I notice many elaborate and interesting doors in older cities. Stockholm is no exception. Today I decided to capture some of them. 

I was up early this morning to take photos of Gemla Stan in more even light and with fewer people. It ended up being quite deserted. I think the images have an eerie feeling.

The weather has improved but my cold has deteriorated. After another restless night it was a relief to get up around 6:00am. It had already been light for a couple of hours. Today sunrise was at 4:47am and sunset will be 8:30pm. I was sticking to my plan of heading out early so I could get pictures with better light and fewer people. I figured I should make the most of the morning when I was likely to feel my best. 

I managed to get out the door by 7:45am. Because I'll be using the metro a lot over the next few days I bought a travel card which allows me to travel as much is I like over the next 3 days. I had a problem with both the money cards I had on me though. The terminal wouldn't accept either. It got me a little worried that something was wrong, but I was able to use my travel card successfully later in the day, so all good. 

When I got to Gamla Stan it was deserted. Such a contrast from yesterday. My plan had worked and I could photograph anywhere I liked. Of course, the pictures took on an eerie feel devoid of people. I'll post my favourites in separate blog post. 

After finishing with Gemla Stan I wandered towards where the tour boats depart. On the Internet a company advertised an "Under the Bridges" tour starting at 10:00am so I made that my mission. Turns out that there is a strike on which would affect the tour and the first would depart at 11:00am. I bought a ticked and wandered a bit more. 

I have found that all old cities have some really interesting doorways. Stockholm is nothing special in that regard, but I made it my mission to try and take some shots of the more interesting ones I found today. I'm going to put them in another separate post.

While waiting for the tour I came across one of the gardens nearby with a mass of blossoming trees. 

And this curious sculpture. 

Along the waterfront are some imposing facades as well as a huge variety of moored boats. 

Closer to 11:00am I got in line to board the boat. I was hoping to sit outside for maximum photo taking flexibility. Unfortunately the outside area of the boat was so small that I didn't manage to get out there and had to put up with photographing though the glass. In hindsight, it was probably better for my health. After all, I think sitting outside on the cruise in Copenhagen contributed to this cold.

The shores of the Baltic Sea and lakes around Stockholm have a huge variety of different buildings and terrain. 

I even saw some wildlife on one wharf.

By the end of the tour I was feeling pretty awful so I decided to make my way back to the apartment. It was only 1:30pm and the weather was beautiful. I felt guilty for wasting it but I had still done a lot. 

I took the metro from Kungstragarden station. I was aware that many of the metro stations have elaborate artwork/installations but this was the first I had seen. 

I had to change trains at Fridhemsplan where I discovered more. 

After having some soothing soup I went to bed for a couple of hours. I spent the evening writing my blog while listening to English on the Sky News. 

I had another restless sleep last night. I can feel my body fighting something. I think the combination of getting frozen on the canal cruise and my difficulty in getting the right temperature at night has done it. But I'm battling on and I won't let that stop me. 

I was up early so I could get myself to the airport with plenty of time. I thought of catching the train back to the airport but decided a taxi was much simpler. At the airport, check in and bag drop were all self-service and efficient. Though I was nervous that I'd scanned my bag correctly until it confirmed my flight number. 

I had a bit of time to wait so I wandered the massive array of shops and bought a nice t-shirt I saw. 

The flight boarded on time and was almost full. I few Norwiegen Airlines and interestingly everything said was in English first and so was their magazine. The flight went smoothly and I managed to get a shot of the islands below Stockholm and some of the terrain on our approach to the airport. 

I took the express train into the city. It was easy to organise and really comfortable. At that time of the day (around midday) it was almost empty. Once in the city I decided to brave the metro to get to the apartment. It took a fair bit of working out to get the right ticket and the right line but I made it without hitch. 

By now I was definitely sensing a different vibe in Stockholm to Copenhagen. I don't know if it's the areas I travelled today or just me having man-flu sensitivity, but the energy wasn't what I was expecting.  I didn't feel as welcome as I had in Copenhagen. We'll see if that is the same in the next few days. Maybe I just need to let go of any preconcieved ideas I have of the place. 

The apartment hotel was easy to find and check-in. It's a bit more basic than the last two places I've stayed though. Perfectly nice, but a bit more budget. 

