While crossing Oxford Street with some mates on Saturday night, we spotted this fantastic flash car. Aside from the driver, there was a solitary bloke in the back seat. For a while we speculated what he might have been up to, concluding the most romantic option – he was on his way to pick up someone to ask them to marry him. At risk to life and limb, I snapped this photograph on my phone knowing it’s not often you see a flash car like this one in such great condition.
Flash car on Oxford Street
PS. I have since seen the car on a couple of other occasions and can confirm it’s part of the Uber range.
As I made my way to the supermarket tonight, I noticed there were about twenty teenage girls camping out at Globen, the big concert/sports arena in Stockholm. Actually, I’d noticed them last night too, but didn’t think too much of it at the time. “That’s odd”, I thought briefly, thinking they must have been queueing for concert tickets. Do people still queue for concert tickets? Or is it all done on-line these days? “What’s on?”, I asked one of them. That’s when I discovered Justin Bieber is playing Globen tomorrow night.
This is only of interest because I’ve spent the last week staying opposite the arena. From my bed-room (on the seventh floor) I have an uninterupted view of the arena. From the main living area, I’ve been able to sit and have dinner and watch the rotation of posters on the electronic billboard reflected in the window. For a while today, I actually sat outside on the balcony enjoying the sunshine. It was that kind of day. Warm weather. Clear skies. What more could you ask for?
Tomorrow night I might have been able to sit on the balcony and listen in as Justin Bieber entertained Stockholm’s teenage girls. I quite like Baby, Baby as a song, by the way. Instead, I’ll be on my way to Turkey. You can expect lots of great photographs and hopefully some interesting stories.
The only other time I’ve been this cold and wet was two years ago in Sweden. Although it was summer, the combination of colder temperatures and wet weather combined for truly unpleasant conditions. I said to my friend, Tony at the time that I had never been this cold in my life.
That was still the case until today, as the glorious weather of my first week in China has been replaced by cold, miserable conditions. It’s grey, very grey.
Beijing Olympic Stadium
It doesn’t help that we can’t turn on the central heating which, suitably enough, is centrally controlled. It’s mid-November, I believe, before it gets turned on. Kate tells me a couple of years ago when she was here it got so cold before the central heating was turned on, that it was warmer in her fridge than it was in her apartment.
Thus, my first task of the day was to buy a suitably warm jacket that would double as wet-weather gear. I found one in the “clothing market” I mentioned the other day. Although I haggled over price – as is the norm in China – I probably still paid too much for a “North Face” jacket. Even if I can’t vouch for its authenticity as a genuine “North Face” product, it kept me warm and dry throughout the day, which makes it authentic in my eyes.
Beijing Olympic Stadium
I played “tourism bingo” again this morning, getting on the subway and getting off at somewhere which took my fancy: today I got off at the Beijing Olympic Centre. I was travelling throughout Europe for most of the duration of the Olympic Games in 2008, and wasn’t all that much interested in watching television. On the odd occasion my eyes were diverted to a television screen, there were often Australians playing or competing which was co-incidental I guess. So it was with “open eyes” that I visited the stadium today. And guess what? It’s fan-bloody-tastic.
Beijing Olympic Stadium
The birdcage stadium and the nearby water-cube are both architectually and visually spectacular. And as you walk around the two facilities, the games are very much alive with videos, photographs, souvenir shops, and even a wax-works museum featuring past presidents of the International Olympic Committee.
PIlgrimmage to where Australian diver, Matthew Mitcham scored his perfect 10 at Beijing Olympics
Although it was fabulous to visit the spot where Matthew Mitcham scored his perfect 10, I was completely blown away by the indoor pool/beach. When I visited there were maybe 30 or 40 people swimming, or just enjoying the machine-generated waves. Oddly enough, since the water was only a couple of feet deep, there were lots of people wearing life jackets. Many were just lying back, relaxing, and enjoying the entertainment – which ranged from Canto-pop to Bollywood – on the nearby stage. Yes, seriously. I loved it. I wish I had swimwear so that I could have joined those below.
The fake beach inside the Beijing Water CubeSwimmers on the fake beach at the Beijing Water Cube
On arriving home tonight, the cold, wet conditions have really set in. Thus, we’re faced with a dilemma: do we wait for the frozen home-made dumplings (delivered by Kate’s cleaner) to thaw out or do we venture out for dinner? Venturing out is not an option, as it’s too bloody cold, so we’ll sit and wait for the big thaw, I’m guessing.
Tomorrow, I’m off to The Great Wall, and would be sooooo excited if it snowed. Fingers crossed.
Hardly a day goes by without a newspaper report about the forthcoming “ABBA reunion”. There are two new songs to be released over the next year; there’s a major TV special coming up around Christmas; there’s a “virtual reality” tour on the way; and of course, there’s the latest “Mamma Mia” movie, released this week, which I saw last night.
