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As it turned out, we did see some things nearby that we missed last time, when we rented an apartment across-town near the main station. Among these: a wealthy sailors' marina; a memorial to lost mariners; 'The Little Mermaid'; and the Citadel - all a short stroll from the ship.

"But why do the boat owners need to be wealthy," we asked (the boats in the marina were not particularly impressive)?  "It's expensive to moor here because the boats need to be taken out of the water each winter - when this bay freezes solid," we were told.


 

From the ship we chose a bus excursion around Copenhagen. First stop was the Royal Palace - yes Denmark is a Constitutional Monarchy too. And if that persists long enough the monarch will eventually be part-Australian, thanks to the Crown Prince meeting a nice Australian girl, Mary Donaldson, in a Sydney bar.

The couple have four children in-line (second onwards - sequentially) to the throne. The marriage has resulted in new links being established between the two countries, particularly in health-related initiatives.

The Royal Palaces (four of them - relatively modest - as palaces go)

The bus tour provided glimpses of familiar and less familiar sites, like the statue of Hans Christian Anderson flashing past (not the one in the photo below - see our previous trip - here).

Europe22 Germany to Holland 67

 

Later I went off to the Museum of Modern Art only to find it closed.  But on the way back to the ship I decided to explore the historic star shaped fort known as the Kastellet (Citadel) with its mote and windmill - in addition to the compulsory old cannon.  It remains an active barracks, beautifully maintained, with guards on duty.  Even today, it would be difficult to attack, using infantry alone; or by rioters.

 

Europe22 Germany to Holland 68

 

 And so it was back to the ship for the last leg of our journey - out of the Baltic and around to Amsterdam.

 

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Travel

USA - middle bits

 

 

 

 

 

In September and October 2017 Wendy and I took another trip to the United States where we wanted to see some of the 'middle bits'.  Travel notes from earlier visits to the East coast and West Coast can also be found on this website.

For over six weeks we travelled through a dozen states and stayed for a night or more in 20 different cities, towns or locations. This involved six domestic flights for the longer legs; five car hires and many thousands of miles of driving on America's excellent National Highways and in between on many not so excellent local roads and streets.

We had decided to start in Chicago and 'head on down south' to New Orleans via: Tennessee; Georgia; Louisiana; and South Carolina. From there we would head west to: Texas; New Mexico; Arizona; Utah and Nevada; then to Los Angeles and home.  That's only a dozen states - so there are still lots of 'middle bits' left to be seen.

During the trip, disaster, in the form of three hurricanes and a mass shooting, seemed to precede us by a couple of days.

The United States is a fascinating country that has so much history, culture and language in common with us that it's extremely accessible. So these notes have turned out to be long and could easily have been much longer.

Read more: USA - middle bits

Fiction, Recollections & News

My car owning philosophies

 

 

I have owned well over a dozen cars and driven a lot more, in numerous countries. 

It seems to me that there are a limited number of reasons to own a car:

  1. As a tool of business where time is critical and tools of trade need to be carried about in a dedicated vehicle.
  2. Convenient, fast, comfortable, transport particularly to difficult to get to places not easily accessible by public transport or cabs or in unpleasant weather conditions, when cabs may be hard to get.
  3. Like clothes, a car can help define you to others and perhaps to yourself, as an extension of your personality.
  4. A car can make a statement about one's success in life.
  5. A car can be a work of art, something re-created as an aesthetic project.
  6. A car is essential equipment in the sport of driving.

Read more: My car owning philosophies

Opinions and Philosophy

A new political dawn

 

 

The State election on 26th March saw a crushing political defeat for the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales. Both sides of politics are still coming to terms with the magnitude of this change.  On the Labor side internal recriminations seem to have spread beyond NSW.  The Coalition now seem to have an assured eight and probably twelve years, or more, to carry out their agenda.

On April 3, following the advice of the Executive Council, the Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, gave effect to an Order to restructure the NSW Public Service. Read more...

It remains to be seen how the restructured agencies will go about the business of rebuilding the State.

 

Read more: A new political dawn

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