When in the UK ... a little parkrun tourism!

We participated in a few parkruns while in the UK. 

Wormwood Scrubs

We started our parkrun tourism on 16 August at Wormwood Scrubs parkrun, which happens to be on the field behind the regional jail! Thankfully we didn't realise it at the time. It was just me who ran - Tony has a foot injury so he and the kids took on the role of cheer squad. The run was a two lap course around an oval, completely on grass. It was quite a different feeling running on grass. Time was nothing special but it was a great atmosphere with only 45 runners. The kids managed to get involved, as they often do, sorting barcodes. We joined the group for coffee in the clubrooms afterwards and met some great people and loved sharing parkrun stories. 

Sorting barcodes at Wormwood Scrubs

#DFYB at Wimbledon!

There are several junior parkruns in the UK, where the kids run a 2km course on their own. The format is exactly the same as parkrun, with all kids needing to be registered and receiving a token as they finish. On the Sunday morning, we headed to Wimbledon Park for the kids to have a go. All three ran - the first parkrun for Sophie so she was very excited! They all did a great run and had huge smiles on their faces!

Sophie and Lach at Wimbledon Park

235 tokens!

Saturday 23 August saw us over in Bristol on the west coast of England. We chose to run at Ashton Court, which must rate as one of the most difficult courses in England! The first 2.5km is uphill .... the second 2.5km is downhill! I had a great negative split on this run! About 14 mins for the first 2.5km and about 11 for the second half! Tony also ran this week - his foot felt better for the race, but he did suffer for the rest of the day, being in considerable pain!  The kids once again sorted barcodes, however for 235 runners, this was a much bigger task than they are used to! It is done while everyone enjoyed a coffee, so it kept them occupied!

Sophie at Little Stoke

Sunday morning saw us at Little Stoke for junior parkrun. Just the girls ran this week and once again, did it with great smiles and great times.

Halfway through at Southampton

By Saturday 30 August, we were down south in Southampton. There were several parkruns to chose from in the region, with most of them being very big. We ended up running at Southampton Common, which was a figure eight course in a beautiful park. Tony started .... but that on-going foot injury is still on-going. After 2kms, he was hurting badly, so withdrew and I continued. This was the biggest parkrun we experienced, with 465 runners. I felt my time was slow at 25mins, but I was still 25th female so pleased with that! This parkrun has a large university population, due to two universities in the city. Once university starts, the numbers rise and the average times drop, as the young, fit females tend to run rather fast times!

Liv at Southampton junior parkrun

Finally, we finished our parkrun tourism stint with junior parkrun at Southampton on Sunday. This was an extremely friendly group of people with some very impressive junior runners! They were fast! The fastest runner did the 2km is just less than 7 mins, but missed the course record at 6.43 mins! Tony offered his services as a volunteer marshal on the course, and got to wear a hi-viz jacket! Junior parkrun is a great concept and we hope that it can start in Australia at some stage.

Southampton, Hampshire

Trying to learn about the First Fleet

When we decided to come to Portsmouth, Olivia was very keen. She knew about this area from her studies about the First Fleet when in Yr 4. She was keen to follow up on her learning at school. Unfortunately, there is very little about the departure of the First  Fleet from Portsmouth. Being a government activity, all the information pertaining to the ships is located in the National Archives in London. We did however, find a memorial to the First Fleet in the the harbour area.

The Spinnaker Tower

The Spinnaker Tower is the main landmark around Southampton. Lach and Sophie were able to walk and lie on the glass platform and admire the water 100 metres below!

Comfortably looking at the water 100m below!

Southampton is the city where the Titanic departed from in 1912. The sinking of this ship had a major impact on the city because as many as 75% as many of the crew were from Southampton. The museum as excellent and the children were able to do many fun activities. 

We caught up with some family friends, who live near Southampton. Felicity and Tim Leather, along with Amy and Kiera, welcomed us into their house for a yummy home cooked lasagne and great family dinner around the kitchen table. Fliss (Gorman) was a family friend of the Friedliebs while we were growing up and it was lovely to catch up on their exciting family news and see the next generation coming through. Amy and Kiera could be renamed "mini-Fliss"! In looks and personalities! Such a lovely evening.

We are all getting tired. The children have been asking for a day "at home", which means without doing touristy things. We have been reluctant as we can see how many things there are to do around the cities and towns we've visited. Herein lies the challenges of travelling with children! I think the children are ready for routine once again; for familiar things and for friends and family.

