Rambling up Hambledon Hill

Well perhaps not a ramble exactly but I liked how it sounded along with Hambledon Hill. For this ramble we're popping back to January last year when we had a week in Dorset. It was pretty chilly then, but we had a lovely cosy cottage with a real fire, and occasionally we ventured out.  

Hambledon Hill was so close to our Dorset base that it would have been rude not to see it close up. It's an Iron Age hill fort and is one of the most iconic sites in Dorset according to the National Trust. It rises steeply to 190 metres above the Blackmore Vale and provides spectacular views - I perhaps should have read the 190 metres bit before we left, as it was quite steep. MOH helpfully asked what I'd expected as the clue was in the name...

Hmnnnn.

IT DOESN'T LOOK THAT STEEP DOES IT?

Before we reached the path to take us into the Nature Reserve, I spotted several clumps of snowdrops.

We went through the gate and then up. And up. I deployed the let's-stop-and-take-a-photo trick several times, but it was quite chilly so we didn't pause for long. The photo below though gives an indication of just how steep it was.

IT'S LOOKING STEEPER NOW, ISN'T IT?

As we got closer we could see the ridges, or furrows or whatever the proper name for them are, which weren't visible from street level. They were quite intriguing, more on those soon. But first the views, they were spectacular. It was windy up there and at times we were hanging onto our hats.

MOH HAD TROUBLE IN THE WIND WITH HIS EAR FLAPS

A TREE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD?

The ditches - I'm going to stick with that name for the ridges we'd spotted earlier - were actually quite large, from a distance they had been quite deceptive. It was quite strange to walk through them, although they did provide some respite from the wind.

A completely fascinating place, and one I was glad we visited despite my original prediction that it was just a hill. It seems it's much more than that. Having had our fill of the wind, it was time to find our way down. And of course we couldn't just go the way we had come. Instead we headed down the other side, which while a shorter walk it was, yes you've guessed it, much steeper.  

Straight to the Bräuhaus

So after almost a week cycling around Bavaria we left Füssen by train and headed back to Munich. It was an easy journey, but long and by the time we arrived the rain that had started as we left had caught us up. Having been cooped up for a good few hours I was keen to stretch my legs, so decided we would walk to our hotel. In the rain. With our luggage.  

We set off confidently, as you do.  And some way down the street found a doorway to shelter and check the map. Whoops. It wasn't the best time to admit we'd walked ten minutes or so in the wrong direction. I wasn't too popular... 

So with a new plan to zig zag our way back towards the centre of town we set off again, this time in the right direction. With a few more stops than before to check the map it wasn't that long before we were making progress. Tired and hungry, and just a little bit damp we arrived at our hotel just a short walk from plenty of Bräuhaus.  

And so there really was only one thing for it. Dry clothes and out for a beer! This was one part of our trip that MOH had researched in advance (code for he read the guide book on the train) and so had a list of options to hand. 

It turned out that we were staying within staggering distance of the Weisses Bräuhaus, which MOH assured me was one of the oldest in Munich and on his list. So that's where we went. 

With beer and a pretzel ordered we took more time understanding the menu. We had one in English and one in German, I find that helps with being able to order something I know I can eat and with immersing ourselves in the culture of where we are. I can read English menus any day at home and comparing and contrasting it to the German version helped build my (limited) language skills further.  

In the end though we opted for a mixed plate of wurst, or sausages. Another beer and another pretzel, because both are pretty moreish. And then I could admire our surroundings. And people watch.  

There were rumours that the rain had stopped, so we settled our bill and headed out. Otherwise we might easily have stayed put for the rest of the evening and put our "find the hotel" navigation skills to the test, for a second time that day.  

We wandered around the streets, finding some shops with pretty window displays. One it seemed was intent on reminding me of my bike at home. In others stacks upon stacks of bright kitchenware, another wooden boards, another pretty boxes of herb teas.

I had a feeling that I was going to like it here.

I was looking forward to visiting these shops again when they were open. But somehow that didn't happen. I'm not sure whether that was because we never found them again as our wanders took us in different directions, or through some careful and skilful guiding from MOH. He'll claim the latter no doubt, forgetting I know just how bad his sense of direction can be! 

Running out of shops we decided to take a wander around some of Munich's streets before heading back to the hotel. We didn't want to do the big sights but more to have a wander and get our bearings and to see what we could see.

Soon enough we saw some interesting architecture. Buildings continued to be painted, but often in bolder colours and some with additional decorations.

The roof of this building I thought was particularly stunning, helped I think by the shimmering of the wet tiles from the rain!

We found ourselves at this modern building, which turned out to be the Jewish Museum. I liked the contrast of materials used, the textures and of course the bike parked outside. It was another place we didn't make it back to, although we walked close by the next day.

And so now it was time to find our hotel again. And prepare for more food and the odd beer or two!

Visiting Lumiere London, along with everyone else...

On Friday I said that my plans for the weekend included a glass of red (or two), a trip into town to see some of the Lumiere London light festival and dinner out. Well we managed all of that, some with more success than others it must be said.

We combined our trip into town with a spot of dining room chair hunting - more on that another day - and as soon as we left Charing Cross on foot heading towards Tottenham Court Road we realised it was going to be a busy evening.  After the chair hunting, we headed along the back of Oxford Street and then over towards Bond Street where we planned to see the installations in the Mayfair section.

