London
We started our trip by landing in London. We had a whirlwind first day while trying to stay awake from the journey. We have both been to London before but never together. It was fun to do a self-guided walking tour of the city and re-visit some highlights including Buckingham Palace, the South Bank and Westminster Abbey. There was certainly an extra excitement in the air given the pending royal wedding. After lunch at the Covent Garden Market of Fish and Chips for Chad and a Mushroom Pie for Ashley, we continued our stroll.
We ended up coming across the theater where Wicked was being performed. After checking for tickets, we were able to get some (much to Chad's dismay) for that night's showing. It was nice to see a live show to round out the day in London.
Kolsch
The next morning we woke early to grab a flight to Cologne. We were greeted at the airport by Seppo, a friend we met (and have not seen since) in India in 2013. We were welcomed with a homemade sign with our names on it!
We headed to his flat after grabbing lunch in a beautiful square in the middle of town. Chad and him shared a "pork knuckle" while I had my first serving of schnitzel. After catching up we went out with some of his friends for one of their birthdays. We were introduced to Kolsch, a local Cologne beer served in a small glass and served continuously unless you indicate you want them to stop by placing a coaster over your drink.
The next two days were spent on bicycle exploring various parts of the city. We were so lucky with the weather and enjoyed hours sitting by the Rhine.
We were reminded throughout our visit how wise Seppo is beyond his years. It was truly a pleasure to share hours of conversation with him throughout our visit.
Moin Moin
The next phase of the trip reunited us with Chad's cousin, Nicole and her partner Christolf. We took the train and met them in Hannover from where we drove to a small village called Wernigerode in the Harz region. It was a beautiful little town with a castle overlooking it. After leaving this cute little village we drove back to Hamburg where they live.
We spent the evening catching up over charcuterie on their roof top patio.
The next day we explored Hamburg, by canoe! As it turns out, Hamburg has a huge canal system and we rented a four person canoe to check them out. What a highlight and a great way to see the city!
After another beautiful was evening spent on the rooftop sharing a meal including white asparagus (apparently a German obsession this time of year - you peel it by the way!), we headed to bed for an early morning flight back to England.
Alright
The third and final leg of our trip took us back to England to reunite with our friend Dean. We met Dean in New Zealand many years ago. We were reunited last in 2012 when he visited us in Kingston.
Right away we were all back to our back and forth banter while creating enough inside jokes to last us a lifetime.
We immediately drove to the Yorkshire Dales national park in which his parents live on a working sheep farm in Deep Dale. Their place is truly set in a fairy tale as their old stone house from generations past is perched on their hilltop farm overlooking the valley below where their sheep graze.
The first day we walked to Rowan Tree lookout to take in the view of their dale and met his mother, Judee, father, Robert and brother, Liam. All incredible people with huge warm hearts that made for hours of great conversation over the length of our stay.
Over the next few days we climbed the highest peak in England (Scafell Pike), checked out the lake district, sampled famous Grasmere gingerbread, explored and walked Hadrian's wall, ventured into the town of Dent, climbed 2/3 Yorkshire Peaks (Ingelborough and Whernside) and were treated to a night out at the local pubs with the whole family.
Our last day we drove back to Dean's place in Southampton from where we spent a day in nearby Winchester before saying goodbye.
Round-up
We have never before done a trip that takes us from place to place to be hosted by friends and family. It was great to have locals show us where they live and it was clear that they each also enjoyed being tourists as well. We cannot say enough about how big our hearts are for the love and attention we were shown. It is so special to stay in touch with friends met while we explore the world and then get to explore their world with them.