The weather was good when I got here so I decided to head out straight away. The old town (Gamla Stan) was on my list to see so I thought that would be an easy choice. I could take the metro there directly. 

It's very much an old town with winding streets and picturesque alleys. But it was full of people. I guess it's a key tourist destination. Taking photos was awkward. Either people were headed towards me all the time or the combination of light and shadow made it difficult to get the light balance right. I took many shots but most were duds. Here are the ones I am most happy with.

I was surprised at how rapidly one of the rivers was flowing. 

A couple of signs caught my eye.  

I was feeling a bit rough so I decided to head back to the apartment via the supermarket. The closest one to the apartment is huge and it was bewildering trying to find my way around. But you do some guesswork and figure it out. 

I want to head out early in the morning. My plan is to head back to Gamla Stan and take more shots when there are fewer people and more even lighting conditions. I'm hoping I don't feel any worse tomorrow.

My last destination for the day was the Danish Design Museum. On the way I came across an old part of town where all the buildings were the same design and ochre render. 

There were some other interesting sights too. 

The design museum had a couple of exhibitions as well as their standard collections. An interesting exhibition was one that explored Japanese influences on Danish design.

I wandered around the museum, at one stage getting stuck in a guided tour bottleneck.  Here are some pictures of my favourite things.

This was the most beautiful thing I saw. It was in an exhibition of Danish design today. I couldn't work out whether it was glass or acrylic, but I think it's stunning. 

By the time I got to the end of the museum it was raining. It was still only mid afternoon, but I decided I'd done well fitting all that in and it was time to relax and head back to the apartment. I bought some more supplies as well as a delicious snack from a bakery nearby. Could this be why my waist is expanding? 

Tomorrow it's on to Stockholm.  

Yesterday I visited Rosenborg Slot (castle) but was too late to look around. So today's plan was to go back. As well as walking around the various state rooms you can see the Crown Jewels. 

This tree in the castle grounds reminded me of an old man looking out for danger. 

In the castle they had a very civilised attitude to photography, so I was able to take pictures everywhere.  It was a really impressive collection of rooms with some amazing art works and tapestries.

Last stop for the day would be the Danish Design Museum. 

When I was writing yesterday's blog post I nearly had a technological meltdown because after an hour of writing, my post wouldn't save. Luckily everything came good in the end, but I've decided it might be smart to break some of these posts into smaller pieces. So here's part 1 of today. 

I was exhausted yesterday so had an early night. I still had a restless sleep but managed to force myself to stay in bed until almost 7:00am this morning. Outside the weather was looking promising; a bit brighter than yesterday. However, the weather report looked grim with chance of storm. I decided to believe my eyes and head out. Today I remembered my gloves so I was toasty warm. 

My first destination was the tower of the Church of the Savior. We saw it on our canal cruise yesterday and I discovered it opens at 10:00am.

On the way I wondered through some new streets and the area known as Christianshavn. 

My plan was to be at the head of the queue for the tower, and I was! From the moment I started climbing I had flashbacks from when Emily and I climbed the cathedral in Florence. It was a long way, though I'm not sure exactly how many steps. 2/3 of the climbing is inside the brick part. The stairs get narrower and steeper as you go up past the bells.

I didn't notice until the way down, but there was a bed on a landing half way up. I have no idea why. 

Eventually I got to the top of the brick structure. There is a platform almost all the way around with spectacular views.

Then I climbed the outside stairs, which were actually easier, until I got to the very top. The view was not that much different, but at least I had made it. It was a long way down.

Back on the ground I looked up to see where I had been. 

Next stop was Rosenborg Slot (castle).  

I didn't sleep all that well last night. The bed was really comfortable but the room temperature was too warm for my liking. I ended up putting the aircon on for a bit to try and cool it down! It rained throughout the night and when I got out of bed at 5:30am (my body, or mind, must still be in work wake up mode)  it was very grey and wintery outside. 

Undetered, I wrote my blog from yesterday while having my breakfast and eventually got ready to brave outside. My weather report said 4 degrees but I had 4 layers on and felt OK.  

Yesterday I took a photo of a dragon light pole. There are also dragons in a different style around where the hotel is. I did research last night and the originals were designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup and installed in 1892. The new ones are cubist reinterpretations of that original design. Other than that there appears to be no particular significance. 

