Polish Life..................

Hello  !

We have spent a week in sunny Poland since we last wrote......in the deepest depths of the country where the dongle refused to work!

Anyway – we took a successful ferry from Ystad (in Sweden) to Swinoujscie (in Poland) on Tuesday (29^th July).  It was a night crossing taking 9 hours, on a very posh ferry. The children had entertainment   (in Polish!) and face painting and then we decided to get a cabin as there was no -where else to get our heads down. We each shared a bed with one child each and luckily I picked the quiet side of the cabin. Phil – on the other hand, suffered a disturbed night as he had very noisy neighbours in the cabin next door. He was very unimpressed!

When we landed in Poland we instantly remembered about Polish drivers and the way, in our experience, that they like to wait until the very last minute to overtake and especially enjoy the challenge if there is an oncoming lorry!!

We travelled through N/W Poland and visited interesting places including Szczecin and Koszalin. The children and I climbed over 350 steep steps up the lighthouse in Gaski. Phil’s leg would not allow this climb and so he filmed us at the top as he supped a piwo! (Life’s tough!)

Phil and the children paddled in the Baltic sea – just to say they had – until their shoes were swept into the water! It was not the best day for paddling!

We had a great time staying with friends  - no time for sleeping – only partying and dancing! They are all excellent dancers and are determined to teach me (which is a bit of a losing battle!). We were very pleased to have been invited to a wedding during this year’s visit and we were honoured to be seated among family at the ‘top table’ during the reception. Our thanks to Kamil and Asher.

These wedding celebrations lasted for a whole two days! The wedding day began by us all having our hair done (kinda curled!) at 7am – yes  7am!  I had been shipped off the day before to buy a dress (as my idea of wedding attire was not approved!) I also had to buy STILLETOES! –well – I tell you – and for those of you that know me – I don’t need to tell you – me and high heels don’t go! I tried to walk the minimum distance but its actually walking in these things that is the problem – and Phil said I did a very convincing impression of Tina Turner!

The church service on Saturday was very similar to that of a Catholic service in England. As the bride and groom left the church they were showered with coins – wishing them wealth and happiness throughout their lives together.

Then it was off to the Reception celebrations which continued through to Sunday evening! We noticed lots of extra’s and differences to that of the traditional English wedding  and will include some of these in our fact-oids!

We enjoyed the remainder of the time in Poland with lots of swimming in the local river and drinking of Vodka (but not at the same time!)

We also did plenty of eating of Polish foods during this time. Our friends fed us delicious food at every opportunity, including:

BIGOS - A mixed dish including cabbage, sausage, garlic and onion.

GOLAMKI – A concoction including minced pork and rice which is then wrapped up in a cabbage leaf.

KIELBASA – Sausage

KRAKOWSKA – Large Sausage

TATA- A favourite meal made from raw pork and raw egg. This is considered a deathly combination in England – so why do many, many, people on the continent not think twice about eating this, treat this as a delicacy and do not die from eating it either?!

Many meals were served with a tomato, onion and pepper dish which was very tasty too!

We said our goodbyes – until next time – and left Poland – bound for Germany.

We have camped in Mid Germany near a village called Hohegib. This was north of the big town of Gotten. The site - “Camping Platz Am Barenbach  “- was very efficiently run with friendly and helpful owners . The children enjoyed a huge swimming pool all to themselves and Ben has cracked his 100 metres! Jemma managed 300 metres and has been motivated to practice her diving after watching the beginning of the Olympics through our working satalite system! (much to Phil’s pleasure!)

The children have had sickness and we have both spent a bad day suffering from the two bob bits!

All is well now and we have moved on to a campsite near Frankfurt.

Polish Fact-oids:

·         The Bride and Groom and then the Bridesmaid and Best man sign the register BEFORE the marriage service is conducted.

·         Wedding rings are worn on the index finger of the right hand.

·         Widows and widowers change their rings over to the left index finger.

·         At the beginning of the wedding reception-all of the guests join together in a pledge (holding two fingers up similar to that of a scout pledge). This pledge promises that everyone will not leave the Wedding Reception until all the food has been eaten and all the alcohol has been drunk!

