Central European Tour. August 08.

Monday 18 August. We were up early and left Frankfurt at 7.30 am heading Northwest and using the Autobahn ( German motorways). Our first stop was at an old checkpoint. The old towers still visible today.

We had spent the day before having a good look around Frankfurt because we had arrived in the city one day earlier. It is a nice place and we walked the bridges along the river as well as seeing over the city.

Our lunch stop was at Weimar- at one time the intellectual heart of Germany and host to people such as Luther, Bach, Liszert, Schiller and Goethe. Once it was knowen as the "Athens of Germany".

We carried on over the river Elbe and into Berlin, Germany's capital city. We arrived at 5 pm, quite a long days travel.We had sandwiches in our room and then went out for a good hours walk round the area. Invaliden Strass and Friedrich Strabe, very interesting. Our Hotel is in old East Germany.

Tuesday 19 August. We were up early again as we went on a city guided tour at 8.15 am. A very fascinating city. Once a city of contrasts- West & East, but now the Berlin Wall has come down its harmonious again.

We got dropped off round 11.00 am and spent the remainder of the day exploring Berlin ie; the State Opera House, the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and walked its lovely Boulevards such as Kurfurstendamm and Unterden Linden and saw the Tiergarten, the Holocaust Monument and Friedrichstrabe ( an expensive shopping area)

We read up the history of the Berlin Wall. It was a fascinating place to see where all this history took place. had a photo alongside as well and then we saw the river Spree and the Landwerhr canal that winds through Berlin. We arrived home by 5 pm with very tired feet!

Wednesday 20 August. We were up and off by 7.30 am as we were going East to Poznan, Poland. A delightful spot with a lovely old town square and market place. We had our lunch here and explored the area for 1 1/2 hours before we left, passing through the Polish countryside till we arrived at Warsaw at 6.30 pm. The country side was very flat. We had dinner at 7.30 pm with everyone.

Thursday 21 August. We headed off first thing on the city sight seeing tour which was an excellent introduction to Warsaw. We left the tour at 11.30 am and had the remainder of the day to explore Warsaw ourselves. We visited Old town, the Old Ghetto area, the Royal Castle, Ogrod Park and Chopin's Statue, the Palace of Culture and two famous streets- Marszalkowska and Aljeronzolimskie.

Warsaw and particularly Old Town was almost 90% destroyed during World War 2 during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 ( it became the center of the resistance). Its reconstruction lasted from 1949-1963. We returned home by 5.oo pm and again had dinner altogether at 7.00 pm.

Friday 22 August. Up early today at 8.00 am but then delayed as the bus had a flat battery, left at 8.30am instead. Today we were south bound towards Krakow. But first we visited Jasna Gora near Czestochowa - The Monastery (14-18th Century) where the Black Madonna is worshipped as the Queen of Poland and is the country's national symbol.

Then on to visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp. A chilling reminder of the Holocaust! We saw the entrance gate with the inscription " Arbeit Macht Frei" ( work will make you Free) more like kill you!, part of the railway where SS Doctors carried out the selection of the Jews, the Crematoriums and gas chambers, the death Block and the Death Wall.

The area is a Memorial to the Victims of the Nazis and is a World Heritage Site since 1979. This was a real eye opener as we walked around the site imagining the atrocities that took place here. We were all quite moved by the experience.

We arrived in Krakow at 7.30 pm after a long day. We had dinner with everone at 8.00 pm and went to bed by 10.30 pm tired out!

Saturday 23 August. Again up early an off on a sight seeing tour of Krakow which included the Kazimierz- Medieval Jewish Quarter where some of the film "Schindlers List" was filmed, the market place, Church of St Mary's and to Wawel Hill to see the Royal Palace and the Great Cathedral where most Polish Kings and Queens were crowned and buried.

We crossed over the river Wista that flows through Krakow.We grabbed some lunch here and had 1 1/2 hours of free time wandering about the Old Town Market Square.

Next we met up for the Wieliczka Salt Mines visit. We took the elevator down into the depths of the mine to see the passage ways,caves, and chapels all decorated with rock salt sculptures. They even had a chapel called " St Kingas Chapel" which was very impressive and opulent and was used for Mass and Weddings. They were preparing for one while we were visiting.

This was an amazing tour being so far underground and seeing all the sights. To see the various chambers and caves as carved out by the workers years ago was some sight. We returned to our hotel by 5.00 pm and had a quiet evening watching the Olympic's on T.V.

Sunday 24 August. We were up early again for a departure by 8.30 am for the Tatra Mountains of Poland, then through scenic Slovakia and finially into Hungary. We arrived in Budapest at 5.00 pm. We had a relax prior to us all having dinner at 6.30 pm.

Next we went off on the Danube Cruise and Illumination excursion. We boarded the boat for the 1 hr cruise with a local guide and were given a glass of Champagne and a second glass of red wine. We enjoyed river views of the Castle district and the houses of Parliament and going under the chain bridge. This was a neat trip seeing the city of Budapest at night. We got home just after 10 pm.

Monday 25 August. We were off on the sight seeing tour of Budapest which was excellent for getting your bearings in the city. We saw Hero's Square, the Parliament, the Royal Castle, and Matthias Coronation Church. It was finished by 11.00am and we spent the remainder of the day walking about ourselves.

We saw Andrassy Street, Vajdahunyard Castle ( a copy of Dracula's Castle) a Synagogue ( the largest in Europe) the Opera House, Margaret Island, the River Danube and of course Szechetyl Baths (mineral pools) - Kevin had a soak in the various pools and saunas there. We got ourselves around the Budapest Underground system quite well too. We are becoming quite savvy with our getting around places and we also walked alot but it was an enjoyable day.

