Over many years we have made a lot of friends as a result of our exchanges and through our connections with exchange teachers and language assistants. We have had the opportunities to show our guests some of the great parts of South Australia. Many have extended invitations for us to visit them, should we be in their part of the world, so that they can show us something of their regions and ways of life. So here we go, reconnecting with some of our friends. 


The years shown at the foot of each blog have been changed because it is the only way I could find to put them in order, earliest to latest

Dresden, Germany

After a long but easy trip we arrived in Dresden to be met by Maria (language assistant 2007). A great surprise was the arrival of Carine (language assistant 2007) who had travelled from Paris to spend a few days with us. Together we spent 3 great days looking around Dresden and the surrounding countryside.

Dresden as a town dates back about 800 years and is situated on the River Elbe. In the latter part of  WW2 the city was heavily bombed, destroying most of the central area.  It is only in recent times that many of the buildings have been rebuilt. With an interesting combination of old and new stone it will be a perpetual reminder of the damage done.

The weather has been quite cool with passing showers, but undaunted we have ventured out and managed to see so much of this very picturesque part of the world. We stopped at lots of little eating places, a couple of up-market restaurants and quite a few coffee shops. Generally the food there was cheap, tasty and in ample sized serves.

Photos are of the City centre, Pillnitz Castle and gardens, porcelain manufacturing in Meissen, a small village in the region called the “Swiss Mountains” by the locals, and finally Maria and Carine.

Limburg, Germany

From Dresden we took the fast train to Frankfurt then onto Limburg. This train was very comfortable and cruised along at about 280km/h. As always, it was interesting to view the countryside and the many small villages.

In Limburg we were met by Diana (language assistant 2008) and taken to her parents house where she has a flat. We were immediately made to feel welcome by the Australian flag flying on a flagpole out the front.

During our time here we looked at the old walled city of Limburg, circa 1000AD and several of the villages in the surrounding area. As perhaps to be expected, there are lots of castles, forts, cathedrals, churches and many interesting houses, shops and other buildings.

On Wednesday we went to the National Garden Exhibition held in Koblenz, amongst even more forts, castles, churches etc along the banks of the River Rhine. Displays ranged from garden beds, floral arrangements through to cemetery plots.

The next day we explored more of the Rhine Valley including a boat cruise, visiting villages such as Rudesheim, and viewing some of the many vineyards, castles and forts along the river valley. The river was very busy with local tour boats, large river cruisers as we see so often advertised, and barges carrying all manner of goods.  Another great day.

Photos are of the Dom (Cathedral) and old houses, Limburg, us framed with Diana, cemetry plots, view over Rudesheim, and a Rhine Valley castle.

Berlin, Germany

After another fast train trip we arrived in Berlin for just a short stay.  Maria had travelled up from Dresden and was our host once again.

During our first evening we did a bit of sightseeing around the local area and beyond. We stopped for dinner in a trendy area (lots of these) and then headed for to a lookout point in a park not too far away. Being fairly well North (Latitude about 52 degrees), the evenings were very long and with very nice weather, time outside was very pleasant.

Next day we joined a guided walk for some 4½ hours, taking in many of the significant historical areas relating to WW2 and the Berlin Wall. Our guide had a very good knowledge of history and an excellent way of conveying information, not just the historical facts, but also what the social conditions of the times were like.

Most of the wall has been removed, but there are plenty of reminders in the form of displays, and even markers along roads, showing where it was.  A lot of the buildings have been restored or replaced, though there is still quite a deal of construction occurring in this central Berlin area.

Although our time here was very short, Berlin made quite an impression on us. We found it to be a very diverse, modern, busy and energetic city, well loved by all those that we spoke to who lived there, and we could see why.

Photos are of our walking tour group near the Berlin Dom, part of the vast Jewish Memorial, Berlin Wall, Brandenburg gates and a street location where we ate.

New Jersey & New York, America

After an early rise in Berlin, we flew West for some 9 hours, only to arrive 2 hours later (local time) in New Jersey. We were greeted by John (Volunteer teacher, China 2008) and his wife Grace.  While we took things pretty easy during the afternoon, in the evening we attended a block party (local street get-together). We did retire quite early though, after all we had been awake some 19 hours.

Next day, into New York we headed. Being a very hot, and somewhat humid, day we took advantage of the cool buildings and moved along the shaded side of streets. With so many tall buildings this wasn’t too difficult. We went to the observation deck of the Empire State building to take in the relatively uninterrupted views around Manhattan and beyond, but visibility was somewhat restricted by the haze caused by the humidity. We took a taxi, you know, one of those off yellow vehicles so familiar to anyone who watches TV, to the site where the Twin Towers once stood. It was great to see such a lot of building activity there.