I headed off along the harbour front near the hotel. Along the wharves are various buildings but this one attracted my attention because of the colour and the unusual window layout. 

From there I headed towards the city centre which took me past The Little Mermaid. Not something I'd make a trip to see, but since I was passing... 

I noticed a variety of building styles but the fresco pained at the top of this building was quite unique.  It had a slightly Egyptian feel to it.

And this was another striking building. 

The entire facade was covered in an extremely detailed mesh. 

Some bees were keeping guard on this building.

And someone must have thought that this box needed some extra colour or warmth. 

Amalienborg Slot is the official royal residence. It's a set of 4 buildings around a circular courtyard. I was surprised that the public could walk right into the courtyard. As I discovered later, this building is the queen's residence but she wasn't home at the time. 

Near these palaces is a park with some great sculpture. As soon as I saw them their style seemed familiar. Later I did some research and they were created by Arnaldo Pomodoro. And he also created a work I had seen in the sculpture park in Washington DC. The sculptures are four columns. This picture only shows you part of one, but it should give an idea of the style and detail.

So far the weather had behaved but soon it began to rain. And then I noticed tiny pellets of sleet. Well, not quite the snow I had hoped for, but close. But it ended quickly. 

Before long I made it to Nyhavn, a very picturesque and famous part of Copenhagen. When I first arrived it was very grey but I still managed to get some good pictures. Later the sun came out briefly and I took some more. 

As it looked like the weather had broken for a little while I decided it was good timing to go on a canal cruise. These leave regularly from Nyhavn. The tour went for just over an hour and took us out into the harbour (brrr), through many of the canals and under quite a few bridges.

We went past the opera house. 

In the distance we could see a tower. Our guide explained that it was part of a church and you can walk to the top. Weather permitting, I will try to do that tomorrow. 

These boxes were on one of the poles along the canal. I assume they are for birds. 

This structure on the side of one of the bridges reminded me of a submarine conning tower. But it also reminded me a little of one of the towers I saw at the Berlin Wall.

The tour took us past Christiansborg Palace. I believe this is now the parliament building. I couldn't see much of the building but this tower/spire was impressive. 

The most modern bridge we went under opens by each half retracting. You could see the massive wheel on one half as we went under. 

By the time the tour had finished I was frozen. It's easy for me to keep warm while walking but sitting outside (to take photos) on the boat was bitterly cold and my hands in particular had lost their feeling. I had forgotten to take my gloves with me this morning. It was also starting to rain again. I decided I needed some food and to warm up. After many indecisive moments perusing the menus along Nyhavn I settled on one small place that looked cosy and friendly. And it was. Once again, super friendly staff quite happy to speak in perfect English. I ordered a smorrebrod (Danish open sandwich) with roast beef and horseradish and a beer. The beer came in this enormous glass!

Once the rain had subsided, I emerged full, warmed and re-energised. I made my way to another castle I wanted to see. On the way I passed this shop window selling only lamps.

Rosenberg Castle was originally built as a summerhouse for King Christian IV. I was hoping to go inside but it closes at 2:00pm and it was already 1:30pm. I decided to leave it until tomorrow. 

My last planned destination was to check out some lakes further north in the city. I walked through the botanic gardens and came across this little guy. Much more ginger than those I've seen in England or America. 

The lakes were a little underwhelming so I wandered back in the general direction of the hotel discovering a few interesting things on the way and picking up some supplies for dinner. 

By the time I got to my apartment I was feeling exhausted. I sat on the couch and dozed off. When I awoke it was still light and the weather was holding. My mind was telling me that I should head out again to take advantage of the conditions. But my body wouldn't let me do it.  

There's one last thing I want to share though. This building is near the hotel. I think it typifies the architecture around here and it's completely clad in slate shingles. 

PS, I can't remember if I've written this already but I can feel I have put on weight already on this trip! 

Today I leave London for my little Scandinavian adventure. The sky in London is beautiful and blue this morning. Would have been great for photos. Oh well.  I'll be back. I got myself organised fairly quickly. My plan was to get a taxi to St Pancras station then the train to Luton Airport for my flight.