In Southampton, we have a beautiful apartment, and with dull weather today, we decided to have a day off (after doing parkrun, that is). Tony was unable to complete parkrun this morning due to an on-going injury, so he was happy to have the rest of the day at home to ice and rest his foot. One of the main activities that the children wanted to do "at home" was making more looms - the trend that we feel we've followed around the world! Its popular everywhere!

We have found Southampton to be underwhelming ... its very much a port city and in dull, grey, nothing weather (not rainy, not sunny, not warm, not cold, about 18 degrees ... = dull). We have enjoyed time off tourism, some healthy food once again thanks to a great kitchen and some free time. Happy kids = happy parents!

We meet up with my Mum tomorrow (Sunday) night at Gatwick airport, then head to France together for 2 weeks - we are excited about that!

Visiting the Henges

Avebury Henge and Stonehenge

Avebury Henge

On our drive from Bristol to Southampton, we visited Avebury Henge and Stonehenge along the way. Avebury Henge is the lesser known henge, only 40 minutes from Stonehenge, free to visit,  allows you to walk amongst the stones as well as touch them. This differs to Stonehenge which costs money, requires advance bookings and keeps you quite a distance from the stones. We missed the tours at Avebury however, so didn't come away with much knowledge about the how and why of these stones. 

The grey sky tells what is coming!

Tony and I have been to Stonehenge before, but I don't recall coming away with much knowledge about it. For this visit, we got the free audio tour (I'm sure it wasn't available ten years ago!). We also knew we wouldn't be able to answer the children's questions, so we needed to hear from the experts!

Love the audio guides!

Our visit to these two locations completely frustrated Lachlan. He is such a 'facts' person and thrives on being able to recall details. There is so much unknown about the henges: how the stones came to be; how they got there and what their significance was to the people of the time. This annoyed Lach - he really wanted answers! Even after the audio, he still was coming up with his own answers and couldn't deal with how much is unknown about this history. A great insight into his character and personality also! It was a very cold and windy day and we just avoided rain at Stonehenge ... we were glad to be leaving as we watched everyone get wet!

Wandering around Bristol

Bristol, west coast of England.

Many months ago, I discovered some bike riding trails around Bristol and Bath, the two major towns towards the west of England. There are excellent paths, relatively flat land and beautiful scenery ... as well as great little pubs dotted around the place, which conveniently provide an ale or two at lunch time!

Beautiful scenery

This all sounded very promising, but there were a few hitches. We often have trouble hiring a bike for Sophie ... not many places hire bikes that are only 16" wheels. Secondly, we had requested a tow bar on our hire car, but it didn't happen ... so we couldn't keep the bikes with us for the five days, as we had hoped. Instead we opted for a few day rides.

1.7km worth of tunnel!

Our first ride was around Bath. We all got bikes, but they were poorly maintained, so riding them was hard. There is a tow path out along the canal, with a loop about 12 kms or so. We headed out and it certainly was a beautiful ride. We past many long boats, which were obviously the permanent home to many people. We had lunch and ales at "The George", which was right on the path. At one stage, we rode through a tunnel .... that was 1.7km long! Purely for cyclists and walkers! Amazing feeling, with music playing and dim lights the whole way. It came with a warning that it would take you 10 minutes to ride through it. There was a second tunnel, but only 400 m long.

But, one wrong turn and the situation can change! We got so excited by the tunnels that we just kept riding .... until it was too late. We were way past our drop off point; very close to our drop off time of 5pm; no way to keep the bikes overnight as no bike rack .... and very tired kids, as we were up to about 22kms! A minor panic resulted in a ride through traffic, through town and a rather unpleasant experience really.

Bristol is known for this really high suspension bridge!

Storm developing over the harbour

The next ride, a few days later, had to be suspended due to rain. We had to have an inside day, doing some shopping then some museums around Bristol. We went to the M Shed Museum, one of Britain's free museums, which is child friendly and based on the history of Bristol and its people. Bristol is a much more interesting town than we initially thought and the more we learn about the history, the more we like it. The Avon River runs through it and was an important port in the 1800s for getting goods to the west of England and Wales. But due to very high tides, the river height was unpredictable - so the city created a floating harbour, that is based on the same technique as a lock system. So clever! The harbour is now 200 years old and while not the big trading hub that it once was, it is still used somewhat. There is significant retail, cultural and residential development around the harbour, so it was much more interesting that we expected.

Rain jackets on all day!

