The Hills are Alive....

Salzburg.  What is there to say about Salzburg?

First off, I had to catch the train from Luxembourg to Salzburg.  This meant I ended up travelling toward Trier, but changing at Karthaus, then Karthaus to Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken to Mannheim, Mannheim to Munich, and then Munich to Salzburg.  I wouldn’t arrive in Salzburg until about 9pm after starting the journey at about 10ish.  To make it worse, on the Munich to Salzburg leg, a youngish girl became ill and had to have medical attention so the train was delayed for about 15-20minutes. Thus, I was the last person to check in at the hotel.  It was kind of scary when the receptionist said my name.  A look of shock and horror must have passed over my face because he then explained I was the last one for the day.  The day was exhausting.

On entering the hotel room, I was not impressed.  There were a few things not up to my expectations.  Maybe my standards had become a bit high after Ibis and Novotel.  Oh how I miss the Novotel.  But I managed to cope. 

The next morning I woke to a surprise.  Everything outside was covered in white.  Yay, more snow.  It made Salzburg look really pretty.  Four layers, 2 pairs of socks, and an interruption by the room maid, I was on my way to explore.  Exploring meant lots of photos of snow covered trees, buildings and banks.  The river was a nice contrast to the blinding white of the snow.  Again, I was aware I was smiling like a dork.  It was quite a hike from the hotel to the old city, but well worth it, except for a few near slip overs.  The Mozart monument was not what I was expecting.  It was smaller than what I had imagined, and was very touristy/ wintery with music playing and an ice rink.  My stomach was growling at me for not feeding it enough as well, so I had to hunt for something yumyums, which I found in a cheap meal of Chinese noodles.  They were so delicious that I went back the next day especially for them.

I didn’t do anything special in Salzburg.  It was just too pretty outside.  Next time (when I’m with someone) then I’ll drag them along to a few touristy things, like the Sound of Music tour and the salt mines.

 

 

SNOW!!

SNOW!  SNOW!  SNOW!  And then it froze.  This proved to be a tricky hazard getting to the train station this morning.  There were many close calls with slipping and skidding on the frozen snow.  But still, it snowed!  I have a few photos of Luxembourg in the snow from my wanders.

I had no reason to go to Luxembourg, except I’ve always wanted to visit.  I don’t know what it was about it, but I just had to go.  I think it’s because I just like to say the name.  Luxembourg.  Say it!  Luxembourg.  It sounds so interesting and mystical.  And the city was, especially after it snowed.  It wasn’t supposed to snow either, instead just rain.  It was a shock when I walked out on the second morning to the snow.  And then I smiled and could hardly contain my excitement.  I must have looked like a doofus with my glee, and stopping every hundred metres for a new photo.

Luxembourgers are a strange folk.  They speak Luxembourgish, most media is in German, and French is extremely common.  All three are official languages and are taught in schools – German for literature, French for mathematics.  As a nation they are patriotic about their uniqueness, they did not want to join the German Reich, or be subsumed by the French, so a propaganda campaign was launched when Luxembourg was still a fledgling country.  Also, most shops and hotels will speak French.  Never go into a French bakery wanting their food, and ask if they speak English.  A few moments after an awkward silence, the shop assistance finally said “a little” and had a sale! 

Again, like in Ghent, there was not much to do in Luxembourg.  It’s one of those historical cities that are not too full of tourists, so it was peaceful, and catered more for the citizens/ workers/ EU institutions and especially for the upper classes, if you ever walk around the main shopping centre.  There were all these boutiques and expensive stores like Louis Viutton, Boss and the likes.  The middle classes tend to go abroad to do their shopping now.  On the way there from the hotel, you will walk past the Statue of Freedom.  This was originally to commemorate the fallen soldiers in the resistance against the Germans in World War One.  It was thus dismantled by the Nazis during occupation.

A few musts to do while in Luxembourg are to do the city walk.  I only did part of it, because I had inadvertently already done half of it on the first full day wandering the city, trying to find the Grand Ducal Palace.  You have to go down to the Pancur Valley and just take in the beauty.  It was strange having such a green valley in the middle of the city.  Also, Luxembourgers like to run, even in -2 (real feel -6) degree weather.  That was a shock to the system, I don’t think I could ever be that game. 

