Road trip around Wales

Dec 30 2016 - Jan 3 2017

We started our road trip around Wales by driving from Cardiff to Swansea, along many windy, narrow roads. Swansea didn't have much to offer. We stopped only for a toilet break and a brief wander around the market.

We then spent the rest of the day on the Gower peninsula. First we walked around Mumbles Hill to see foggy views of the coast.

By the time we reached three cliffs bay, the fog had largely cleared.

Our last stop for the day was Rhossili Bay, rated the most beautiful beach in the UK. While it was still quite foggy there, we managed to get decent views of the coast and its local sheep.

 A short walk took us further along the coast for more stunning views and a wicked sunset.

We spent day two exploring the Pembrokeshire area, starting off with Pembroke Castle. It's biggest claim to fame is that Henry the 8th was born there! We found out that a cousin of William the Conquerer, who we are distantly related to, once lived in the castle too... So basically, the castle is OURS. Amazing.

Next up, the lily pad lake with no lily pads! We didn't really consider the fact that the lily pads would only be there in summer... But regardless, the walk around Bosherston was wonderfully picturesque.

A little bit further down the coast, we found beautiful coast line offered a nice short walk to see the rock formations, including a 'bridge.' Pretty!

While there, we froze our fingers attempting to eat lunch at a park bench. (Note to self: get gloves!) Therefore we figured hot chocolate was a must at our last stop for the day, the adorable town of Tenby. Once we were suitably warmed with chocolatey goodness, we admired the gorgeous colourful streets of Tenby and the huge, stunning beach accompanied by a castle on an island! Cute.

Once it gets dark there's not much to do, so we spent the afternoon relaxing at our little inn, in the middle of nowhere.

To celebrate New Years Eve we headed back to Tenby for dinner, drinks and fireworks.

Our third day on the road was a bit of a flop. After what felt like a very long morning of driving, we stopped at Llynau Cregennen to take in the view. The wind was sooo cold that we only lasted a few minutes. But it was beautiful - and this was our first taste of Snowdonia National Park!

Katie then found a random waterfall on the map that we decided we'd go check out. However...the road was awful, we had a little hiccup with the car and then once we were eventually "there" we discovered it was an hour walk each way to the waterfall. Given that we didn't even know what we would find at this waterfall, we ended up skipping it! All that effort for nothing.

We stopped at Llyn Trawsfynydd, a beautiful lake, for lunch.

The next waterfall was a bit more successful. Swallow Falls. Quite pretty.

Further along the same road we found Llynau Mymbyr, another lake with mountain views. This was stunning! The sun was just starting to set and finally our day was looking up.

We found two more beautiful sunset views, which the photos do not do justice at all!

When we arrived at the hostel, we were told that check in wasn't til 5pm, so we had half an hour or so to kill. The hostel staff kindly suggested that we walk along one of the paths that lead up to Mt Snowdon (not the whole way though, obviously) A good little taster.

The next day, at last, it was time to hike to the peak! Or, almost the peak, as the case may be...

We hiked up the Pyg track which offered continually stunning views of the surrounding mountains and lakes.

When we got to the last section, where the walking become more like rock climbing and the ground was covered in snow and ice, Katie wisely chose to head back. I, however, continued on for a little while. When I'd had a few minor slips and saw that everyone started putting on their cramp-ons...I thought perhaps it was time to give up. So close..yet so far!

On the way down we took the Miner's Track which was a steep decent and then a nice easy flat path most of the way, following various lakes and landing us right back at the hostel.

So...I didn't make it to the top! It's now on my to do list for the summer.

Our final day in Wales included a flat tyre, many wrong turns, and a missed bus to London. Oops. But we made it eventually.

Stay beautiful, Wales. I'll be back!

Cardiff, Wales

Dec 28 - 30

As we walked (or rather..as I RAN, busting to pee..) through Bute Park on our way to the hostel, we admired the frosty grass and frozen leaves. Once we dumped our bags we headed straight back to explore. Beautiful and quirky. I like it!

 I particularly liked the animal wall around the edge of the park!

At the edge of the park we found Cardiff castle. Walking in and around the castle offered stunning views as well as insights into the history of Wales. Inside the castle we roamed stunning, intricately decorated rooms and found the most incredible library.

In the afternoon, we were underwhelmed by the National Museum - hoping to find Welsh history but instead finding history of the earth. Many rock samples and dinosaur replicas. Not quite what we were expecting.

We finished off the day walking the pedestrian streets, finding some cool shops including a little pop up gallery/shop with art inspired by lego.

Delicious Italian food and fancy cocktails filled our bellies that evening.

Smokey, smokey cocktail!

Day two in Cardiff was equally slow paced and relaxed. We meandered down to the bay via the boardwalk outside Millenium stadium, walls covered in street art and ground lined with mosaics for various nation's rugby teams (or at least that's our best guess at what the mosaics are for...)

At Cardiff Bay we went into the Millennium Centre to explore the Wondercrump World of Roald Dahl. This cute little exhibition, probably most aimed at kids, informed us about Dahl's life and highlighted many inspirations for his books. They also have various letters that he wrote to his mum when he was at boarding school, quite interesting to read.

