Northern World (Scandinavia)

March 28 – April 6, 2007

We started our Scandanavian adventures in Stockholm, the trendy but surprisingly tranquil capital of Sweden. It was a stunning city that surprised us on a few levels.
1) We thought there would be snow and ice around still, virtually all gone.
2) There was so little traffic and so few people around during peak hour or any hour!
3) Best metro in the world, some of the underground platforms are decorated very elaborately.
4) Much fewer blondes than Davo imagined.

The highlight was the ice bar. A bar made completely of ice… ice walls, ice tables, ice couch (covered in reindeer skins) and ice glasses to hold your vodka. It was -5C inside and they gave you special coats to wear to keep you warm and make you look very cool.

We caught a 12 hr ferry across the Baltic Sea from Stockholm to Turku on the west coast of Finland, just like the Vikings would have done centuries ago. It was an amazing journey, weaving through one of the biggest and most beautiful archipelagoes in the world, under the bluest sky you could imagine. While most people were inside getting hammered, starting with shots at 8.00am, Fi and I were enjoying having the top deck almost entirely to ourselves for most of the journey. We sat and enjoyed the sun, the fresh Baltic air and imagined that we were Vikings… Vikings wrapped in sleeping bags with ipods!

We were met in Finland by our friend and excellent part-time tour guide, Heidi, who provided us with amazing hospitality for a few days. She took us on a hike through the Finnish woods, on moose alert, which could have been like the bush at home, except there were Christmas trees instead of gum trees and the lakes were covered in ice! We made a fire and Heidi showed us a traditional Finnish bush tucker recipe called stick bread.

We spent a couple of days in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, wandering through the open air markets, before heading north to a small pine cabin in the middle of the woods. It was just like what you’d imagine a small cabin in the middle of the Finnish woods to look like. It even started snowing just after we arrived.

Although we didn’t see any moose during our trip, we ate some. Moose burger! We also had reindeer kebabs, reindeer salami and a moose, reindeer, mushroom and finlandia vodka pizza. The beers were a highlight despite the inflated prices. The pick being Olvi, the last remaining Finnish owned brewery.

We never thought we’d say this, but it was good to get back to England where it was much warmer!?

School Trip to Madrid

March 23-26, 2007

Your mission (should you choose to accept) is to travel with a select group of Upper Sixth students to Madrid, Spain (the city with the highest bar/club per person ratio in the world!). You will spend the days exploring the city as you please then at night take charge ensuring each student gains entry to bars/clubs/pubs of their choice escorting them safely home by 8am for breakfast.

How could we possibly turn down such an offer!

Having experienced Venice (and the many challenges shall we say which come with an international school trip when students can drink), we were only too eager to adventure to sunny Madrid on this History of Art trip.

Despite all arriving with passports, no-one passing out drunk in a shower and flooding the accommodation and no-one falling in any canal, we managed to experience a number of memorable moments.

Highlights included:
- a brief visit to the Museo Del Prado, appreciating (if only on a very basic arty level) the works of El Greco, Reni, Botticelli and Goya to name a few;
- exploring the many centre squares with markets or stalls such as Plaza Mayor, Plaza de la Armeria and Plaza de la Villa;
- sipping Spanish wine while basking in the sunshine, looking up at the Palacio Real (the Palace which caters for those of us who require 2800 rooms!);
- dining on traditional Spanish cuisine and drinking equally intriguing local spirits (both cold and one on fire!)/wines/beers
- Kapital (the largest nightclub in Europe with 7 floors each themed differently) After a bit of a dance and then becoming bored in the tropical oasis provided on the 7th floor, we were happy to sit up on the theatre level and watch Bond (in Spanish!)
- Enjoying chocolate in all forms at Chocolateria de San Gines (choccy cafe – opening hourse 6pm-7am before arriving at the gayest of gay bars ever ‘Joy’ – interesting to say the least (think it was a bit of an eye-opener for the students!)
- El Rastro Sunday flee market (named from the fact that the area was a meat market in the 17th & 18th centuries, rastro refers to the trail of blood left behind when animals were dragged down the hill). With streets surrounding the square completely choked with a cornucopia of stalls selling whatever you fancy – clothes, accessories (Davo got a wicked belt, hand made then cut and adjusted free of charge!), electrical goods, art, food, drink and general junk. Fi thought she was in heaven!

Overall we loved the trip and certainly have counted ourselves lucky to be given such great opportunities.