·         There are no speeches apart from a vote of thanks from the Bride and Groom.

·         There are no long-winded photo sessions – the Bride and Groom were taken off for a photo shoot and then they come back and take selected members for photos – while everyone else continues the partying!

·         The wedding cake was wheeled into the darkened room- with fireworks blazing from it!

·         The Bride and Groom cut the cake and offered it around themselves.

·         At midnight some humorous rhymes and games are dedicated to the Bride and Groom – including a blind fold game to ensure that they can recognise different parts of each other’s anatomy!

·         The Bride and Groom thank their parents and then join them for a very emotional circle dance to very powerful music.

·         The Brides veil is detached and she throws it out for a girl to catch.

·         The Grooms tie is removed and he throws it out for a boy to catch.

·         This newly formed couple must kiss for a minimum of 20 seconds, as everyone claps and cheers!

·         At any and many times throughout the celebrations – loud clapping and jeering requires that the Bride and Groom must kiss and not stop until the cheering stops! Easier said than done sometimes!!

·         The newly married couple charge 5 Zorte for a two minute dance with them or until the next person pushes you off – and this money is collected by the Bridesmaid and the Best man.

·         The second day continues the celebrations with much dancing and drinking!

·         Everyone leaves at the end of the second day...............

·         From our experience – a tooth mouse (not a fairy)  works in Poland and gave Ben a 5 Zorte coin.

·         From our experience – a tooth Fairy works in Sweden and gave Jemma a gold 5 Krone  coin.

 

Thanks again for your interest – we all hope that you are continuing to donate to the

                                                DEVON AIR AMBULANCE

                                                  Through our website.

Please can you leave messages through the website or to spmkzie@hotmail.co.uk  (as access to Yahoo is sometimes limited) -              Many Thanks.........

                                                          CHEERS!  (More pics  soon!)

Wednesday, 13 August 2008 16:40:04 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [1]  Poland

photos!

When I find out about making these pics smaller - we will show you more!

Sunday, 27 July 2008 16:38:54 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [0]  Sweden

Moving onto Swedish Adventures......

Hi there,

The amount of well wishes from people we meet along the way – who are going to keep a check on us through the website- is overwhelming! We are genuinely amazed at the amount of interest we are generating! Kinda safer feeling with this many ‘big brothers’ looking our way!

So we left Tonder on Sunday (a week ago!) and went to Naerun (near Copenhagen). On the way I made a fuel chart so that we can keep a record of the cost and amount of that dreaded stuff we use!

We found another friendly site with helpful  English speaking people! We have been very lucky so far – with being able to communicate easily. When we arrived at this site we were slightly confused about the time of year as we were met by many Christmas decorations glittering around the caravans? We later found out that there were 8 Father Christmas’s staying on site as it was traditional that they have a meeting in July to make their arrangements for the following Christmas!

We took the little blue train from Naerum to connect up to the underground metro into Copenhagen. A  much cheaper and stress-free way to travel into the city. We enjoyed a guided boat tour around the city and saw several of the most important sites,including the Royal Palace. We did not realise that Copenhagen is similar to that of Venice (although of different style) with its network of waterways and very low bridges to negociate! The children even spotted a coot who decided to nest on the back of a moored boat! We also saw war ships and torpedo boats.

Back at the site we managed to use Wifi and Skype back to England for the first time! At least we know this works when we have connection!

We left Denmark and moved across to Sweden. We were left in a state of shock at the toll prices to cross two bridges - £120!! Because Nessie comes under HGV for toll pricings – over 7 metres long. Even if one happens to be the longest bridge in the world (we think) –this is still expensive travelling. If we had time to move further north – a ferry would have made a more cost effective method of travel. We found a fantastic campsite (not our intended one from our travel book) but as is often the case – a site we just happened to come across! These often result in being more satisfactory to us with our very flexible nature! On this site we were able to pitch right in front of a lake (with plenty of room for shallow swimming!) The children were off into the water within minutes of arriving! Phil was also stung on the base of his foot within minutes of arriving by a very vicious looking bug. This was EXTREMELY painful – we must remember to wear shoes!