The other attraction to visit would have to be the City of Luxembourg History Museum.  I spent a couple of hours, right up until almost closing time, just going through the different exhibits.  It was well worth it, even more so since I did not have to pay.  I suggest students take their student Ids, you get in for free!  (I really am from Dunedin....)

 

Luxembourg was a fantastic little city, and I will come back, just to have a holiday from my holiday, but a week today, I shall be on my way home!  I cannot wait to see the sun again, so it had better be sunny when I return.  And of course, I’m missing everyone as well.  See you soon.

 

Ps.  YAY!  PHOTOS!  Well, there would have been, but the internet at the hotel in Salzburg is crap.

TRUFFLES

It was goodbye to Brussels, and a fabulous, comfortable room and yummy breakfast and hallo to Ghent.  Getting to the new hotel became a bit of a mission.  I stood at the map board thing for about 10 minutes trying to figure out where I actually was on the map, and which way to go.  About twenty minutes later after hauling my overfull suitcase along narrow, dodgy looking streets, I found myself in front of my new hotel.  To be completely honest, I almost walked right past it.  It did not look like I imagined a hotel to look like.  The room was MUCH smaller than the previous one, which was disheartening, but alas, it was a room and a bed with some comfort, although the lifts were a bit shaky.  Turns out they were both out of order when I went down for breakfast the next morning, and continued to be so up until I left.  Two months of not exercising and my muscles didn’t know what hit them when I had to haul my luggage down the stairs to leave.

Ghent is a “little” university city in Belgium, with 250,000 citizens, and was continuously grey, so I felt pretty much at home, but typical, the day I had to leave was a clear, brisk morning, oh well.  SO MANY BIKES.  One must be careful when crossing the road not to be plowed down by the young students, and sometimes old people, on bikes.  It was also quite frustrating how the pedestrians just walk across the road, even when a car is close.  I would stand at the corner looking like a fool waiting for the cars to pass until it were safe to cross.

I took a wander around the main shopping centre and came across the Gavensteen fort/ castle.  After being in Europe for so long now I have become accustomed to the historical architecture and now most of what I see is underwhelming, but this castle managed to captivate my interest.  I thoroughly enjoyed and was also disturbed at the torture room and the amount of equipment that they had.  You would not like to have been in the medieval ages, especially if you had done something bad. 

There wasn’t actually much to do in Ghent.  It was just nice to have a wander around and explore without stressing about getting to the next sight before it closed.  Going to a chocolatier’s in Belgium is a must.  Going to two is not advised.  Oops.  But it was cold, and drizzly, and I have truffles!  I decided to return to my room.  Bad idea, as I got sent away by the maid.  This led to a return to the main city area or cobblestones.  My poor knees and feet never want to see cobble stones ever again.  The whole point of actually coming to Ghent though was to go down to Ypres and go visit the World War One war memorials.  I never got around to doing that, so that’s another place to add to the “must return to” list.

TWO WEEKS LEFT!  The time has just flown by.  I’ve obviously been having far too much fun, maybe I should do nothing and time will go slower for me?  Nah, that doesn’t sound interesting.  I am looking forward to coming home though.  I can’t wait to eat a big bowl of veggies, hit the gym and get my life (specifically my diet) back in order.  I think something may be wrong with me if I actually want to go to the gym.  Help?  Oh, and I miss everyone.  Can’t wait to see all of your ugly mugs again.  You know I love you.  I still can’t believe how long the Christmas cards I sent took.  I sent those before the cut off date while I was still in Hamburg.  Strange.  At least they have arrived.  I am also sorry for the lack of other snail mail activities.

