Leyton Orient Football Club

As I was living near London, I seized the chance on the 18th of October to go and watch Leyton Orient Football Club play a home game against Milton Keynes Dons.

I have always looked out for the Leyton Orient results over the years as my long since gone Grandfather grew up in that area of London and supported the club throughout his life. Due to the connection between Leyton and my grandfather, the visit was more of a homage than a simple game of football. It was special to walk down streets he was familiar with during his life.

To add further interest, some relations of the family still live in the area and were able to pass on some of their fading memories of my grandfather. He would have been immensely pleased to know that I had set foot in Brisbane Road Stadium, home of Leyton Orient.

Leyton Orient v MK Dons

After the game, relatives who I met for the first time (Ed and Michael) kindly took me to the Leyton Orient Supporters Club for some post match beers. I was made very welcome.

Unfortunately, the quality of football on show was not great. It was clear that Leyton Orient were some way below MK Dons in terms of quality, and that was proven to be the case at the end of the season when Leyton Orient were relegated whilst MK Dons gained promotion.

Thanks, Ed!

A truly great day out in London visiting a place that was fondly remembered by my grandfather.

Japan to the UK overland - closing thoughts

And with this entry, the end of my posts regarding my Trans Siberian and European adventure. After leaving Paris, I took a rather expensive Eurostar train to London and then an overnight sleeper up to Scotland. Ending the journey on a sleeper train in the Highlands of Scotland was a poetic finale.

Japan to Scotland was long, often uncomfortable, sometimes a bit scary, but entirely fascinating. I am conscious that it was possibly a once in a lifetime journey which will never be repeated. I also realise that I am extremely privilaged to have had the opportunity to complete the adventure.

So many wonderful sights - I am now able to look at the map of Asia and Europe in a different and informed light. It is difficult to pick a highlight from the journey. Baikal? Moscow? Paris? Warsaw? The ferry?

One aspect that I am more sure about as time goes on is that it was completely the right decision to leave Japan in this manner. Because of the gradual parting with the country, I actually do not really feel I have left. Sometimes I still have to remind myself that I am waking up in the UK and not in western Tokyo.

Thanks for taking the time to read of my travels. Forthcoming updates on my life in the UK will be a bit shorter and perhaps a tad more mundane.

Paris

My few days in Paris were essentially the last hurrah before my return to the UK. Having only driven through Paris by bus on a high school trip to Venice 25 years ago, I was naturally eager to explore the French capital.

Sacre Coeur

I booked into the Hotel Audran, which appeared to be more reasonable than other hotels advertised on internet booking sites. Despite being more reasonable, it was still not cheap.......and the hotel itself was very basic with an unworkable wifi connection.

Montmartre cafe

However, the hotel's saving grace was its location, Montmartre, only a few minutes walk from the Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. Oddly enough, my fondest memories of Paris were not the famous sights, but sitting outside a small cafe near my hotel having brunch each day. The weather was extremely pleasant and tourists from all corners of the world would amble past. It also felt a novelty to be able to read a UK newspaper for the first time during my travels.

The Sacre Coeur was better and more beautiful than I anticipated. The location overlooking Paris was memorable and I was surprised not to be bothered by the notorious scam artists that are known to prey on tourists.

Notre Dame Cathedral

After ticking off the Sacre Coeur, I used my invaluable iPhone map application to navigate on foot around Paris. Notre Dame Cathedral was splendid, but my aversion to queueing prevented me from venturing inside. Instead, I circled the Cathedral and walked along the Seine, looking at stalls selling bric a brac and at the numerous bridges.

Seine

By pure chance, I crossed the river and walked through the gates of a rather old and impressive building - it turned out to be the Louvre Museum. Again there were long queues, but I was happy enough to take in the outside views and sit by one of the fountains. The Mona Lisa will have to wait until next time. The best photo I took came from my iPhone, a rather nice panorama shot.

The central glass pyramid attracted a lot of controversy after it was completed in 1989. Personally, I think it looks fantastic and successfully marries the old with the new.