Once again, the taxi driver was very amiable and talkative. Such a nice experience. My primary reason for catching he train was for the scenery. If I took a taxi all the way I figured I'd probably only see motorway. Once at the station it took a bit of figuring out but I got to the platform and boarded my train. At first the view was just the usual inner city landscape, but then it opened up to wide fields and small towns. 

At Luton Airport Parkway we needed to change to a shuttle bus to get to the airport. Trying to get my back onto the luggage rack in the bus was a challenge but I got there with a little help. At the bag drop counter I discovered my bag was just on 20kg which is my limit for these short flights. The books I've bought already have really added to the weight.  

I was at the airport early so had just about an hour to wait. I'd rather be at the airport early than have to worry about missing a flight. But it did remind me that flying in the middle of the day wastes so much of the day. If I had flown later I would have been able to do something in London in the morning.  While waiting for my flight I reflected on how I was about to immerse myself in non-English speaking lands again. I haven't done that for an extended period since my trip in 2013.

The flight up was a bit bumpy. The plane was an A319 and its noises were unfamiliar to me. I have to confess it was a bit unnerving. But eventually it settled down and I got a good view of some rain in the distance then some English countryside.

Somewhere around the North Sea or Denmark we crossed these islands. 

Before crossing the island where Copenhagen is. 

The airport is huge and I took ages just to walk to the exit and through passport check. As with leaving Australia and entering the UK I seemed to draw some extra attention that warranted a little "interrogation". Just specific questions about what I was planning to do and why I was there. Not everyone appeared to get these questions. I guess a middle aged man travelling all that way on his own on holiday might not be common?

Eventually I was reunited with my bag and any lingering concerns about flying with easyJet were dispelled. Despite some bad ratings I've had a great experience with them both times.

As with London, I decided to catch the train into central Copenhagen and then a taxi to the apartment hotel. Of course this time was trickier due to language but I made it without hitch. The trains seem much roomier than the English trains and very new. It only took about 15 minutes and before long I was in a taxi. I managed to communicate the address to the driver successfully only to discover his English was as good as mine.  Another very amiable and talkative driver too. I had been told that most people here speak English well and that certainly seems to be the case so far.

I'm staying in an apartment hotel which means I've got a bit more space and facilities to make my own breakfast and meals if I want. But there's also a restaurant and bar too. 

The weather in Copenhagen was grey, about 6 degrees and damp. By this time it was around 4:30 so after checking in I rushed to get some warmer clothes on and head out to explore.

Right next to the hotel is Kastallet which appears to have been an old fortification but is now mainly a public space with barracks in the centre. 

As in London, I came across trees in blossom. 

After exploring the grounds I walked towards some docks and came across this incredibly intricate sculpture.  

Nearby I noticed dragons at the top of the light poles. Later, at dinner, I would notice dragons in a different design on other light poles. Must have some significance. I will investigate.

By now it was nearly 6:30pm and I was starting to get hungry. So I headed back. On the way, I came across this family. 

There's a supermarket on the corner of the hotel's block so I popped in for breakfast supplies. With a little guesswork I (hopefully) managed to work out the fat and sugar content labels in order to make some healthy choices (and I successfully resisted the muesli with chocolate pieces)

Dinner in the hotel restaurant was in order before a relatively early night. 

My last morning in London (until the end of the trip) and there's a glorious blue sky at last. Never mind, the grey didn't stop me doing anything.

As usual there's the steady stream of planes flying over London. 

I just checked the forecast for my next stop Copenhagen. 5 degrees and chance of snow! I hope so. 

As expected, I was in bed early last night, before 9:00pm. But I desperately needed the sleep and I think the rest has helped me to shake off the last of the jet lag. I still woke up early, but that's just me. 

The initial plan for today was to meet a friend for coffee in Camden and then maybe wander around the markets. The forecast wasn't too bright so I thought this was a wise move. However, as the sun came up it was looking better than I expected so I changed plans. I was also feeling a little anxious that I hadn't done any of my day trips yet and didn't want to leave them all until my return. So I decided to make my apologies to my friend and head to Windsor Castle. At first I was thinking a grey day might be bad for photographing castles but then I figured it might be more dramatic.

I took the tube to Paddington. The trusses in the station ceiling have this ornate pattern.

From Paddington I caught the train to Windsor. On the way we went through Southall which curiously had the station name in an Indian looking script as well as English. I assume it was to embrace the cultural identity of the area. Nice one.