We were fortunate enough to enjoy the best sunny weather that Sweden has had in a long time with temperatures rising  to the high 80’s – even 90 degrees F. I began to sort my ghostly white English skin out although I think this job will take a lot longer to complete!

We met a lovely friendly Swedish couple –Leif and Inger Nystrom and spent interesting times with them finding out about more Swedish fact- iods (wait until the end for these!) Once again their good English saved the day and Phil had found himself a Whisky drinking buddie!

Thursday 24^th – morning – up to have a shower but  NO WATER! What is going on –the tank is full? Off Phil goes to investigate and luckily it was nothing more serious than a pipe which had blown off the water pump. A bit more tricky to get at to fix as it was inside a sealed unit....problem solved – we expect there will be more where that came from in our duration of time!  Our good friend Leif took us all out for a trip around  a small proportion of the lake (Ringojon)  in his motorised dingy and this cheered everyone up! Thankyou!

On Friday (25^th) we enjoyed a great day at the Skanes Djurpark (the world’s largest zoo park with only Scandinavian animals). There were over 800 animals belonging to about 85 different species, including bears, lynxes, wolves, wolverines and elks. Many of these species can only be seen at Skane Zoo as they have become extinct in the wild and it is only through the zoo’s successful breeding programmes that they have been saved from total extinction. As the brochure boasts these animals are homed in generously proportioned enclosures- adding to the fun as we had to often track them down first!

 Another few days in the sun – again high 80’s and swimming! Phil helped our new neighbours – a young Swedish family who did not have any lights working in their caravan. Daniel and Jenny  thanked  us by  bringing around some Swedish cakes and a bag full of chilled beer  which went down very well that evening! (Phil can never stop working!) We then enjoyed some time together exchanging notes  and making good friends .They have said they would like to come and visit us when we get back to the UK – this would be great! ......look forward to meeting again......

So we leave the lake behind (at the Swecamp Hoor – Jagersbo-Sweden)  tomorrow (Monday) and have a ferry booked from Ystad to Poland direct to save going back over the bridges!

*FACT-OID – 1 Swedish mile is 10kms!

* FACT-OID – Traditionally all Swedish houses were painted red as this was the cheapest way to make paint out of copper and water. These houses also have wooden painted panels with the corner panels painted white.

*FACT-OID - It  is not possible to buy alcohol which is any stronger than 3.5% volume in any supermarket type shop. You can only purchase stronger alcohol in a state owned store (for tax purposes) and also pharmacies are state owned too. You will never find any privately owned medicine stores in Sweden.

* FACT-OID- Snus is a Swedish alternative for smoking cigarettes. It is very popular among males but also ladies too! These little poaches are like miniature tea bags and one is put under your top lip – sitting on your top gum. This is a direct form of nicotine into your system and is equally as additive. This method is obviously more sociable in terms of passive smoking and is kinder to your lungs. However – apparently it is not so kind to your gums or lips.

WILDLIFE HIT:

Phil is proud to announce that not only do we have Osprey as regular visitors to this lake – but he has managed to film the moment one dived and caught a fish!! Fantastic!

UNTIL NEXT TIME – TAKE CARE ....

 

Sunday, 27 July 2008 16:33:19 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [3]  Sweden

a new blog?

A New Blog  is on the way...........

Sunday, 27 July 2008 14:30:13 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [0]  Denmark

Danish adventures

Hello - yes we are all still here! (This mobile modem - dongle - is not always what it is cracked up to be!)

Thankyou for your well wishes - they are very gratefully received!

So .....we said our emotional goodbyes on Monday morning and left at 11am to the tune of "The Eagles-Take it Easy" - We will miss you all................

We found our favourite layby just outside Dover and caught the ferry on Tuesday morning. We were lucky enough (we think) to be upgraded to the VIP Suite. We had magnetic cards to pass through the doors (special offer through the caraven club!) We had unlimited access to all the food and drink and a whole lounge area with reclining and swivel chairs to ourselves! The children were not so impressed and wondered where the toys were?

