Greenwich by Night

Talk about a home with a view!! We practically live a stone's throw away from the quaint and historical town of Greenwich, but never got round to capturing the night scene. I finally managed to drag KL out to catch these photos.

A view of Greenwich, with the famous tea-clipper Cutty Sark and the green dome of the Greenwich tunnel, from across the river.



The distinct GMT line emitted from the Royal Observatory with the Old Royal Naval College in the foreground.


The Greenwich tunnel, 50ft beneath the Thames River and 1,217 feet in length.


Island Garden Park with a slight coating of snow during a cold winter night.

Chinatown

Chinese New Year celebrations in London.

And the rooster crows

Our Chinese New Year eve dinner to welcome the Year of the Rooster. Knowing that our family and dearest ones will be having a huge feast back home in Malaysia, we thought we ought to celebrate in style as well!



Menu for the day:
1. Steamed sea bass with coriander, spring onion and ginger garnishing.
2. Brocoli served with Chinese mushrooms and shredded chicken in thick scallop sauce.
3. Steamed chicken with "tong kwai" herbs, red dates and "kei chi".
4. .... to be washed down with rambutan and pineapple drink!



Gong Hei Fatt Choy everyone!!!

Rjukan

Christmas this year was in Norway - our third trip here after 'whaling' in Tysfjord and 'fjording' in Bergen. I told KL we could go anywhere as long as there is a white Christmas - trust him to find Europe's premiere ice-climbing venue!

Rjukan is a small town in the shadows of Gaustatoppen, the highest mountain in Southern Norway.


The vibrantly coloured cabins at Rjukan-Hytteby where we stayed over the Christmas and New Year period.


Quaint as it is, Rjukan is unfortunately located in a valley that receives absolutely no sunshine over the winter months, hence the ideal ice-climbing conditions. We were greeted by a chilly -9 degrees on the first night and it dipped down to a low -15 degrees the following night.


Cold as it was, KL carried on climbing leaving me to take on the role of bread-winner! What can a girl do but to pick up her mini fishing rod and drill a hole in the frozen Lake Mosvatn to fish for trouts! Ice-fishing is a common past-time amongst the residents here, although I was constant restless at the thought of falling into the freezing lake if the ice were to crack open below me!


The winter months left us only with 6 hours of day light and the nights were spent with candle lit dinner and scrabble sessions.


For you history buffs, Rjukan was the scene of one of the most exciting saboteur activities during the Second World War. By raiding the hydro electric plant that supplied heavy water(picture below), the Norwegian saboteurs stopped the Nazi's plans to make an atom bomb. It is now a musuem.


There's something about the snow that just warms the heart. I reckon we'll be back here again.

Light-hearted London

It's the Christmas season again and the streets of London were adourned with colourful display of lights.


Kids and adults were having fun with the mini-funfair in the middle of Leicester Square. Alas, KL's attempt at trying to win me a life-sized Tigger failed miserably!


Lights display along Regent Street.

Where America and Europe divides

After Reykjavik and the hot springs, we ventured further north. Our first stop was Pingvellir National Park, where the shift in tetonic plates mark the divide between the continent of Europe and Northern America.



The movement of the plates clearly shown in the photo above and below, continues even today at a remarkable rate of 10cm a year! It is said that in years to come, Iceland will be divided into two.



Our next stop, the magnificent two-tiered Gulfoss waterfalls was certainly a testament to the power of nature - we could feel the blast from the falls even metres away! We wished however that the weather that day was sunnier with rainbows arching across the sky, instead it was gloomy and wet. Oh well - can't expect postcard-like weather everywhere we go.



We ended our trip by putting our newly acquired horse-riding skills into practise. We were to test our resolve against the legendary Icelandic horses, favoured by the all-conquering Viking warriors. Thankfully this image of a menacing, fiery steed soon dissolved when we saw the petite, lovable and (what turned out to be) good-natured horses.


We had an enjoyable ride across the volcanic landscape (except the bit where we encountered a painful hail storm later in the afternoon!) - a great end to the trip as we rode off into the sunset. As KL says," John Wayne would have been proud!"

Around Reykjavik

A view of Iceland's capital.



There are a lot of unique sculptures around the city centre, but this piece of a viking ship by Jon Gunnar Arnason is a favourite among tourists.



Hallgrimskirkja, the cathedral dominating the sky line of Rejkjavik.
Located at the front of the church is the statue of Leif Eiriksson, credited with the discovery of America.