We planned another ride and despite rain in the morning, we were determined to just go! We hired bikes from a great shop; but again, no bike for Sophie - so the owners went home, collected their 8 year old son's bike and lent us that for the day! What service! We ignored the black clouds, put our wet weather jackets on and set off along the Bristol to Bath railway path. This is an excellent path and we only did half the distance - from Bitten to Bath, then back again. This was a 20km ride which had the added bonus of dodging rain! Thankfully most of the rain fell just as arrived into Bath, so we headed to the nearest pub to wait it out! It was a great ride and we all really enjoyed this. Its a shame we are leaving the area tomorrow, as we've love to explore the other end of the railway path.


The Cotswolds

In between our riding days, we also had a day exploring the Cotswolds region of England, albeit briefly. The children are enjoying seeing different countryside and are fascinated by stone fences and buildings, styles, cows (don't understand this one as they do spend time on a farm regularly) hedgerows and identifying quirky pub names. They have been keen to see thatched rooves and we had hoped to see some in the Cotswolds. That didn't happen but we did have a nice day wandering around the villages of Bourton-on-the-water, Upper and Lower Slaughter and Stow. Cute little towns, but not much more to do other than wander the shops and eat! We did eat the local speciality, scones with cottled cream which were rather yummy!

From Bristol, we are heading south east, past Stonehenge and to Southampton, where we will base ourselves for four days.

London

We're off to visit the Queen ....

Lizzy didn't invite us in!

Just resting in Trafalgar Square

We flew from Göteborg to London, where we had an airbnb apartment for 6 days. Accommodation in London was so hard to find - small, expensive and some questionable areas. The apartment is fine and we actually have great space, but the surrounding areas are not very pretty. But, fine for a few days.

You'd think after 9 days of relaxing and spending time with friends in Sweden, we'd be feeling refreshed.... but we weren't so much! We took London very gently and just explored a few areas at a time.

The children with familiar with some of the highlights of the city, which made it exciting as we stepped out of Charing Cross Station and instantly met Lord Nelson overseeing the city. They loved seeing Big Ben, London Eye and watching the activities on the Thames.

Sophie did her usual trick of sleeping in an
odd place - a restaurant at lunch time!

Thanks to Sarah (Tony's niece), we've been finding out the colloquial names of some of the more unusual buildings in London town. The photo to the left shows the "cheese grater", the "gherkin", and in the foreground on the right, part of the "walkie-talkie". The kids are highly amused about all these!

As the next post will explain, we have also spent quite a bit of time visiting people. These have been other highlights in themselves and get a post of their own!

People to see in London!

Catching up with friends and family!

A significant part of our time in London was spent catching up with people. This was great fun as we are getting tired on being tourists! It was great to catch up with friends (and a cousin/niece) to renew friendships and meet families.

Tony and Ulrika

Firstly, we met a friend of Tony's from Sweden, Ulrika, and her 12 year old daughter Sofia, in St James Park for a coffee. They were friends way back when Tony was on exchange in Sweden. In just a short time, our kids and Sofia were rolling and jumping around together on the grass, leaving the adults to chat and drink coffee!

myself with Tash

The lovely Quatro family

We had a wonderful night with my friend from uni, Natasha, and her husband Cesare and 11 week old Ferdi. I also spent the next day with Tash and had a great time chatting and catching up on many years. Little Ferdi is just beautiful and the calmest little man! A few readers will know Tash; believe me in saying that she has not changed, is as bright and bubbly as ever and its a delight to see her in the role of a mother! Ferdi is very lucky to have Tash and Cesare as his parents.

Gillian and Tony

We travelled by train to Sevenoaks, just outside the M25, to visit a friend of the whole Wilson family, and Tony's godmother, Gillian Willis. We have visited Gillian a few times over the years (she even came to Aust for our wedding) and she is a delightful host! Shortly after we walked in, Gillian handed Tony the phone and told him to make the most of an opportunity to call home and speak to his mother - which we did, to the pleasant surprise of his mother, Louise. Now in her mid 80s, Gillian put on a beautiful lunch for us all and made us feel very welcome. The children loved the toys and playroom in her house! Tony's niece Sarah came with to Sevenoaks also.

Our team with Sarah on a crowded
tube!