We landed in France (Dunkerque) and were uninterupted through customs -Remember to drive on the RIGHT.......

We drove into Belgium and rather than 'Lost in France' we became 'Lost in Belgium'. It was not our sat navs fault, it would have taken us where we needed to go if we knew what to tell it but we were looking for a war memorial in Zeebrugge..... The whole place was (to us) a maze of train tracks and swing bridges crossing throught the road system without much warning and looking a bit like spaghetti junction! We tried for several hours to beat the system but eventually we had to admit defeat. The war memorial was of extra special interest as it includes the name of Phil's Great Uncle (Albert McKenzie) who was awarded (among others that day) the VC for taking his part in the raid of Zeebrugge. There were many brave men that day. We'll try to find it again one day - with the backing of more local knowledge.

We found a campsite at Brugge to have a bit of a break. We were obviously not overly impressed as we paid for 2 nights and only stayed 1! But we did find an adventure course in some nearby woods.

Next we drove up to the Netherlands and on into Germany. We found a friendly rest area for the night.....continued the trek out of Germany and into Denmark. We found a lovely friendly campsite (Mongeltonder camping). We BBQ'ed a whole leg of lamb - much to the amusement of our camping neighbours! and then it RAINED - well we ARE in Scandinavia! (Phil still has his shorts on-as promised!) There are go-carts to get around the site so Phil attached a Fosters umbrella to a doubler go-cart to keep our children dry!

We battoned down the hatches and watched a couple of episodes of 'The Long Way Round' on DVD!

On Friday we let the children loose in the heated outdoor swimming pool...up the steps...down the slide...up the steps... down the slide....needless to say they slept well that night!

We walked down to Mogeltonder - one of the oldest villages in Denmark and very worthy of its 'prettiest' title. It has a cobbled main street with lots of oldy worldy houses and shops. Phil thinks these must have been built before the spirit level had been invented! It is also home to the Royal Castle - Schackenborg Slot - now owned by His Royal Highness Prince Joachim.

On Saturday we went into Tonder and found a great street party with a market, vintage car show, beer and live music - who could ask for more?

Back at the pool, Phil surprised the children by climbing up to see the slide, in his shorts and T.shirt, when temptation got the better of him and he threw his T.shirt off and sailed down the water slide!

Which leads us to today -all this in not even a week! We are at Sunday 20th July 2008 - and writing this blog at the campsite reception before we move onwards and upwards - Copenhagen bound. We will endevour to add some photos for your interest next time if technology shows willing!

FACT-IOD- Some Danish Kroner coins have round holes right through the centre of them.

FACT-OID- The Danes only accept Danish Bank cards - thank goodness for cash points!

FACT-OID- In our experience- the Danish are the quietest people ever in the tiolets/washrooms - never a word is spoken!

Until next time ...........

 

Sunday, 20 July 2008 09:49:49 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [2]  Belgium

Here Is The Completed ArticleWe Are Very Happy With The Way Nessie Is Looking Now Thankyou To Jag Signs For All Their Har
Here is the completed article......We are very happy with the way Nessie is looking now! Thankyou to Jag signs for all their hard work.

We have also received a package with Polo shirts, T.shirts, hats, fleeces and even a swimming costume with our macswayround logo embroided onto them - many thanks to Hyperspeed for all their hard work and definately hyperspeed too !!

Now I must get back to the boxes and packing!

It has been an extremely hectic week after a very successful leaving BBQ last weekend !!

The children had their last day at school on Thursday and have been excited ever since......

Not long now until we leave - in fact TOMORROW ......  ahhhhh..........

We are taking Nessie for her second service up at the church today - any help we can get is greatfully received !!

Think the next time I write will have begun our adventure !! 

 

Sunday, 13 July 2008 12:37:40 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [2]  HOME

Not Long to go............

We took Nessie along to Barnstaple and got her first service done at Western Truck Rentals (Mercedes Dealership).