I had to change trains at Slough. Speaking of Slough, all my guesses at pronunciation were wrong. It's pronounced sl-ow as in "cow" - go figure. 

While waiting at Slough for the Windsor train I noticed this building. Seemed a little out of place actually.

Also while at Slough an express train belted past. It was incredibly fast!

Once at Windsor I made my way to the castle. It must be odd for the town to be in the shadow of this massive structure. I wandered around taking some shots. It's an impressive place. 

And what's a castle without a gargoyle or dragon or two?

It started to spot with rain so it was time to move inside and do the tour of the state apartments. As you'd expect they are very grand, if a bit dark and gloomy. But only the Queen's reception room had some serious Royal bling to it. As you'd expect, you're not allowed to take photos inside, so nothing to show you.  

I saw this odd style of clock on the side of the chapel. I've seen some others like it in London. 

And the chapel was equally as impressive. 

One really obvious thing you notice as soon as you get to the castle is the air traffic. The castle must be close to right on a main flight path. Lucky those castle walls are thick. I checked my flight path app and this was the traffic going on. 

When I left the castle it was raining to I dashed to find somewhere for lunch before heading back into the city. At the end of the day I had a booking to visit Dennis Severs' house.  

It's hard to describe what you encounter when you enter this unassuming door.  If you're interested I suggest you read for yourself on the website.  http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/ It was a great experience, though I didn't figure out all of the story. It would be worth going back a second time - I'm sure I'd discover more.

Near the house I came across this sculpture.  I had to look a couple of times to decide whether it was a sculpture or some maintenance work.

The tube back to the hotel was packed, I guess it was still rush hour. But I made it back intact. I ended the evening sitting in the hotel bar writing this blog and sipping on a martini (or two). 

I woke up at 7:00am this morning (Sunday) feeling fresh, though I started feeling a bit tired as the early morning progressed. It rained overnight but it was clearing by 9:00am. I had another delicious breakfast in the hotel and worked on my blog for a while. My first stop for the day didn't open until 11:00am so there was no rush. Having said that, it took me a while to muster the energy to get going, so it was good to not be in a hurry.

Before leaving Australia I saw an advertisement for an open weekend at the London Transport Museum depot so I organised a ticket. Today was the day. It's also the day of the London marathon and I noticed increased police presence as soon as I left the hotel as a policeman brandishing a machine gun was patrolling ahead of me.

I headed to the Kensington High Street tube station to top up my Oyster card and take my first tube ride of this trip (took the circle line to Earls Court then the district line to Acton Town). On my way down the escalator I reacquainted myself with standing on the right side instead of the left as we tend to do. 

The museum depot was a few minutes walk from the station. I noticed these serious pieces of hardware on the way in.

The depot has a huge collection of old maps and signage. It was fascinating to see how they have evolved. 

The depot also has a good collection of trains and buses.

I enjoyed walking around. Dotted around the depot were stalls selling all sorts of second hand transport related items. Of particular interest to me were some maps. I bought a couple. I also bought my first 2 books of the trip - starting early - I must pace myself. One was London Transport Photographs 1880-1965 and the other was 150 of the most iconic posters from the underground. I could easily have bought a few more too.

After a couple of hours of wandering around I made my way back to the hotel to drop off my purchases and decide what to do next. I decided to check out some exhibitions at the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (next door to each other). 

The exhibition at the Natural History Museum was Otherworlds, a collection of large photographs from the solar system to a soundtrack created by Brian Eno. The photographs were spectacular and made me wonder about all that beauty that is never experienced up close ... or is it?

The museum was super busy. I wandered around a bit but nothing really grabbed my attention other than the architecture of the building. 

The ceiling in the main hall.  

It was still only 3:30pm so I ventured on to the V&A. Unlike the Natural History Museum, I have been to the V&A before. This time I was interested in an exhibition of photos by Paul Strand, a pioneer of modern photography. Some of his work dates back to 1910 and it was enlightening to see photography in that age being used as an artistic medium rather than just a documentary medium or gimmick. The book shop had a couple more books I'd really like but I decided to wait until I come back to London at the end of May. Then I can load my luggage up for the final flight home if need be. 