But ten years ago, the thought of ABBA getting back together was never on the cards. Almost ten years ago, exactly, the “unthinkable” happened, when all four members of ABBA appeared together in Stockholm for the opening night of the first “Mamma Mia” movie.
Though I’d previously booked a lengthy trip to Europe and Asia, I was unable to change my flight, and therefore wasn’t able to make it to Stockholm to witness the event, I was there the next day and was able to read about it in the newspaper.
ABBA Reunion 2008
And, as I travelled around Europe and Asia, there were posters in many languages for “Mamma Mia” almost everywhere.
That was back in the days of “staggered” movie releases, whereas now, of course we have lots of simultanenous releases. And so, it was only a few days after the release in Europe, that we saw the new movie, “Mamma Mia : Here We Go Again” screen in Sydney.
There are a few stark contrasts with the first film, including the cast changes (the Merryl Streep character makes only a brief appearance), and the inclusion of “less familiar ABBA songs” (lots of B-sides and minor hits). But importantly, the musical numbers are included in a more “natural” manner than in the first film (lots of ABBA melodies are included as backing music, and, with one or two exceptions, the transition between text and song is less “clunky”). The plotline is also much stronger. All of that means, for me, at least it’s a much stronger film. The inclusion of “Cher” is both a “jumped the shark moment”, as well as an inspired inclusion, as she gave me the film’s “laugh out loud” moments. Oh, and she’s releasing an album of ABBA songs later in the year. It’s all much an “enterprise” these days, compared with the early days of “Mamma Mia”. The movie? I liked it very much. However, with less familiar, more melancholoy tunes, I wonder if it will be as successful as the first film.
On a rather amusing note, inadvertently I booked myself into a screening under the banner, “Chicks At The Flicks”. As the name implies, there were maybe a dozen men in the entire cinema, which was definitely an advantage in the queues for the toilet (as if that’s ever a problem for men). As I waited to enter the movie, many of those attending were looking at stalls with cosmetics and jewellery. As I entered the movie, I was presented a “Chicks At The Flicks Goodies Bag”.
I’m not sold on the “Glitter Jelly”, but the $100 wine voucher will definitely be used. Awesome!
I haven’t written much about food on this trip. At the risk of sounding parochial, it’s mostly because most of what I’ve eaten so far has been pretty bloody awful. Put simply, it hasn’t been anywhere near the quality for anywhere near the price of what I can get at home.
Food-wise, I don’t expect much from the Netherlands, Germany, or the UK, and so I’m pinning all of my good food hopes on France. David, are you reading this?
But today, at a fairly ordinary pub here in Prague, I had a fairly decent meal at a fairly decent price. Put simply, it’s pork with a kinda gravy sauce with dumplings. Accompanying the dish was some sour cream and cranberries. A bit like the Swedish meatball sensation of mixing the sweetness of cranberries with the savoury flavour, they were excellent.
For about 125 check crowns ($8 or so Australian) I had a classic Czech dish, Knedliky.
Also today, I spent some time exploring Jewish Prague. There’s a long history of Jewish inhabitancy in Prague, and for a long time they were confined to just one small part of the town. The other remarkable thing you can see inside one of the synaogues is a “war memorial-like” roll of names of people from Prague who died in the holocaust. Thousands and thousands of names. It’s very moving.
One of the consequences of this is an overcrowded graveyard that actually goes a couple of metres in to the air, as graves were piled one upon the other.
The only other thing I’ve done today, aside from a bit of sightseeing, is go for a swim. And that’s where I got an insight into the real Prague. It was strictly as a “no tourist zone” as I negotiated my way for a swim late this afternoon through a group of old women on the counter who spoke absolutely no English at all. As you enter, the baths are divided between male and female, with males directed to the left. Inside, it was all a bit “nude” for a moment (frighteningly so by Australian standards), as I made my way through the change room to the pool. But ah… what a relaxing place. Down by the river. Very nice, and just the way to finish up a fine day.
On the outside, the architecture of the swimming baths had a decidedly “Soviet” feel about it.
Meanwhile back at the hostel there’s a trivia night underway. I’m sitting outside, enjoying the early evening, and listening to a couple of Australians talking to a couple of Swedes.
“Come on and get your fucking shit together”, said the Australian girl just a moment ago, trying to convince the Swedes to come with them on the three-hour organised pub crawl they’ve booked themselves on. Yeah, you guessed it, the Aussies are already pissed BEFORE the pub crawl. Amusingly, the Swedes are telling the Australians a complete load of bullshit about Sweden. Finally, I know… “this is what it’s like to be a fly on the wall…”
PS – Going bush for a couple of days so blog might not be updated until I get to Amsterdam. Will see how I go.
The numberplate indicates it is a hire car, so your speculation may well be correct.
It looks like a 1937 or ’38 Cadillac, Smooth ride and probably very quiet. A friend and I co-owned a Buick for a while years ago.