She was not even due for a service but we figured that we are planning a lot of miles and we wanted to make sure everything was ship -shape. The staff at the garage were very obliging and donated a Mercedes Survival Kit to us - which includes the necessary -filters, brakes etc. This gesture was very much appreciated and we would like to say 'Thankyou.'

Our next service could well be in Australia -along with a new set of tyres - all 6 of them!

During the last few weeks the Devon Air Ambulance Headquarters have announced a press release - which is available to read as a link from our home page. As we have indicated that we would like to raise money to help this crucial service remain operational - we have had several media telephones call and interviews about our imminent adventure. Phil has begun the trend with an 'over the phone' interview for BBC Radio Devon - followed closely by myself being interviewed for Radio Lantern.

Next was a nerve -racking, early morning trip, to Exeter for a LIVE interview on the Breakfast Show with Matt Woodley - on BBC Radio Devon. After the nerves calmed - this was actually an enjoyable experience!

The Western Morning News published an article on Wednesday this week (2/7/08) - and this is available to view from their website (www.westernmorningnews.co.uk ) - and by putting into the web search 'Devon Air Ambulance - fundraising'. A long list of articles should appear and the 'Mckenzie World Trip' should be one of them to view.

And finally -TODAY! (4/7/08) -We took Nessie up to Pyworthy Primary School for a 'Show and Tell' session!!  Our children took great pleasure in showing Nessie to all of their school friends- the biggest hit being the reversing camera - with lots of children stood waving behind Nessie - so they could be on TV !! 

Phil also took the opportunity to speak to our local vicar and asked if it would be possible to give Nessie a Blessing before we leave - as all help for a safe journey will be gratefully received. This has been booked in to happen on Sunday 13th July at 4pm -THE DAY BEFORE WE LEAVE !!

And if that wasn't enough adventure for today - we had to hurry home to prepare for Kev and Paul's arrival at 2pm. They came once more from BBC Radio Devon and are the 'Late Show Presenters'. They came to our house and had an informal chat. Ben was making microphones from anything he could find which vaguely resembled one!

We began the chat indoors and then walked outside to have a guided tour of Nessie.......... Keep your ears peeled on Tuesday night (8/7/08) as we will be on air some time during this Late Show.............Once again many thanks for your interest.............

P.S - If you haven't already done so  - please keep those donations rolling - to the DEVON AIR AMBULANCE - THANKYOU.

Friday, 04 July 2008 21:56:12 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [0]  HOME

Countdown to our take off - an update is here!

Hej,

Another blog - many apologies for the LONG delay - and thankyou to those of you who had the faith to think that one day there would be another!

We have been so busy 'working' and 'doing' with no time left to write about it!

So here goes:

Phil has spent many hours personalising and adapting Nessie to make her 'ours' and not just some camper we picked up along the way! She is very much our home and we all feel at home travelling and spending time with her now - which is obviously very important to us all.

Here is a list of the main extras that have been added and installed where necessary for our adventures -

* A 3 way fridge freezer lives in the garage (Essential for carrying the odd tin of beer?!)

* A Gas Detector (Essential Safety device for detecting undesired gases along the way)

* A Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Again essential safety accessories)

* Reversing Camera (To see what is behind before its too late!)

* Thermal Blinds (For the cosy good nights sleep!)

* Black- out curtains (for extra insulation)

* A BIG picnic table (Munch Munch!)

* Many Additional Safety Locks

* Comfortable Chairs!

* Water Filter -to Filter our Drinking Water.

* Lots more sockets

* An Extra Battery and Battery Box

* Travel Kettle (a dinky one that makes 2 cups!)

* Travel Iron (Hopefully won't get too much use - but good in an emergency!)

* Jerry Cans

* Storage and Toy Boxes

* Maxview - Satalite Television System

* Fire Extinguishers and Fire Blankets

* Navman Satalite Navigation (To avoid those many map reading disputes!)

* Inverter (Being fitted by Algo Electrical)

................... This is all adding to our very personalised Nessie!

Sharon has even dared to have a drive up on a deserted aerodrome and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (just a bit more practice with the reversing is needed!)

