2019 in review

After a few quieter years, 2019 saw us strike out for some new destinations and experiences.

January

Our first trip to Scandinavia and the Nordic countries as we flew to Denmark, Sweden and Finland via Osaka on Jetstar and Finnair. We were very impressed with Finnair and their A350-900, our first time on the aircraft. In Denmark we explored Copenhagen by leg and visited the amazing Lego House. Unfortunately, the Cabinn accommodation wasn't so pleasant, so we left early for Sweden, where we enjoyed Malmo, before taking the train up to Stockholm. Along the way we stopped by the Ikea Museum.

In Stockholm we walked the Gamla Stan and visited the Vasa, ABBA and Tekniska Museums, each with their own charms. Then we caught the overnight ship to Helsinki in Finland, my first experience of a cruise. From Helsinki we travelled up by train to Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle and were chilled and thrilled on a dog sled and other activities at the Santa Village. Then back down on the overnight train to Helsinki where Alex enjoyed sledding.

We flew back to spend a few days in Osaka on the return, cycling and speedboating in Amano-Hashidate, Himeji Castle and getting snowed on at the Kyoto Railway Museum.

April

No more travel until the school holidays and feeling the financial pinch of the Scandinavian trip we decided on a cheap drive up to the Gold Coast. I never want to head north on Good Friday again with the terrible traffic jams. However, Coffs Harbour was fun, Byron Bay partying and the Gold Coast relaxing. Port Macquarie, on the drive back, was also quite pretty and the fish tacos were so nice. It was the most driving I've ever done myself.

July

B's desire to eat durian lead to us booking flights to Singapore. We road along the East Coast on bikes, then crossed over into Malaysia for a stay on the Desaru Coast. There wasn't much to do there, but we found plenty to eat back in Johor Bahru, before heading back into Singapore to admire the amazing Changi Jewel.

October

The October school holidays only featured a short stay in nearby Canberra, visiting the Mint, the Dreamworks Exhibition at the National Museum of Australia and walk around Floriade. I also took a ride along the entire length of the new light rail system!

November

More driving! Instead of flying down to Melbourne to watch Return of the Jedi in Concert, I drove by myself. Down one day, back the next. All by myself.

December

Just a couple of day trips to end the travelling year, a ferry ride up the Parramatta River and a first and last trip along the Carlingford Line before it closes for conversion into light rail. It was a quiet end to a year that began with a bang.

Comments

IKEA Museum

We have a packed itinerary today. Flat packed and assembled with an Allen key. There are patches of snow on the ground that weren't there the previous evening. We are a bit sad to leave the Duxiana after the comfy beds and the breakfast of cold cuts, fruits and hot waffles. I tried the Swedish caviar on my boiled egg. It was... Interesting. I was very disappointed to realise that, after talking it up for months, I had forgotten the Disgusting Foods Museum in Malmö yesterday. Too late now. We catch another Oresundstag train, for a bit over an hour. Past yesterday's Lund, past increasingly white fields and towns to Älmhult, home of IKEA. The conductor warns us that the train will split in two so we have to move carriages forward. Unfortunately, there we no spare sets of chairs for all of us. The IKEA Museum showcases the history of the furniture company, along with temporary exhibitions. One of these was "Hacking IKEA," about using IKEA ob...

One night in Canberra

It's the April school holidays and we are too busy to have a break but need one because of that. And because it's the Easter weekend the options are limited, so we just drive down to Canberra for the night. No, this isn't our first trip for 2023. I wrote about Japan on another site . I refuse to wake up early so we depart after 8.30 AM. There is not much to say about the drive except that the clouds seem so low and Lake George is very full. We stop at a rest area and at the lookout up the hill to take it all in. Everyone is hungry so we first stop in Dickson and then can't think of anything to eat, so I drive us to Civic, where we can't decide and end up eating at the Singaporean Killiney Kopitiam branch. The Canberra Centre has nice shops. I dream of getting an iPad from the Apple Store, we buy a blanket and toothbrushes from Muji and wish that Lego wasn't so expensive. Nothing we can't get in Sydney, but then we rarely go out shopping in the city. It...

Springs, castles and the end of the line

I am never happy to stop before the end of the line. It irritates me to know that there is still somewhere unexplored lying ahead. So when I only got as far as Gujo Hachiman on the Nagaragawa Railway last year I knew I needed to return for more. Especially as this private third sector railway is, by its very nature, always at threat of closure due to low patronage. But did Gujo Hachiman deserve another visit? Sure it's a nice enough town, but had we missed out on enough last time to return? Mum's trip provided the excuse. I originally planned the Oito line, which wI'll be partly closed when the Shinkansen line is extended to Kanazawa. However, when I thought of special places in Japan that deserved to be shared Gujo Hachiman was at the top of the list. Before we could go anywhere Mum needed her coffee. There was a Tully's Coffee opposite the hotel entrance, so I parked her there while I booked our seat reservations. Mum got her fast train ride on a ...

travelling allrite

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