I have escaped the wonders of the motherland to once again be back on the lovely cultured continent, but getting here was a mission.  The Top Deck Tour finished on the 1^st of January, not the 2^nd like it was previously stated.  This left me in a lurch as my accommodation was not ready until the 2^nd, so I was homeless for a night, but thanks to some lovely and amazing people from the tour group and their offers, I had some place to sleep.  After looking at where I had to catch my train to Brussels from in London, and seeing where my hotel was located, I decided to forego the hotel in favour of the Clink.  The hotel was three trains away from St. Pancras International, and about 50minutes from the centre of London.  It just was not worth the effort.  But London proved to be quite interesting, although confusing.  I have to recommend the walking tours to anyone heading to London.  They were quite entertaining.  Unfortunately, I have to return to London because not everything on my list was ticked off.

 

 To the Eurostar and St. Pancras International: nerve racking is all I can say.  I have never travelled by train before so it was exciting but scary.  At least customs didn’t ask me a gazillion questions like they did on our return to the UK from Paris.  I fell asleep on the train too.  How could you not with the rhythmic ch-chunk and swaying of the carriages?  After the little nap I finally arrived in Brussels, and managed to get lost within the first five minutes.  How does this keep happening to me?  This was only because I went out the wrong exit at the train station.  After finding my way to the correct exit and across the road to the hotel, I was in heaven.  The room was bigger than I was expecting, and I queen sized bed and my own room.  LUXURY! 

I had a geeky couple of days here.  After two 10 hour sleeps, I made my way to the Musical Instrument Museum and the Comic Strip museum.  These were interesting, although at the MIM I understood very little because the captions were in either French or Dutch and NO ENGLISH, but seeing the musical instruments from way back to the 15^th Century was just amazing.  I was more fortunate at the Comic Strip Museum.  They at least had foreign (English speaking) tourists in mind with their exhibits.  The following day took me to the Royal Palace and parks.  Walking through the park was exhilarating and refreshing.  The brisk air and the smell of nature were pleasant.  Then I chanced upon the Royal Palace.  It was strange not seeing a ten foot high fence with barbed wire.  The fence was a little concrete design with a nice garden, and no guards were in sight.  I may have been at the back of the palace, but still.  Comparing this to the Buckingham Palace showed how different the two monarchies are.  When I got bored, which happened quite quickly as I’m pretty over seeing European architecture and museums, I made my way down to yet another museum and architectural success: the Royal Military and Army Museum.  This is a free museum, and as luck would have it, was also closing in half an hour after I got there, thanks to a late morning and a 30-40 minute walk from the Royal Palace.  This museum was pretty underwhelming.  The artefacts were numerous and pretty, but just were not stimulating.  A temporary exhibit, to mark the 100^th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War, was good though.  Captions in ENGLISH (rejoice) and the artefacts were from Belgium and the Allies, so was more diverse and able to compare.  But alas, it was time to leave. 

And thus it was also time to leave Brussels for Ghent.

 

 

Ps.  I’m sorry for the lack of photos for the posts.  I’ve been using my camera rather than forgetting it and using my phone.  Photos will be coming on my return to NZ.

PART TWO

 

BERLIN

                The bus trip from Baden Baden to Berlin was long, but much better than the hung over trip from Cologne to Baden Baden.  BERLIN WAS AMAZING!!!!!  I HAVE TO GO BACK.  Who is with me?

                Berlin meant back to a hostel, back to a room of snores, and a little sloppy in standards from the stories I heard from some of the other rooms, but it was nothing compared to what would come in a few days.

                My impression of Berlin was of a very historical city.  It did not feel very big, and was easily accessible.  Unfortunately many photos are from strange angles due to construction/ preparations for New Years.  Most of us decided to do the optional “Third Reich” walking tour.  It was long, a lot of information, and a lot of walking.  But it was worth it, even if we all did freeze.  Five of us went and got food after and did some touristy shopping. 

                That night I was super tired and was going to be a Nana and have an early night, but then I was convinced to go out.  I’m glad I did.  It was one of the best nights out I had had in a LOOOOOOONG time.  Good old 90s music always makes for a good night, and there was no mixing of drinks.  I can’t say the same for a few others who did not look too flash the next morning.