There were two together at the Roof Top Garden at Brown Hart Gardens, somewhere I didn't realise existed despite passing it many times before. It was crowded, so we nipped around the back and saw the installations by Sarah Blood.

SANCTUARY, SARAH BLOOD

DISSECT I AND DISSECT II, SARAH BLOOD

The bird boxes were fun and so was the birdsong in the garden, but we didn't get close to the one above as there were just too many people about. Instead of queuing we headed off towards Grosvenor Square.

It was here that we realised just how busy it was as the queue to enter the garden at Grosvenor Square was spilling back onto the crossing, causing frustrated motorists to bib and hoot at the pedestrians who had nowhere to go, as entrance to the square was being controlled. And that wasn't obvious before you crossed and became the object of the motorists horn. 

We didn't wait too long before being allowed entry, but while we were waiting I captured the moon through the lacy tree.  I'm all for crowd control and it made sense to limit the numbers of people into the square, but perhaps the crowd control could have started further back. I'm sure the organisers will be reviewing their arrangements, and most likely didn't anticipate the number of people who would attend. It's amazing though what will bring Londoners and tourists alike out on a chilly, wintery evening...

Inside the gate we headed over to the nearest installation, which was the one below. It immediately reminded MOH and I of a picture we used to have hanging in our stairwell and it wasn't until we got home that we realised the colours were scrolling across. There were a couple more installations to see here so off we went again.

SPINNING NIGHT IN LIVING COLOUR,

ELAINE BUCKHOLTZ

Because of the sheer number of people we skipped seeing the Lightbench and completely missed the Aquarirum in a phone box. Instead we headed up towards Brothers and Sisters by Ron Haselden where we joined the throngs of people being shouted at by the steward on duty. It seems that anyone who wanted to take pictures - so most people there - should stand on the far side of the path and behind everyone else to do so. Clearly this was ludicrous as you couldn't even see the installation from there, let alone photograph it.

The logic was to keep the path moving freely, only thing was it wasn't moving anywhere as people were stopping to look at the installation and not just walk past it. Surely that's what the artist intended, but the steward was getting more and more worked up because people weren't paying attention. In fact here we got talking to a lady and her husband, also trying to take pictures and also a little bemused at the instructions that everyone was ignoring!

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, RON HASELDEN

I quite liked this one, and as we approached from the side we couldn't work out what it was but as soon as we were front on, it was clear it was faces. After a non-sensical brief discussion with the shouty steward we decided to head off towards Regent Street and get some dinner. We knew there were more in Regent Street and decided that if we saw them, we saw them. And if there was time we would see more after our meal when hopefully the crowds had lessened.

But as we approached Regent Street we were mesmerised by these Keyframes - or clever stick men -  by Groupe LAPS/Thomas Veyssière as they "ran" around the front of the building "bouncing" off trampolines and "somersaulting" between the same, imaginary trampolines. Very clever, and great fun to watch. It was almost impossible to capture a photo of this which would convey the fun and skill involved, so here's a short video instead:

Things were starting to look up, this was much more what I expected. Yes, it was busy in Regent Street, but the road was closed and it's a wide road so there was plenty of space for everyone. Our plan was to head to our favourite Beak Street, which is packed with restaurants and see if any of those had a table with less than a 45 minute wait.

But once again we were distracted. It seemed that some kind of alien being was floating up from Piccadilly...

LES LUMINÉOLES, PORTÉ PAR LE VENT

We made it to Beak Street and quite quickly realised this wasn't our best plan as there was even a queue to get into Byron's. So goodness knows what the waiting time at Flat Iron, Polpo and such like would be. We didn't stop to check and headed onwards towards Soho, with the aim of heading towards Covent Garden. As we turned into Berwick Street we spotted Polpetto, a relative of Polpo and somewhere we'd not been before. And it didn't look that busy.

So we ventured in. Ah, a 45 minute wait. But there was a seat at the bar and our feet were starting to ache. We took the seat, ordered cocktails and some bar snacks to tide us over. Before our cocktails arrived we were being shown to our table. Result.

Having eaten well we left the restaurant and emerged into the wet, sloppy snow. Less than pleased we hurried towards Leicester Square remembering there were some light installations there. Then our plan was to head into Trafalgar Square and onto Charing Cross and a train home. 

But first the Garden of Light in Leicester Square:

THE GARDEN OF LIGHT, TILT

THE LARGEST SNOWDROPS?

I did see my first snowdrop in my garden last weekend, but it was nowhere the size of those in Leicester Square. There were still people around, but noticeably a different crowd given that it was now nearer 10pm and close to lights out at 10.30. 

So onto our last stop, Trafalgar Square.

From a distance it looked as if one of the fountains had iced over - it was certainly chilly enough!  On closer inspection though, the "ice" was plastic bottles. Quite effective with the light on them.

PLASTIC ISLANDS, LUZINTERRUPTUS

So quite a mixed trip into town, but with all my objectives achieved. We didn't see as much of Lumiere London as we might have done, and it was (obviously) much better without the crowds. I can understand why so many people wanted to see it, but perhaps a better appreciation of how many people might attend would have helped the organisers plan better.