We are well on the way to getting a Passage De Carnet (passport for the Vehicle) to allow Nessie into Australia.

We will be collecting webcams for us, the family and school this week, and with the use of the mobile internet modem (the dongle!) - communication should be no problem! We are busy signing everyone who needs to be up to Broadband and organising some - 'using a computer ' lessons -where necessary!

Nessie is having promotional and advertising transfers fitted soon and we are looking into printing our logo (to be reveiled soon!) onto Vests, T.shirts and Caps......more on this next time.....

So -thats the story so far - we are well on the way to our travels - We leave home on Monday July 14th and have a ferry booked  for Dover-Dunkerque on Tuesday morning!

If I have left any vital information out  -or if you have any comments/questions - don't forget to drop us an email. We are always grateful for your interest and support. Thankyou........

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, 17 June 2008 14:13:37 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [1]  HOME

Getting ready - Part 2

Here we go - it must be well time for another blog.......
We hit a obstactle in the 2nd part of our intended route - being Mongolia and China. It is now obvious that we are not able to drive unattended through China.......We would need a Special Permit and a Government Agent with us at all times. Also a written invite to get a visa in the first place. Too many complications that leave us with no solution other than to abandon the idea of including the Eastern block in this trip. It seems to us that Human Beings have made this beautiful world now more difficult to 'go and see' - maybe next time? Our emotions have been through a roller coaster of frustrations and disappointments as we realise that we couldn't use this part of our chosen route. Phil's need for an extended challenge was especially hard hit.

HOWEVER- now we have had the chance to re-route in our heads, our excitement and enthusiasm has returned - albeit in a different light! We are busy checking prices and routes again. We are now looking at initially staying a bit longer in Europe and then going 'the other way round'. From UK straight to Norway - Sweden - Finland - Russia - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania- Poland - Germany - Switzerland - France -S. Spain - Portugal - hope to ship to USA (Baltimore) - Chicargo (to see Phil's brother) -Route 66 to LA - Australia  (Papa New Guinea? + Tasmania?) - New Zealand - Canada - USA - (Mexico? and hopefully Alaska) - UK........ The definate POSITIVES are that the new route will allow us longer in USA, Australia and New Zealand the most apprehensive parts of our journey have been removed (out of our control) - hopefully making for a less stressful family adventure.

We should not need any more injections now - and save the children from looking like pin cushions! AND the BEST BIT is that none of our route is set in stone - we have the flexibility to pick and choose as we go along............. The whole family are over the moon with 'Nessie' (the motorhome) and Phil has been continuing to personalise her : We now have extra security locks on every door - a shelved wardrobe - an extra fold down table top - installed flat screen TV/DVD and a reinforced bed ??!! We have taken Nessie on a first long weekend trip and have loved every minute of the experience. We have also had chuckles from  the neighbours as we were seen on a trip to the local supermarket! Phil is just loving to be in the driving seat' and is taking every opportunity to be there......Until next time......Thanks for your interest.... P.S -Sent the children's passports off for renewal today!! They would be fine for us to go but would have run out before we get back!!

Tuesday, 25 March 2008 19:08:32 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)      Comments [1]  HOME

Getting ready - Part 1

We've recently aquired the motorhome and Phil has already started customising it. We have begun our injections - boosters for tetanus, diptheria, polio, Hepatitas A and typhoid - lovely! We only went in for a chat with the nurse about what we might need - and came out with 2 jabs each and a long list of what else we will need - how did that happen?!

We are also booked into an emergency first aid course at the end of February. Phil has been shopping for the camper already and installed a microwave, new stereo with a USB connection and an electronic safe. We found a single sheet at a time toilet roll dispenser complete with flat pack tissue paper.

We had a camper naming ceremony along with specially made vodka to splash over it! (Phil refused to waste any whisky on this job!). The camper has officially been named - "NESSIE" its a very strong monster, with many Scottish connections and its future adventures are a mystery to all !!

Monday, 25 February 2008 18:59:47 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)      Comments [3]  HOME