I was going to leave but I noticed the medieval/Renaissance section and some amazing carved altar pieces in particular.  The gilded, 3D works were gruesome but stunning. 

By this time my feet had had enough. I decided to save them a little by catching the tube part way back to the hotel. After a little confusion over which line to catch I made it back to High Street, grabbed some dinner and stumbled back to the hotel. 

I had planned to go out tonight for a bit of a dance at a place I know of, but my feet/legs have given up on me. I'm feeling very tired again and I think an early night is in order. 

The concert I wanted to see was New Order playing at the Royal Albert Hall. I was hoping to see some music while overseas. Some of my favourite artists are touring Europe right now but I just miss them each place I go. Also, I'd seen Royal Albert Hall in TV show just recently and wanted to go there. 

Although I know of New Order I never quite got into their music for some reason, but knew I'd like them enough to make this the show to go to. It was part of a series of concerts in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Until the show began, I didn't know Roisin Murphy was the support. 

The guy sitting next to me had only got his ticket this morning too. He flew over from Germany just to attend. He's a huge New Order fan and had seen them in Cologne just recently. 

The hall is spectacular. So many levels. People were standing between the arches in the top tier.

And an equally spectacular ceiling. 

Roisin came on shortly after 7:30. She has a great voice live. Some of her music I really like, but I'm really only familiar with one album. She's mad though - the whole performance was about how many costume changes and masks she could fit on, most while she was still on the stage. Kind of looked like she was just doing it to keep herself amused but I guess there must have been more to it than that.  

New Order came on at 9:00. You could tell the audience was filled with enthusiastic fans. That always helps create a great vibe. They were brilliant. I still don't think I'd listen to their albums that much, but live was a whole other experience.  By the end of the show the entire audience was standing.

And the lighting and visuals were spectacular. 

The show ended around 11:00 and I walked the 10 min walk back to the hotel very pleased I had made the effort. Then fell into bed! 

After a big breakfast I headed out. First task was to visit Royal Albert Hall. It's only 10 min walk away and I wanted to see if I could get a ticket for a concert that night. I'd tried getting the ticket while still in Adelaide but I wouldn't work. On the way I walked past the Albert memorial. I've seen it before, but at that moment the sun was perfect and the gold glistened. I stopped to take some pictures but had to play cat and mouse with the sun hiding behind the clouds before I was able to get the shot I wanted.  

I turned around and there was the Royal Albert Hall. 

After finding the box office I managed to secure a ticket. More details on that later. After that I headed off through Hyde Park. The trees are just beginning to blossom. 

The temperature was around 8 degrees but I felt comfortable apart from the occasional bursts of bracing wind. There were plenty of joggers out in the park. Some people riding horses too. Although I wasn't really heading anywhere in particular at first I got off track. My journey took me past some new buildings allowing me to indulge my love of photographing geometrical architecture.

This one is known as the Zig Zag building. 

Before long I was at the Thames and I had to duck for cover from a few spots of rain. I headed back north and finished up at Covent Garden looking through the markets. There was one stall with some lovely photos of London. I'll go back to get some when I return to London at the end of the trip.

Saturday was St George's Day which is England's national day. There was a festival in Trafalgar Square so I headed there next. It wasn't quite what I expected but it was fun all the same.

While sitting by one of the fountains in the square I noticed the statues in a pool. Can't say I've taken much notice before but this expression caught my eye. 

After some food and watching the entertainment I decided to slowly head back to the hotel. My feet were killing me and I was planning to have a nap before the concert. Feeling some slight effects of jet lag. I took the route past Buckingham Palace. All through London I've seen preparations for the London Marathon which is on Sunday. Around the palace was the most activity. I think it finishes there.

As well as blossom I noticed there are tulips everywhere. I saw a couple of beds in Hyde Park as well as the grounds of Kensington Palace.

Back in the hotel I crawled into bed for a little doze. When the alarm went off I was feeling heavy but managed to wake myself up with some strong coffee and get ready to head out. The concert was starting at 7:30 which was nice and civilised.  I grabbed some sushi for dinner. After pigging out all day it was nice to have something light. Then off to the hall. I'll write about that in my next post.