Sarah, who is working in London, then spent the rest of the day and evening with us, coming back to our apartment for dinner. She is loving London and was able to give us some suggestions on different ways of seeing London. Sarah is great fun and the children loved being with her. Sarah needs three sides to her body, as Olivia, Lach and Sophie all wanted to sit beside her on the tube, at the table or while we were walking! It is fun catching up with extended family members in other parts of the world, as we did with another niece, Sophia, in San Francisco.

Girls' shopping trip!

Finally, we caught up with my mum in London. Mum is actually joining us for a fortnight in France, from the beginning of September. She arrived in London and had one day with us, before we headed west to Bristol and she headed north to Scotland for a week on her own. Olivia, Sophie, myself and Gran had a girls shopping trip to Oxford St!

And a lot of chatting to catch up on also!

Kungsbacka

myself with Krister and Barbo, with their house
in the background.

The West Coast of Sweden


Following on from our few days in Stockholm, we caught the train and headed west across Sweden, to Kungsbacka, which is just south of Göteborg. From east coast to west coast took just over 3 hours, in a train travelling at 200km /hour. It was a very pleasant and easy way to travel.

We were met by my two host fathers from my time in Kungsbacka. Krister and Håkan were there with two cars to transport the five of us and our luggage. From the moment they met us on the platform, we felt so welcomed. 

Barbro, with Håkan and Ulla Lignell, my second
host parents

During my exchange year, I spent most of the time with Krister and Barbro Egner and their children, Mikael, Kerstin & Karin. Krister and Barbro have now moved out of Kungsbacka to a small town called Åsa, which is where they had their summer house. Summer house has been renovated beautifully and is now their home all year round. 

Gemma with Malin Lignell, Kerstin and Karin (both Egners,
my host sisters in Sweden)

The time in Kungsbacka / Åsa again was all about people. We did no sight-seeing, instead preferring to renew relationships and catch up on the last 12 years of our lives. To our surprise, and delight, three of my "host siblings", Kerstin, Karin and Martin took a day off work to spend with us. Kerstin and Martin are both teachers, at the same school, and this was the PD week before students start the new academic year ... so not an easy time to ask for a day off! 

We had a wonderful day with them and their children, then later in the evening, their husbands/wives, with the main activity being crab fishing in the Kungsbacka fjord. This involved stretching out on the jetty, reaching underneath the jetty, pulling mussels off the wooden boards, cracking them open, attaching them to a peg on the end of a long piece of string and then dangling them in the water. To our amazement, the crabs came running! We caught heaps of the things - like about 40-50! It was so easy, lots of fun and great excitement. One of the children ran around with the net to scoop the crabs in and they were placed in a bucket for safe keeping. These crabs were all too small to eat, but if you go further into the fjord, you can larger ones. Finally, all the crabs are tipped out and there is a crab race to see which one makes it back to its natural habitat first. What great fun!

the crab fishing process

The simple fishing line - peg, with crab still
attached

The crab race is underway.

We had managed to leave our good DSLR camera in Stockholm, so much of the time in Åsa was spent closely following the DHL delivery service and working out whether it would arrive before we left Åsa or not. Thankfully, it was delivered to the small service station one hour before we were due to depart! The nick of time!

On both nights in Åsa, Barbro and Krister hosted dinner for 20+ people. It was a lovely way to catch up with everyone but a great effort for them all. That is a lot of food to prepare! It seems summer just ended in this part of Sweden, and the weather cooled each afternoon; there were showers of rain just before a couple of meals, but each time, we were able to eat outside - important with such large numbers. The food was yummy, healthy and just want we craved. The company was great and each evening, Martin Lignell pulled out his guitar, so the music was superb!

part of the table for one meal .....

There was ice-cream eating in the afternoon!

One of the things that constantly amazes us on this holiday is how children across the world can all communicate through play. Despite language barriers, give the children anything simple, such as snow, water, swings, balls, frisbees, or board games and they seem to be able to occupy themselves and interact together for a significant amount of time. This has amazed us with both French speaking Canadians and Swedes. Our children have loved playing with other children - after so many months together, they love meeting other children and regularly ask if they can just "play". These three days in Åsa were no exception. These photos show some of the things the children found to do. Occasionally they asked an adult to help with translation; or there was a teenager who had some English, but overall, they played together so well.

Crab fishing was a great ice-breaker
for the children

some croquet ....

and iPhones are universal...

 frisbee...

some twister ...

building a new kingdom.

Just like in Stockholm, we had a great few days of talking, remembering and laughing. With relationships renewed and dreams of visitors to Canberra, we farewelled Sweden and wandered our way down to London.