After this we wandered around Wall Street then onto the Staten Island ferry to take in a fairly close view of the Statue of Liberty, then onto Washington Square and Greenwich Village for a nice cool drink in one of the trendy shops of the area.   On the way back to the train we stopped at one of the outside community courts where many locals play their basketball and hand tennis.  We spent time talking to one of the really interesting locals. I mean this in a nice sense. I must say, we have been very pleasantly surprised by the politeness, helpfulness and friendliness of the people we have come into contact with here in America.

On Tuesday we took a rest day.  Kaye and Grace went to look at the local shops etc while I relaxed, photographing the many birds, squirrels and chipmunks that visit the shaded gardens.

New York and New Jersey Part 2

Next day we headed off to explore some of the state of New Jersey. John and Grace took us west through the pretty countryside, arriving in a small town of New Hope, just across a river into Pennsylvania. With a good range of shops selling local arts to look in, and a nice river front restaurant,(photo with John and Grace) we had plenty to do. From here we headed north, then back home. Despite being the most heavily, or is that most densely, populated state, there were still plenty of scenic open spaces, forests and farmlands to see.
Thursday was another visit into New York, visiting such places as Times Square, Grand Central Station, Fifth Avenue, the Plaza Hotel, Central Park and finally Broadway. During the day we purchased discount tickets for Mamma Mia and had a very pleasant evening at the show. By the time we had finished looking around at all the lights and activities, it ended up being a pretty late night. John put together this video for us.



Friday was another opportunity to rest up, but in the evening we headed off to The Bronx for a baseball game; the NY Mets versus the Philadelphia Fillies. The stadium held about 40,000, and with it being more compact than our ovals, the constant noise from the loud audio system giving information, entertainment and encouraging crowd participation, the endless peddlers of sodas, bagels, beers etc up, and down the isles, and finally some fireworks, it was quite an experience. The game itself wasn’t too exciting, and we didn’t catch a foul ball, but what the heck, we enjoyed ourselves. Another late night.

 After a good night’s sleep it was time to repack our bags, relaxed around and get ready for our relatively short flight into Ottawa.

Photos of us with John and Grace on New Hope, NY skyline, Central Park, baseball, Kaye in Trump Tower with milkshake and NY bag.

Ottawa, Canada

Our flight to Ottawa was on the smallest of passenger jets, with not even enough headroom to stand up, but it was comfortable and quick. At the airport we were met by Bernadine (Exchange teacher 2010)

Ottawa is in Ontario, is the capital of Canada, and is situated on a river of the same name, which is the border with the neighbouring province of Quebec. During our time here we walked around the city, visiting such places as Parliament House, the Governor General’s residence and the wonderful Museum of Civilisation.  We also drove into the hills in Quebec to get a view from a lookoff (lookout) over the surrounding districts.

Of course we stopped for lunch and coffees at some pretty quaint places along the way.

During the evenings we spent time with Bernadine’s friends who were most welcoming and interesting. We learnt a lot about local issues and of the history of Eastern Canada from a slightly different perspective to that which we had previously heard during our time in Western Canada. Because Canada is so diverse it is clear that Canadians from all parts feel that the many issues that affect them have no easy solutions, but most Canadians take pride in their country, perhaps apart from a minority group wanting Quebec to be a separate country.

You may have heard that Ottawa had a severe thunderstorm pass through while we were there, blowing over the stage at a musical festival. We were a bit away from the main area and didn't notice it too much.

Photos are of our plane, lookoff in Quebec, the Parliamentary Library, Pizza with Bernadine and the owner of the famous and much awarded  Pasticceria Gelateria Italian (Pizza/pastries/ gelato/ coffee shop), Parliament House, the Parliament library and a scene in the museum.

Toronto, Canada

Our trip to Toronto was on a comfortable, but not so fast, train which arrived right during the rush hour. Because of this it was easiest for us to catch a taxi for the short trip to the flat where we were met by Alex (exchange Teacher, 2008)

Over the last week or so, the eastern half of the North American continent has been having heatwaves, and Toronto was no exception.  We were there for the hottest day on record, 38 degrees, but with the humidex value being 48 degrees. (calculated using temperature and humidity). Naturally this dictated our activities, so mostly we did inside things during the day, then out in the evenings.