Some things I noticed on my flight: 

• In business class the attendants always address you by your name. 
• There are individual linen towels in the business class bathroom. 
• When I went to the toilet at the front of the plane I discovered it was next to the stairs down to the lower deck. The stairs are quite wide and it reminds you just how massive these planes are. 
• I enjoyed the flight so much that I kept thinking that landing would be the end of the adventure. But then I would remind myself that landing is just the beginning! 

After quite a good sleep I woke just before 5:00. I could just start to see blue on the horizon so I decided to sit in bed and sip coffee while the sun came up. I'm still tired but I want to get up and out. I might try and sleep in tomorrow.  

The grey wet from last night has passed.  

I popped down to the restaurant for breakfast this morning. Lovely food again. Sitting there I realised that the hotel is right next to Kensington Gardens. It's located at the purple circle on this map. 

Last night, after some dinner in the lounge, I went to the transit hotel to sleep. You can book rooms for 6 hour slots. When I arrived the receptionist advised that they are doing maintenance work hotel and that the power might go off between 2:00 and 5:00. And that, if it did, the emergency light would come on in my room - but not to panic! He gave me an extra hour for free for the inconvenience.

Well, at 2:00 the power did go off and the emergency light did come on. Not bright enough to keep me awake but bright enough to be annoying. I managed to avoid the light and get back to sleep before the power eventually came back on and the light went off (back to front, I know). The room was fine though, perfect for my needs with a nice bathroom. 

I checked out at 5:00 and made it to the lounge which was quiet but not empty. I got myself some breakfast.  

Hardly a soul around. 

On the way to the buffet I saw the headlines about Prince's untimely death. Couldn't believe it. What's going on this year?

After some downloading my photos it was time to head to the gate to board my chariot. I've been on an A380 a few times already but always economy.

Business class is upstairs. I spent a bit of time getting to know my home for the next 14 hours. So many little compartments. The seats are HUGE - more like a 2 seater.  

By the time we departed it was 9:00, so once we were up in the air it was time for breakfast number 2. 

The French toast was delicious.  

Nicely full, I settled in to some movies. First was Bridge of Spies followed by Star Wars VII - finally got around to seeing it. 

Most of the people in the cabin appeared to want to sleep all the way to London so I felt obliged to keep my shade down for a lot of the trip. But I still managed to get glimpses of the journey from time to time and a long stretch at meals.  The terrain began with islands and meandering rivers.

When I looked down after watching Star Wars in noticed a vast expanse of wilderness. It reminded me very much of the terrain in the movie except someone had changed the colour palette from sandy brown to dusty grey.  

Slowly I noticed the natural curves of erosion make way to the angular lines of civilisation.  Then, when we reached Afghanistan it changed again and I began to see snow capped mountains that got more populous as we reached Georgia. They looked as if they had been dusted with icing sugar.

I gazed for ages as we crossed into the Black Sea and tracked along the northern coast of Turkey. 

Somewhere in that time was lunch. I had the chicken. The dessert was particularly delicious.  

Rum Baba.  

There was thick cloud as we reached Europe, so nothing to see for the last couple of hours. Hoping to see some English countryside I watched eagerly when we crossed the English Channel but it was just thick white cloud until just before the airport.  After being in a holding pattern for a couple of loops we landed only a little after schedule. 

The weather in London was cold, grey and wet. But I didn't mind at all. It was just great to be back here.

It would have been rush hour and my original plan was to catch the tube to the hotel. I was anxious that would be difficult/stressful so I decided to catch the Heathrow Express to Paddington then a taxi to the hotel. A much better option. The taxi driver was SO talkative. 

The hotel room is lovely with a view of Kensington High Street.

In an effort to reset my body clock I resisted the temptation to fall straight into bed. Instead, I was brave (for me) and ventured down to the restaurant alone. The food and service were excellent. I had Asparagus Gnocchi and Seared Tuna followed by a small Lemon Soufflé.  

It might be grey and wet but I don't mind. I'm back in London! 

The view from my hotel window.  

I'll write about the flight once I've had a chance to freshen up and relax.  

This will only be a short post. We're currently flying over Afghanistan. The plane has Wi-Fi and I couldn't resist the temptation to post something in flight.  

Midway between Kabul and Kandahar.  

The lounge at Changi airport has 1 piano song. On continuous loop. Over and over again. Time to put my headphones on.