We got home by 600 pm and had fruit and sandwiches and juice in our room, to save changing more money into Hungarian Florints.

Tuesday 26 August. We were up early again bound for Austria. We arrived in Vienna at midday and enjoyed a sightseeing tour with a local guide seeing places like the Opera House, Parliament, the Town Hall and Hero's Square and the Hofburg Palace and St Stephen's Cathedral.

We had free time to explore the city for 2 hours. Which we did and throughly enjoyed it. We met up for the bus trip back to the Hotel. We'd bought fruit, bread and orange juice for tea in our room. Good old Kiwi savings eh...

Wednesday 27 August. We were up and off at 8.00 am a free morning to explore more of Vienna. Its such a beautiful city. We took a ride on the Worlds Oldest Ferris Wheel, a masterpiece from 1890. We had excellent views of Vienna and surrounding area.

We also went for a tram ride around the town and wandered through other areas of Vienna.
We met the bus at 12.15 pm and headed off to the Czech Republic. We crossed the Czech border into beautiful Moravia and past through the rich farmlands of Bohemia to arrive in Prague at 5.00 pm. We had dinner all together - buffet style, very nice indeed.

Next we decided to catch the underground train into town to see the Krizikova Fountain. A lovely outdoor spectacle where fountains of cascading water is synchronised with music and lights. It was very nice indeed. We were with Rikki and Kevin ( from Aussie) and had a great evening arriving home round 11 pm.( via the tram then the underground train) The others on the tour also did this but it cost them more than us.

Thursday 28 August. We were up and away by 8.30am for a walking tour with a local guide seeing such landmarks as the National Theatre, Charles Bridge, Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock. It was very beautiful and all very old. We had the remainder of the day free.

So Kevin and I raced around to see as much as possible. We saw Vaclauske Nam ( similar to the Champ de Elyesse of Paris), the National Museum, the Power Tower, up to Prague Castle ( a long uphill walk ) St Nicholas Church, the Golden Lane, crossed Manesuv Bridge, Charles Bridge, and Cechuv Bridge over the river Vltava that runs through Prague. A very buzy day was had!

We met up with the bus at 5.00 pm for a transfer back to our Hotel. Kevin and I had a nap for a while, then got up and headed off to buy some tea at a cafe down the road. We were home by 8.30 pm and straight to bed as tired out.

Friday 29 August. We were up early again, usual thing these days.Headed off by 8.00 am to Germany today. We passed through the beautiful landscape of the Bohemian Forest to the Czech - German border. We drove south and enjoyed the Barvarian scenery and carried on to Munich our final destination today.

We arrived at 3.00 pm and were given 2 hours free time to explore Munich - the Odeons Plaz and the Marien Platz. Its a very beautiful city. We arrived at our Hotel at 5.30 pm and farewelled our driver Mustafa as he was leaving tonight. Kevin and I had a shower and then together with Peter and Ann we headed back into downtown square to visit the famous Hofbrauhaus ( a German Beer Hall).

We stayed and sampled the beer. Kevin even had a litre glass of beer and it was huge! - but he managed to drink it all! We walked around and found a typical German Restaurant and had a nice meal of roast pork. We walked home again by 11 pm. Yet again we did this on our own device which saved us money. Great evening was had.

Saturday 30 August. As usual up early as we headed for Frankfurt today. We travelled the beautiful Romantic Road, which runs North up to the Alps. We stopped at Medieval Nordlingen. A beautiful Old Town with narrow streets and cobbled stoned roads and footpaths. We spent an hour exploring and guess what? We found N.Z. Granny Smith Apples for sale in the Old Town Market Place.

Next we drove on to Rothenburg. A lovely preserved Medieval Town with its ramparts and towers , cobbled streets and 16th century houses. We had 2 hours to explore here and it was fabulous! Kathe Wohlfahrts - Christmas Village Shop is open year round and is in 5 patrician houses that have been connected to one another and it has over 50,000 christmas items. It was just fabulous and I know my Mom would have really loved it!

Kevin and I climbed the Siebers Tower for a fantastic view of the town - mind you my legs were a bit like jelly at the time. We continued on to Frankfurt but were staying north of the city. We arrived at 6.00 pm, quite poophed out! Kevin did some laps at the pool before we had our final dinner with everyone at 7.30 pm and had a great time farewelling everyone and wishing them well!

Sunday 31 August. Our trip ends today. Kevin did some more laps in the pool before breakfast and off on our bus transfer to Frankfurt Airport to catch our flight back to London. We had an hours delay due to fog in London and arrived at 1.30 pm. We caught the tube and bus to our Hostel accomodation in New Cross. Its pretty basic but will do for £30 per night.

We had a relax for a while then we found a internet cafe around the corner for only £1 per hour, so checked out our emails and caught up on the blog. Cloudy and cool and slighly drizzly here in London. But quite nice to be back. We also had some chicken n chips for tea before getting some well earned rest.

Monday 1 Sept. Today was a chance to catch up with Bellerbys College, to check our mail and to update our cell phones and do all kinds of chores including banking our accom refund cheque and finalising our travel arrangements.

We have tomorrow as well to relax before we head off on our main European Discovery Tour of 30 days, followed by 9 days in Russia. We are looking forward to this. We had a long chat to friends Jo and Rob Ridland ( In Bunbury Aust ) as well. We have been updating our blog and writing emails these past 2 hours or more so we are now ready to head back to our accomodation for the night. Until next time cheers.