Why London ?

It's funny. I often get asked why, as a kiwi, and lived in Australia for years, I want to live in London. 

I will always be grateful being brought up in New Zealand, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. One of the most friendly countries in the world and  a place which encompasses its history in all ways possible. 

NZ is one of the most advanced, both technologically and forward thinking, countries in the world. Where women first got to vote, where our indigenous culture and European settlers have embraced changes and each other's history. Where earth meets land and sea. A country filled with a national pride and an election can be decided on the national rugby team winning or losing a World Cup. This is who I am. 

Unfortunately, it is also remote. Yes, NZ has everything Europe does geographically- the mountains, the beaches, the natural beauty and the friendly towns and villages of Europe. 

What it hasn't got, and which I crave, is the history. It hasn't got the thousands of years of history from the first people to build a house, a wooden fort to a stone castle. It hasn't got the stories from ancient lore which have been passed down through the generations. 

It doesn't have the cobbled streets which millions upon millions of people have walked. It hasn't got the rooms or theatres Shakespeare wrote his plays in, or Michaelangelo painted in, or Da Vinci created his masterpieces in. It doesn't have the seas the Spanish Armada or vikings crossed to try to conquer our ancestors, or the mountains, beaches or fields our forefathers fought for our liberty on.  

To see and understand the world we live in, I believe we must experience it. As a New Zealander, and then to live in Australia freely and without worry, I believe to really experience any kind of form of understanding of the world, to be able to understand where people's ideas and ideals of the world, first we must live in part of this world. NZ, and to some extent, Australia, are isolated nations. Yes they have been victims of horrific crimes over the years. Some of the worst things possible have happened in both countries. And they have learned from these and implemented new laws because of them. 

But for me, living in London is to embrace new cultures, new ways of life and being more open to changes around these. I don't regret a day of moving back to this country. Travelling the world is something I've wanted to do since a young age. Experiencing different cultures and meeting people from such different backgrounds is as important to me to understand our history and ways of life as a cup of coffee is on a Monday morning. There is more to the world than my back yard and the why the price of my coffee has gone up. It's to understand why the price of my coffee has gone up. It's to walk the steps of the people who have walked before me, and to understand the choices they made, the times and conditions they lived through. To be able to appreciate what we have now, and to understand what we need to leave behind for the generations to follow us. 

Christmas in Prague

It’s been such a long time since I posted anything, I feel like I could write a novel. But I won’t. What I will do, is tell you all about our Christmas. Prague, Czech Republic, was the most amazing place to spend our 2016 Christmas. We escaped the cold of London, to the same cold, just in a different country. One we’d never been to before, and a city we have had on our bucket list for what feels like forever.
After being delayed leaving London by nearly five hours, we arrived in Prague quite late at night. Although the flight delay was annoying, being driven into Prague late at night with quiet streets was simply magical. I’m sure our driver took us a longer way so we could get the full impact of the city at night. I wasn’t however prepared for just how beautiful it is. Coming over the bridge one below the Charles Bridge and looking back over at That Bridge, and That Palace on the hill, was the most exquisite sight in the world.
I fell in love immediately, and this was just the introduction. The rest of the four days would be spent oohing and aahing over the city’s many buildings and landmarks as well. But this introduction to Prague (Praha in local speak), well, I don’t think I will ever get anything quite like it again.

The city isn’t vast and is walkable. There are some large hills, which you can climb to get up to the Tower (a smaller replica of the Eiffel tower) and the palace or you can get the funicular up to the top.

Christmas isn’t celebrated the same time as we do it back home. The typical European Christmas tends to be celebrated on Christmas Eve. We were very lucky to have been aware of this before leaving, as we were able to book a couple of restaurants for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And since it was Christmas, we thought we should spoil ourselves too.

The tower

Wandering around the city on Christmas Eve morning wasn’t too bad. Most of the shops were closed, but some didn’t end up closing til 11am, so staff could go home and spend their Christmas with family. This led to not being able to do a lot, but also meant we could wander the city and enjoy it. You'd think being Christmas the city would have been quiet, but it really wasn't. And as we were to find out later, Prague is a popular destination for visitors at this time of the year. We weren't too fussed though. The city with or without people is magical. And doesn't matter what time you're there, there's so much character. And history.

Tony and I stayed at the Charles Bridge Palace Hotel. This was lovely, however we think we may have had the worst room in the hotel. On all accounts the hotel had amazing reviews on Trip Advisor, but after logging on to rate it on Trip Advisor post-trip there were comments on the room we had which didn't bode well. If only I'd seen these prior. We were hardly in our room, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. So it does pay to read the reviews before booking.

The hotel is very central and as the name suggests, is not far at all from the Charles Bridge. Being so central to everything we were able to get some serious step counts up. By walking so much we definitely earned our meals. The first of the great places we went to, for dinner on Christmas Eve day was La Finestra. What an introduction to the food on offer in Prague. Although this was Italian fare, the staff and the food were fabulous. So the four of us (we spent Christmas with Jayne and Ian McDonald) tucked into some seriously amazing food and wine. I think part of the trip ended up being about the food. And why not, it was Christmas after all.
This really was a great way to spend our Christmas Eve. We then managed to walk around having a look at the markets and also managed to get to Wenceslas Square, which I had promised my mother I would do.  We also did a classical concert in one of the old halls, which was beautiful. There seriously isn't anything about this city which doesn't blow the senses away.

Old Town markets

Wenceslas Square

Christmas Day was another day with Ian and Jayne wandering the city, doing a little bit of sightseeing. Heading up the hill to the palace via the funicular and went into the tower and also a maze of mirrors. if the palace looks large from a distance, then seeing it up close is ridiculously huge. I get the size of palaces back then needed to be large to accommodate the staff and entourage, but was also a show of wealth and power. This palace is a small town in itself.

 Our Christmas night dinner was spent at an amazing restaurant I had managed to find on the internet. reviews were good, so we thought we'd give it a try, and we certainly weren't disappointed. U Modre Kachnicky II was an experience I would do again and again. Yet again, the Czech people impressed. This place was a more traditional food and we were very impressed with the dishes and the quality of food. Even the restaurant itself was very kitsch, yet welcoming. walking through the curtains which blocked the view from the entrance, you felt like you were in a bar from the 20s.

Dinner topped off with a great Irish Coffee

This city, just kept giving and giving. From the old cars which did the tours of the city to the Jewish quarter and cemetery, to the Kafka memorial and the John Lennon wall, Prague has everything you need and want in a city. We are definitely keen to go back, maybe to see it in the springtime. If you ever get a chance to get there, definitely don't miss out on the Trdelnik.

         

The Czech certainly have a sense of humour