 

AMSTERDAM

                Amsterdam....  What can I say about you?  My first impression was of a dirty city.  I don’t think I was wrong with this, especially after seeing the hostel, however, it is a very walkable city to move around in, just watch out for the bikes.  They seem to have right of way, even over pedestrians.  Before we even made it to the city we went to a small farm where they make cheese and clogs.  It was quite interesting hearing how they make their wares.  Unfortunately I could bring neither the cheese, nor the clogs back to New Zealand due to customs regulations.  Such a pity.

                That night we had a walking tour through the Red Light District.  Wow.  It was an eye opener, that is for sure.  So many coffee shops, prostitutes, and live sex shows. 

                The next day was another free day, full of activity.  Four of us, well the three Canadia and the Kiwi, made our way to the Anne Frank museum.  The line stretched around the corner and just past the church when we arrived.  It took about an hour of waiting in line to get inside.  It was fascinating hearing about her experiences.  When we got out, the line stretched right to the end of the block.  We then made our way to the infamous Sex Museum.  Photos were of course taken standing by the huge penis.  And I sat down on the seat in between the two giant cocks.  Not the best idea.  I shot up like a rocket.

                That night was another night out.  We went to a Chinese restaurant on the canal, then onto a boat for a boat boose cruise.  This did not end well for some, but I paced myself and did not stay out much longer than that.  I did have the traditional hot chips on the way home.

 

 

PARIS

                The great Paris, such a romantic city you are!  But not a nice city.  You seemed just as dirty as Amsterdam.  What I would to do to be back in Germany somewhere.  But I was glad to be back in a hotel.  On our bus tour out, the Three Canadia and two Kiwis, and an Aussie, ditched the group and went to the Eiffel Tower.  Such a beautiful experience, and lots of photos were taken.  It was a beautiful night too.  It took about 50 minutes to get to the head of the line to go up the stairs.  I suggest you do take the stairs, as it is more of an experience and you can go at your own pace.  The top deck was awesome.  Standing still you can feel the tower swaying.

                The next morning allowed us to have an almost free day, but to be at the Charlemagne statue at the Notre Dame by 2:50 to get ready to head to lunch/ dinner.  I went to the Louvre in the morning, and I’m glad I went to the Eiffel tower last night, as I had much more time to wander around the Louvre.  I saw the Mona Liza, and lots of Creek antiquities.  Many of the vases I actually recognised!  Francois Vase is HUGE.  I had frogs’ legs, which tasted like chicken but had the texture of fish, not too nice.  Then lamb, which was awful and definitely not kiwi lamb, and then crème brulee for dessert, which was the best food of the night.  Then it was time to get our drink on and party for New Years.  Party along the Champs-Elysees, in the rain.  But we saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle to welcome in the New Year.  Then it was time to go home, get dry and SLEEP, ready to be shipped off back to London in the morning.

 

Getting back to the UK, we were making very good time and were going to be back in London at around 4pm.  Then Karma hit us.  The oil tank EXPLODED.  We were stuck on the side of the road for about 2 hours while another bus came to pick us up.  We got back to London at about 6pm instead.  The drive from Dover to London was the best weather of the whole trip....  Typical.

 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time on this tour.  It was absolutely amazing and I would recommend it to anyone, especially those over in Europe who are alone for Christmas.  I met some new and interesting people.  I was surprised that the Australians were not the ones who were hassling us New Zealanders on the trip (well, more me), but it was the CANADIANS who were!  It was all in good fun.  Think about how you say “bear, beer, bare” and “deck”, “six” and “sex”.

 

To end:  I AM SO OVER PORK!!!!  And a big thank you to Michele, Driver Brian, and the Topdeck Team of the Festive Escape 2012.  You are all sweet as.

 

Mum:  please bring my jandals to the airport, and have a yummy bowl of stirfry ready for me when I get back?  I miss healthy food.  Thank you!!!

PART ONE

 

Sorry for the lack of an update in the last 10ish days.  I’ve just been too busy and then exhausted to write anything, and then the problem of wifi access can be tricky sometimes/ I’m too lazy to get the access code.  I do apologise for the very very long post.  I hope it doesn’t bore you to sleepy dreams.  I’ve broken the tour post up into two posts just to make it easier to upload a few photos with them, and easier to read.