We toured to the top observation deck, some 446m up, of the CN tower (total height 553m) for a great view over the city, looked through the Royal Ontario Museum, visited the St Lawrence markets (somewhat similar to our own Central Market), and cruised around the city and suburbs. Here we called into the Casa Loma, a hundred year old castle built in more traditional castle style. Of course we had coffees, ice creams and good meals at a variety of places. The shopping malls were also cool places to walk through as we moved from one location to another.

On Saturday we left Toronto heading toward the southern Ontario Niagara Region.  We went to Alex’s parents for lunch and a swim in their pool and met up with our new host…. 

(to be continued)

 Photos are of the CN Tower and a view from it, the Museum building, our transport, lunch area at the Distillery, (a quaint boutique shopping area), and Alex and Kaye outside the Casa Loma.

St Catharines, Canada

Joedy (Exchange Teacher, 2008) took us to her house in St Catharines, a small city across Lake Ontario from Toronto, and close to Niagara Falls. This area has a lot of farming and vineyards, and with also lots of wineries. The heatwave had passed, so getting around was a good deal more comfortable, so we set forth with renewed vigour, driving around the countryside along the back roads. I have hardly been able to keep up with which way is north, let alone determine how to get back home.

We tasted wines, icecreams, coffees and some of the fresh produce so abundant there at this time of the year. We walked around Niagara on the Lake, one of the prettiest towns that you are ever likely to come across and ate at Canada’s oldest golf course, overlooking Lake Ontario and across the Niagara River to Old Fort Niagara in the USA.

Of course we went to the Niagara Falls, this time using an Adventure pass which allowed us to travel on the Maid of the Mist, go behind the falls, walk down the Niagara Gorge where there are class 6 rapids, but declined the chance to go over the falls in a barrel.

On the last night we all headed off to Joedy’s parents place where the great hospitality continued, and we also went out to watch a Tee-ball game where all the players were youngsters under 6. Really cute.

The photos are of the American Falls, vineyards, Port Dalhousie, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Horseshoe Falls, Maid of the Mist, Kaye and Joedy and finally us near the rapids.

Caledonia, Canada

Our time here was a little slower in pace as Charlene (Exchange Teacher, 2003) was away teaching in China but kindly allowed us to use her home as a base.  Mostly we walked around to the local sights. The town is on the banks of the River Grand, a relatively short, wide but shallow river known for its scenic aspects and trout fishing.

On Sunday we had our first driving experience (as opposed to being passengers) on this trip. Our destination was Stratford on the River Avon, known for its theatres etc. Here we met up with our good friends Bernie (Exchange Teacher, 2009) and Marg. Being such a beautiful day we walked around the town and down along the river.  Here we were entertained by a musical concert, the band being located on a barge moored to the river bank.

While the locals thought that things were looking a little dry around Ontario, we found the countryside to be quite green. Predominately the land is used for farming, and most of this seemed to be used for orchards and for growing corn.  Mmmm, the corn was very tasty indeed, but so were the locally grown raspberries, peaches, nectarines etc.

In Canada, government taxes (federal and provincial taxes) are not included in any advertised prices, so typically in Ontario you have to add 13.5% to know the true cost.  Of course, tips are expected to be paid to people offering service, people such as waiting staff, taxi drivers etc,…to compensate for their relatively low wages.  Interestingly, drivers in Ontario seem to have adopted this practice also. For example, on a road with a sign for 100kph, most add on 13.5 % to get the desired speed which seems to be allowed,…but some drivers also give a generous tip! While I must have seemed a little slow to many, we arrived safely.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

As you would appreciate, we lived in Edmonton for a year, so our plan was not to set out to see all the sights but more about reconnecting with friends. It has already been a great few days and it has been really exciting just getting about and seeing the things that are so familiar to us.

July had been an unusually wet month so all the gardens and parks are looking very healthy and green. We have, been on quite a few walks, both of us have done circuits at the gym, and I have even been out and about on a bike. It has helped that most of the time it has been sunny, but not too hot and humid.

Jim and Sheila (friends from the gym, 2004) have a very nice house in a picturesque suburb near where we lived, and have kindly been taking us around as we continue to reconnect. Today (Saturday) the gym group had a lunch get-together here so it was a great opportunity for us to see many of the people we were friends with here in 2004.

Last Thursday morning we went to West Edmonton Mall to meet up with Dorothy (Exchange Teacher, 2002) who had driven up from Pincher Creek especially to see us (about 500km).  We sat for lunch then coffee etc until well into the afternoon. Tomorrow we are out to lunch with Doris (neighbour 2004), so we are gradually reconnecting.

Pictures are of us with Jim and Sheila outside their house, across the River Valley, and the wave pool inside West Edmonton Mall.  

To be continued.....