Nottingham

Highlights

Reunited with Simons friend from Uni (and Olympic athlete) Sarah, her husband (and canoe gold medalist Tim) and their baby Stewie (to be Olympic athlete?)

Caught up and saw Tims gold medal in person

Went on a walk through the shire and hills of the picturesque English countryside in the Peak District

Ate a classic "pub lunch" roast beef, yorkies, potatoes, veggies and gravy! Mmm

Napped in the park in the hammock

Sipped on the most delicious hot chocolate

Saw the Robin Hood statue (where th legend took place) and the oldest inn in England (1100s)

Made our way to Paris to catch our flight back home to Ottawa

 

 

 

 

London

Highlights

Reunited with my good friend Alex and her boyfriend in their flat in east London

Called in a domestic dispute on the crazy neighbour next door

Borrowed their bikes and rode around the city on the wrong side of the road (very stressful!)

Saw the tower bridge, the tower castle, the London eye, the millennium bridge

Laughed at the funny taxis, double decker buses, and telephone booths

Cringed at all the expensive prices which were double of those in Canada

Went on a classic Friday night pub crawl and ate British pub delicacies (fish n chips!)

Sussed out a cute local outdoor food and craft market

Visited a trendy cargo box store park

Rode the tube

Ate a classic English brekky, drank English tea and rode the tube

 

Berlin

Highlights

Visited checkpoint Charlie and learned about Cold War history, Berlin and the iron curtain

Saw the Berlin Wall (both painted and original), the tv tower and went to the Nazi terror museum

Rented bikes and explored the city and riverside on two wheels
Visited the Reichstag building, the Brandenburg gate and the holocaust memorial

 

 

Kraków

Highlights

Endured crazy Russian music and was offered liquor at 10am on our 11 hour bus trip from Prague to Kraków 

Payed tribute to the victims of Auschwitz and learned about the Jewish concentration camps, gas chambers and victims in utter disbelief

Saw room with hundreds of pounds of hair shaved off victims to sell to textile manufacturers

Saw the human scratch marks on the first gas chamber, the horrible living conditions and torture and murder areas

Visited the oldest salt mine in the world on a lighter note after auschwitz-over 300km of underground passages

Explored 3 underground salt chapels carved entirely out of salt crystal

Wandered around trendy and cheap Kraków including the main square, the river and the Jewish quarter 

Ate peroggies and bought babuska dolls

Admired the beautiful horses that passed by towing their carriages