A giant peach made out of pages from Roald Dahl books

We spent most of the day just roaming around the bay and looking in some more shops in the city centre.

A lovely relaxing few days in Cardiff before we start our road trip around Wales.

Bristol, England

Dec 27

When we first arrived in Bristol we first stumbled across City Hall and Bristol Cathedral. After a little roaming, it became apparent that these were probably two of the nicest buildings in town.

While we didn't have a lot of time to explore Bristol, we did have time to seek out a good view. A short walk uphill, followed by several steep and narrow steps led us up to the top of Cabot Tower. 

From there, we got panoramic views of the city. Given that we didn't have time to properly roam the city, this was ideal - we saw the SS Great Britain ship and the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Better from afar than not at all.

Afterwards we walked along the docks and spent the evening catching up with Tucker, an old friend from a Contiki tour that feels like a lifetime ago.

Cologne, Germany

Dec 13 - 16

Cologne, famous for its array of Christmas markets, most certainly did not disappoint. I spent the vast majority of my four day getaway looking at the markets, some of them not even in Cologne!

I met Florian on Tuesday morning at my hostel, after a very early flight from London. We walked all morning in the rain, firstly exploring the old part of town. The cathedral is the main feature of Cologne and it is quite impressive!

Inside, I found it interesting that the stain glass windows were so contrasting. It took many centuries to build the church, so I assume that is why there is such a mixture of styles.

We walked across Hohenzollern bridge to get a view of the Cologne 'sky line' - although it's not like it's full of sky scrapers. With the fog and the rain, it was still nice but perhaps not the most impressive view.

After lunch, the rest of the day was dedicated to Christmas markets. First we wandered around the Rudolfplatz market, which has an old city gate for a backdrop, making it very pretty.

Just around the corner we found the gay Christmas market. Yes, apparently gay Christmas markets are a thing! All the stalls were wrapped in fluro foil, and inside I found items such as chocolate vaginas, chocolate penises and even chocolate boobies.

In the evening we went to the Christmas markets in the old city. We hit up four markets, each one just about across the road from the next, making it easy to bounce between them all.  Huemarkt was my favourite - not only was it full of lovely food, drink and gift stalls, but there was a massive ice skating rink and a game somewhat like curling. Throughout the night, I nibbled on roasted chesnuts (how very Christmassy!) and drunk lots of glühwein. I also discovered flammlach - salmon cooked on a fire. Delicious!

We spent the rest of the evening in a brewery with Florian's workmates. There, I was educated on how I am "just not experiencing German culture" if I don't drink the beer! Oops.

Given that four days is a fairly long time to spend in Cologne, we decided to do a little day trip the next day. First stop was Aachen, a small city about an hour out of Cologne by train. The charming cobble stoned streets were absolutely covered in Christmas markets. It had a very relaxed and friendly vibe. We also had a look at the church while there - lovely, but not as impressive as the one in Cologne. We both ate Gruenkohl mit Mettwurst (a kale-filled stew, with local sausage) for lunch before hopping on a bus into the Netherlands!

After a rather long bus ride, we made it to Maastricht, a small Dutch city somewhat similar to Aachen. And what did we find there? Christmas markets of course! However, the Dutch haven't got it quite as well set-up as the Germans. There were more toys and games, rather than crafts or homemade goodies. The beanies and scarves and other common Christmas market items all just seemed a little more cheap and a little less hand crafted.

But the town was beautiful. Many pedestrian streets covered in Christmas decorations and interesting shops and cafes.

Exhausted after the two and a half hour return journey back to Cologne, I thought I'd have a quiet night. But a few guys at the hostel convinced me to join them for more glühwein at a nearby market (really had to twist my arm..!) and then drinks at the hostel bar.

I joined a walking tour the next morning to get some insight into the history and culture of Cologne. Mostly, I learnt about the Romans that once settled there and the impact of WW2 on the city. There are little  memorials all over the city for those taken away from their homes and families and off to concentration camps during the war. But they are somewhat controversial. They are made of copper and people are therefore encouraged to walk all over them to keep them nice and shiny. However...some people find it incredibly disrespectful to walk on top of these memorials, understandably.

I spent most of the afternoon at more Christmas markets - Neumarkt and Stadtgarten. Again, salmon filled my belly...and I even had a pretzel! Risky. Delicious. Worth it.

In the evening I met Florian for more glühwein at the markets. This time we tried white glühwein - yummy, but very sweet!

My last day in Cologne was very relaxed. After a sleep in and a short run in the morning, I eventually made it to the EL-DE Haus, a museum located in the building that used to be the headquarters of the Cologne Gestapo (secret state police) in the 1930s-1940s. The basement floors were used as an interrogation prison. It has largely been kept the same as it was back then, meaning that you can walk through prison cells, the walls covered in writing from the inmates - some prayers, some letters to loved ones, some calendars counting the days of incarceration. It was quite haunting.

Unfortunately, the rest of the museum was only in German, so I didn't really gather what it was about.

I spent the afternoon wandering one last Christmas market and then walked by the river to watch the sunset.