Louvre and glass pyramid

As far as I recall, the Louvre represented the end of my formal sightseeing on my first full day. Although I had refreshments along my route, it was time to return to Montmartre for dinner and a few drinks.

The next day followed pretty much the same pattern as the first. Brunch and then more walking (about 15 miles in total) to the final sights I wished to see - the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triomphe, and Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

Scams in Paris are the same as those in Berlin. Girls pretending to be deaf and dumb approach you with a clipboard requesting you sign a petition. Once the girl has you distracted, a fellow scam artist will attempt to rifle through your pockets. Perhaps next time I'll place a mouse trap in my pocket and allow myself to be distracted.

The L'Arc de Triomphe reminded me of my visit to Pyongyang. Although smaller, the workmanship and detail of the French version makes it clearly superior. A military ceremony was about to begin in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Next to Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Despite an incredibly long walk through Paris, my final destination was well worth it - the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, home to the remains of many leading lights.

Jim Morrison's grave

I visited the rather modest and ill kept grave of The Doors singer Jim Morrison, and the tasteful grave of Frederic Chopin. Sadly, I did not manage to find Oscar Wilde. The weather was warm and because of its scale, the cemetery did not feel crowded.

Paris, I loved every minute!

Some (short) final thoughts regarding my mammoth journey from Japan to the UK will appear over the next few days. After that, I'll have more mundane matters to report on. Thanks for reading my unprepared jumble of recollections.

Berlin

The infamous Trabant

Berlin was a bit of a mixed bag - I loved learning about the history of the city, but found little conversation with the Berliners. Instead of taking the metro, I walked for miles over the 2 days I spent there. Perhaps spending the previous 2 weeks mostly cooped up in a train really encouraged me to stretch my legs.

Brandenburg Gate by night......

After arriving at my hotel on the first evening, a quick look on the map told me I was only about 15 minutes walk from the Brandenburg Gate, another famous European sight I have never been fortunate enough to see. It was a good time to visit - very few people were around. After my first little adventure in Berlin, I returned to a restaurant outside my hotel for some pasta and a couple of glasses of wine.

......and by day

The next day was pretty busy. I walked, walked, and then walked some more. Having a good iPhone map application really does make life much easier. I researched the places I wished to visit, marked them on my map with a pin, and then set off on foot - the best way to get to know a city!

Some sights from my first full day in Berlin included the Brandenburg Gate (by day), the government building called the 'Bundestag or Reichstag', Checkpoint Charlie, the Topography of Terror Museum, Potsdamer Platz, the Fuhrerbunker, and the memorial to Europe's murdered Jewish population.

The Topography of Terror it seemed was mostly an apology to Poland and the city of Warsaw for the atrocities which happened in WWII. Some of the pictures and written history were brutally honest - a small Polish girl crying over her bullet riddled sister's body. This museum is placed at the location of the former headquarters of the Waffen SS, the most brutal arm of Hitler's war machine. Along the periphery of the museum, it was interesting to see a large intact section of the famous Berlin Wall.

Checkpoint Charlie was a mild curiosity - the former crossing point between East and West. Today, tourist tat has taken over.

Checkpoint Charlie

I especially enjoyed seeing the Fuhrerbunker, the location where Hitler killed himself and then was burnt in a pool of kerosene. There is very little to indicate the dark history which is associated with this site, apart from an information sign explaining the layout of the bunker. The site is now a scruffy little car park beside an ageing East German block of flats.

Site of the Furherbunker

A small act of justice to Europe's Jewish population was the placing of the Jewish memorial a mere couple of minutes from Hitler's bunker. Surely not a coincidence. I smiled imagining Hitler going apoplectic at what had happened to his precious Berlin.

Perhaps I was staying in the wrong part of Berlin. The nightlife did not seem particularly interesting and so I was in bed both nights not long after midnight. However, my disappointment with the nightlife was just a minor inconvenience - it was fascinating to see modern Berlin and sights connected to the dark days of the Nazis.

Jewish Memorial

Next Paris!