JetLag Jane

Australia

Stone Walls: Keyneton/Sedan Road, South Australia

Living in the Barossa Valley, one of the routes to get over the ranges and onto the Murray River Flats is the Keyneton/Sedan Road. It is a slow, twisting sealed road with steep descents and the most spectacular view of the flats. It is one of my favourite Sunday drives too because I marvel at the pioneer built stone fences which line this road and are also still used on the properties to keep the sheep in. Before European settlement there was no need for fences- there was no need for land  ...

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Wunderkammer

Wunderkammer #2: Shot Glass, Kiev 2019

Kiev is the capital of Ukraine and a fabulous leafy city to wander around on a sunny day. Maidan Square, or Independence Square- is the city centre and also the focal point for collective identity in contemporary Ukraine. It was here that the 2014 ‘Revolution of Dignity’ that ousted former President Yanukovych began. Next to it, to our amusement, is the ‘Museum of Jellyfish’, which we, unfortunately, did not have time to visit. Khreshchatyk Street is the main street in Kiev, and it is quite  ...

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Wunderkammer

Wunderkammer #1: Russian nesting Doll, Prague, 1998.

I bought this fake Russian nesting doll on the streets of Prague in May 1998. It had a sweet face and the blue background had caught my eye. The folk-art flowers were very much in vogue back then. It was a gift for my Nanna, who was sitting in her little retirement home in South Australia perhaps wondering what on earth her ‘flippety gibberty’ granddaughter was up to next. I had come to Prague for the long weekend with J, when we were in our ‘courting’ phase. I had just finished a two-month  ...

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Wunderkammer

Introducing Jetlagjane’s Wunderkammer

What is a Wunderkammer? Wunderkammer literally translates from German as ‘A Room of Wonder.’ In English it is usually referred to as a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’. It is, quite simply, a notable collection of objects; a carefully curated cumulation of curiosities. A Wunderkammer can be as small as a cigar box or as large as an actual cabinet. (The term cabinet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture.) In my own definition of Wunderkammer, each item has its own  ...

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Ukraine

Odessa: The Catacombs

The Museum of Partisan Glory is an underground museum and monument to the people of Odessa who fought back against the occupying Nazis and Romanians during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Built in 1969, the museum has two sections; the underground catacombs and the above-ground hall and gardens. The catacombs first appeared in the 19th century, at the time of the construction of most of the grand buildings found in Odessa. The estimated 2800km (Odessa to Moscow and back again, then a bit  ...

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Indonesia

Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Manado is located on the north coast of the wildly unusually shaped island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) and is the second-largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar and is the capital of North Sulawesi. Although on the coast and surrounded by beautiful ocean and coral for snorkellers and scuba divers, the waterfront has no beach- it is lined by volcanic rocks breakwaters. The islands to the north, accessible by boat, are the starting points for underwater adventures. It’s a prosperous place  ...

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Ukraine

Odessa, Ukraine

Part One We landed in Odessa in the mid-afternoon on a direct Fly Dubai flight from Dubai. There was a glimpse of the sad, crumbling old airport building as we taxied in. Eventually, we saw the huge, modern, glistening, new terminal, which looks like all the other ones in the world built over the last couple of years. Despite this structure, the tarmac looked like a grey patchwork quilt and on the edge of the runway was an old plane with its nose dangling sadly amongst the tall grasses. As  ...

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Bali

Padang Galek

–take a mysterious morning meander, just minutes from central Sanur. The volcanic black sand beach of Padang Galek, seven kilometers north of central Sanur, is the site of a quirkily eerie former amusement park, a beautiful well preserved temple complex and a memorial to a tragedy which happened long ago in a place far away. To visit this area is a feast for all the senses; it can also tell some stories of how the locals actively honour the ancestors and our shared past. Sanur has not  ...

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Indonesia

A Royal Heritage Tour of Solo

We recently flew Air Asia to Solo (formerly named Surakarta) in East Java for a few days to explore the heritage and culture of the royal city and to visit the famous antique markets and Batik Museum. Solo is an elegant, clean city with tree lined streets. I loved the history and the culture; my husband and daughter loved the fireworks shops and the cineplex! On the first day we were impatient to get to the Triwindu Antique Market, a short becak (cycle rickshaw) ride from our hotel. The  ...

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Bali day trips

Day Trip to Nusa Penida

On a clear day, looking east from Sanur Beach across the Badung Strait, is cluster of three islands- the day trippers’ paradise of Nusa Lembongan, then the rocky outline of the largest island- Nusa Penida- and tucked in-between is Nusa Cenigan. Each are easily accessed by fast boat, taking between 45 minutes to an hour to get there from the dedicated departure precinct on the beach at the end of Jalan Hang Tuah in Sanur. The islands are beloved by scuba and snorkelling enthusiasts and also  ...

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