 

LONDON

                My time in London was extremely limited before the trip.  The flight on British Airways was a lot better than what I was expecting.  Heathrow Airport is HUGE, but easily navigated.  But what really annoyed me was that the customs official just opened up my passport to a random page and stamped.  When I went through German customs at the beginning of my trip they stamped my visa on the very first page.  GRRRR.

                I managed to get lost from King’s Cross/ St. Pancras Station trying to find the hostel where I was staying.  I missed where I was supposed to turn off and end up walking up a hill.  The locals weren’t too helpful as the people I asked had just been to a Christmas party and were a bit tipsy.  But I FINALLY found my way to Clink, and the room I was put in had three other Germans.  More German practice for me.  It’s like they knew or something.  But they kept me up at night, so I woke them up at 5am to get ready for the 7am departure.

 

COLOGNE

                The bus trip down to Dover was awkward.  I did not know anyone, and ended up sitting next to a nice Australian, and we made small talk.  It was uneventful.  The ferry across the channel was pretty smooth, but I could still feel the movement.  I don’t know what happened to my sea legs.  The bus ride down to Cologne was pretty long, but our tour leader, Michele, made things interesting.  Speed dating was conducted.  Everyone had three minutes with each other to talk about whatever they wanted to get to know the others on the tour.  SO MANY AUSTRALIANS, but that was to be expected.  There were: 4 Kiwis, 4 Canadians, 2 South Africans, 2 Americans, Korea, China, a few Brits and the rest were Australian out of a total of 40ish.  (I’m sorry if I missed anyone else out).

                Cologne itself was quite beautiful.  The Kölner Dom was very imposing.  Looking back on Cologne at the end of the trip, I think I will have to go back and visit again, just like most of the other places on the tour.  That night we went out.  It was pretty good, actually.  But considering I had been having Glühwein with a few other people since around midday, then Kölsch, a kölner bier, and then onto vodka and coke....  Thank you to the Austrlian girls, Mel, Molly and Nat for “encouraging” me to drink when I kept saying no.  You would have been jointly responsible for the bus having several pit spots.  I have to say that was the worst bus ride for me.

 

BADEN BADEN

                After a very long and uncomfortable bus ride, we had made it to Baden Baden.  Yay for a very comfortable hotel.  It was pure luxury for us, especially after being in a hostel for the last two nights with a snorer or two.  Unfortunately I found our trip to Baden Baden a tad worthless, mainly because the one attraction actually in the town, the spas, were closed over the Christmas holiday period.  It would have been nice to spend another day there to just go and relax at the spas. 

                We did have a free afternoon, so a few of us tried to find some castle ruins, but we got completely lost.  However, we came across a gem of a cafe/ bar.  It had a winter wonderland theme, including fake snow, the closest many of the tour group came to seeing snow.  They had the most delicious waffles.  I started the trend when I got the first one.  After everyone smelled it, their mouths watered.  You’re very welcome!  The waffleman was cute too!  He would take photos of us for us while the waffles were cooking and we were more worried about the waffles than he was!  He then pulled the waffles out and declared them “perfect”.  And it was the warmest of the whole trip.  It was unseasonable warm, almost ten degrees, where it should have been negatives and snowing!  We later went back to this place and I got another waffle because dinner was going to be late.  It was worth it! 

The dinner that night was good, topped it off with a cocktail and a yummy Mövenpick ice cream dessert. 

                On Christmas, we had a day trip down to Hohen Zollern Castle near Tübingen.  It was a nice castle, but small.  Comparing it to Larnach Castle, they were quite different.  Larnach Castle was used as a residence, while Hohen Zollern Castle was used as an exemplar of wealth of the Royal Family, which helped to develop the Prussian royal family tree, and thus the imperial family of the Second Reich of the Wilhelmine Germany.  The Christmas dinner I found to be a bit of a waste.  The soup and the main were okay, but the main part of a dinner for me, the dessert, was unsatisfactory.  Deep fried apple and a bit of custard.  It could have been much better.