29 July 2010 I was very excited to be setting out to see Europe alone, essentially this trip was going to be my first stint of solo travel since leaving New Zealand. Unfortunately it did not start well. My train was due to leave at 6.20am and I was through the terminal gates by 6am; […]
Homeward Bound (Netherlands, Belgium, France, England)
July 31, 2010 by
24 July 2010 Everyone managed to get back on the coach and leave Amsterdam despite many probably preferring not to. We docked at Dover around 5.30pm and headed to London. The plan was to have one last night together in the pub to wrap up a successful 37 days around Europe; and that is exactly […]
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
July 31, 2010 by
22 – 23 July 2010 In the Netherlands we made a stop off at Edam, the place the cheese is named after. In Edam we visited a clog shop and were given an impressive demonstration of how a clog is made from a solid block of wood. This guy took a piece of wood and […]
Heidelberg & Koblenz (Rhine Valley, Germany)
July 30, 2010 by
21 July 2010 We departed mountainous Switzerland and headed for the famous Rhine Valley, the area which was demilitarised by the Treaty of Versailles after the 1st World War because of its recognised importance to Germany; as both a key trading route and likely area to begin a military expansion from. On the way we […]
Laterbrunnen (Swiss Alps, Switzerland)
July 28, 2010 by
19 – 20 July 2010 Between heaven and earth Having made quick stops at Lichtenstein and Lucerne we made our way through magnificent mountain ranges to the picturesque town of Lauterbrunnen in time for dinner, a quick walk and sleep. [pe2-gallery class=”alignright” ] [/pe2-gallery] For our full day in Switzerland most of us took the […]
Liechtenstein & Lucerne (Switzerland)
July 28, 2010 by
19 July 2010 Having left Munich we motored on to the country of Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is made up of a mere 160 square kilometres making it the smallest German speaking country in the world and its 35,000 strong population is technically the wealthiest in the world on a GDP per person basis. We stopped in […]
Munich (Germany)
July 28, 2010 by
18 July 2010 After white water rafting we departed for Munich. We only had a little free time to explore Munich so I made the most of it and went to the BMW museum, after all Germany is known for BMW (Motorcycles), Porsche (Cars) and Adolf Hitler. [pe2-gallery class=”alignright” ] [/pe2-gallery] While in Munich I […]
Hopfgarten (Austrian Tyrol)
July 28, 2010 by
16-17 July 2010 It was a sombre drive to Hopfgarten after Mauthausen, fortunately the Austrian scenery provided a superb distraction; we were heading for a famous skiing and outdoors orientated area. In Hopfgarten we stayed at another Contiki owned enterprise. I tend to get the impression that Contiki make their money from optional excursions and […]
Mauthausen Concentration Camp (Austria)
July 22, 2010 by
16 July 2010 We visited a concentration camp to experience the dark side of European history, no trip to Europe is complete without such a visit where one can attempt to gain an understanding of the atrocities committed and the hardships people have experienced at the hands of others. Why is it that people are […]
Vienna (Austria)
July 22, 2010 by
14 – 15 July 2010 On arrival in Vienna we had time to have a brief meal and quick walk of the inner city streets before we met up as a group and headed to the Mozart & Strauss concert (Optional excursion). The Mozart & Strauss concert lasted a little under two hours and everyone […]
