milligan…
Later we watch an episode of Lost in Austen, Harry likes the series so much that he says that I have to send him the DVD when I am in England.
September 4th, 2008
Dear Diary,
The horse of Cherhill and the stone circle of Avebury.
Yesterday I saw the SS. Great Britain from Mr. Brunel, amazing… I would have loved to see the Great Eastern, but it is lost forever, which is really a tragedy.
Oxford - a really huge place, last time I have been I was so frightened by the groups of tourists, this time nobody seems to be there, probably because of the poor weather.
I buy myself the Bible according to Spike Milligan and a biography of Peter Cook, I had actually been looking for one about Dudley, but nobody in England seems to sell one.
Peter is the star here! I took the one which had the most pictures of Dudley in it... it sounds cruel, but I don't like Peter that much, though the Pythons seemed to adore him - especially John Cleese.
London - Heathrow Terminal 2
I have a bad feeling, last time I had to leave the building which was a horrible experience for me, I was totally on my own and nobody told us what was going on.
A Vanilla Shake calms me down, and I think of my home… I have missed my cat so much and the fact that I will not see her for a long time when I have to leave again makes me miserable. It is the first time that I do not cry while sitting in the airplane, leaving England, but I am happy to go home.
The first thing is looking through the mail, cuddling my cat and then going online to see Paul on MSN whom I have also missed a lot.. he probably got nerved by my short text messages.