The Camel Diaries: January 2009

Return to Oxford

Ten years ago when I was a backpacker in the UK on my first overseas trip I went to visit my friend who was living in Oxford. I stayed for a couple of months, doing temp work and trying to absorb the Oxford lifestyle as much as I could. Thus when I was accepted to attend a workshop in Oxford in January this year, I was pretty excited to go back. The workshop itself ws pretty full on but I did have a day before it started to wander around and have a look. Oxford is not only beautiful but also has amazing stories to tell at every corner! Anyway, here are a few of the sights:

Martyrs Memorial
Student Transport

Always look up...

The Bridge of Sighs

Looking down a street

Christchurch College

Sahara Gal

24 Hours in Trieste

After Slovenia, I went back to London with my friends who live there. To fly out we had to get a plane from Trieste which is in north-east Italy. Not only is it famous for one of the most inclusive and supportive public mental health systems, it also is the gateway for the coffee arriving into Italy. And I must say, it was damn fine coffee...

Sights of Trieste

Sahara Gal

Snow in Slovenia

The next stop on my little European jaunt was Lake Bled in Slovenia. Neither words or pictures can do justice to how beautiful this place is. I would recommend that you get on the plane now - why wait to visit!!

Once again, it was bloody cold (-10deg or so) but quite frankly it just didn't matter. We were lucky enough to have a couple of beautiful days where we could see for miles. Lake Bled is relatively small and you can walk around it in a couple of hours if you don't stop to exclaim how beautiful it is every 100m. We took a boat out to Bled Island which has a beautiful church at it's apex and in which you can ring the church bell for luck. After the boat ride, I recommend a hearty Slovenian lunch (I had goulash) and a cleansing ale.

View from our hotel

Walking around Lake Bled

Looking out to Bled Island

Boats to take tourists out to the island

On the boat

Steps up to Bled Island

Looking up to Bled Castle

View from Bled Castle (Township of Bled)

Catching the train out of Bled

Sahara Gal

New Year in Melk

The Desert Rat and I spent a wonderful family Christmas in Bangor (Northern Ireland) after which, he had to return back to Tripoli for work. I was enrolled in a course in early January in the UK so decided to extend my Christmas break and meet up with friends in Europe.

So for New Years, while the Rat slogged away in the office, I spent a lovely day or so in Melk (see previous blog entry 'A return to Vienna'). It was a bit colder this time - thank goodness for thermals! Thus I spent New Years Eve enjoying an Degustastion Menu which included some fine contemporary Austrian cuisine with matching wines. We heralded the New Year in by waltzing in the square and watching fireworks over the Danube. A great night was had by all!

Remember this!

You know it's cold when the swans can walk on the ice on the water....

Degustation Dinner: Don't ask me what everything was - the menu was in German but it was all very tasty!!

(Woops - ate the soup before I remembered to take a photo)

Sahara Gal

A Weekend in Prague

After returning from Australia, we headed off again to explore a little more of Europe. This time we met up with the Desert Rat's sister, her husband and their son in Prague. We loved this amazing city and were already discussing what we'll do when we come back some time. Here are some images from our weekend in Prague...

Wenceslas Square

One of the many trams in the city