iAmsterdam

We only had a short flight from Berlin to Amsterdam. We caught a cab from the airport to our hotel. We stayed at the CitizenM and it was very trendy. To start with it was self check-in and then when we go to our room we were amazed. Here's a link to show you just how funky it was! http://www.citizenm.com/amsterdam-accommodations.php

After settling in we went for our first explore - it was raining, but luckily the tram stop was only a short distance from the hotel. As we were waiting for the tram a bus zoomed past, hit a puddle of water and drenched Luke. I got splashed a bit, but Luke copped most of it. The tram went right into Centraal station, so we rode it to the end so we could figure out the ticketing system and see where our train to Dusseldorf left from.

Amsterdam isn't a place for the geographically challenged like myself. We walked around for ages and all the streets and canals looked the same to me so I had no idea where we were. Luckily my portable GPS in the form of Luke was with me and we made it safely back to the hotel after a bit of sight seeing.

The next morning we awoke to it raining again, so geared up with jackets and umbrella we headed off to see Anne Frank's house. It was interesting to walk through the rooms and try to imagine what it would have been like to live there in hiding like they did.



The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering and people watching. I was gobsmacked at one stage when we sat down for a drink or two and some people watching, to discover that the little green structure right in front of us was actually a urinal!! The guys just fronted up, usually unzipping as they approached, did their business as people walked around them everywhere and then just left! Most fascinating!






On our last full day we went to the Rijks Museum and then went for a cruise on one of the canals. We found out where the red light area was and even in daylight there were some pretty ladies to wave to in the windows :-). We headed off to have dinner and a few drinks at one of many, many Argentinian restaurants, then we went back for another look when it was dark.






We're now sitting on the train to Dusseldorf where we'll spend a couple of nights before heading to Vienna and hopefully catch up with Ben (Luke's brother).

Location:Amsterdam

Berlin Zoo

Just a quick update as we sit in the foyer using the free wireless, waiting for our room to be made (at 4:30pm)

As Nell said previously we booked some flights and accomodation, quite a bit of mucking around; some places are easy to get to but hard to leave.
We then just had some dinner across the road and watched the street walkers. I don't know how they make any money, we must've watched for nearly 2 hours including a wander to walk off dinner, and in all that time the 4 that were standing around didn't get propostioned once. Would be easy to just get a real job.

Anyway today we decided to have a leisurely stroll around the Berlin Zoo. Not a lot to say, typical zoo although the enclosures were more open and not just cages. They did still however have signs saying dont feed the animals and don't climb the fences.
Personally if someone is too stupid to realise climbing the fence to get closer to the lion with the sharp claws and pointy teeth, I say let them.
Anyway here's some animals.

For dinner we went to a thai food place called Wokalicious we'd seen on our travels around the neighbourhood. Well worth it, some of the best caramelized pork belly and roasted crispy duck I've ever had. Although as usual we ordered way too much and now I can barely move. Tomorrow off to Amsterdam let the indulgence continue!

Berlin so far

First day - Monday
Explored Hackescher Markt and went up the TV tower

Then we walked to Alexander platz


and did some shopping. We purchased tickets to Blue Man Group and went to the Brandenburg Gate and then walked back up Unter den Linden.



Second day - Tuesday
Tried to see the East Side Galley, that has 1.3kms of the wall. Just as we got there it poured rain, so we went back to the hotel, hoping the rain would stop before our Segway tour. Just after our Segway orientation there was a massive thunder storm. Our guide was confident it would be over in 30 minutes, so we went for coffee and 30 minutes later the sun came out!
On the tour we visited Museum Island, an artist squat, the Reichstag,



Checkpoint Charlie,


The victory column where Unter den Linden meets Strasse 17 Juni, Bellevue schloss, Potsdammer Platz, Gendamer Markt, Humboldt University and the site of the Nazi book burnings, Brandenburg Gate


and then dinner at Hackescher Markt.

Third day - Wednesday
We tried our luck again at the Eastside Gallery. True to form, it started raining as soon as we got out of the train! It wasn't too heavy, so we continued on in the rain. There was a very foreboding feeling and we couldn't even bring ourselves to smile in the photos.





After the Gallery we headed off to Kurfurstendamm to see the buddy bears and have lunch.



We went into the Fossil shop and Luke didn't buy a watch but Nell bought a purse! It was then time to head back for a walking tour. We saw most of the same sights as the Segway tour, but got more history and background about Germany. We also saw an awesome chocolate shop with 250kg worth of chocolate sculptures.
Then it was dinner and off to see Blue Man Group. Of course it was raining when we got out! The thunderstorms here are awesome!

Fourth Day - Thursday
We've had a relaxing day. We went to Tiergarten for a stroll and then the Sony Centre to work out our next few destinations. now we're back to the hotel lobby to book flights and accommodation.

Berlin is such an amazing place. The contrast between the East and West is astounding and the vibes you get in the different areas is incredible.

Location:Berlin, Germany

Ich bin ein Berliner

So we arrived in Berlin yesterday afternoon after leaving beautiful Prague. We took the intercity train for about 5 hours to get here.

Some lovely countryside on the way and nice carriage companions. 2 Girls from Romania travelling to Copenhagen and a guy from South Africa off to Poland to compete in the world gold panning championships!
Was interesting to hear about Romania, and I was fascinated to hear their thoughts on communism although they admitted they were too young to really know the communist era and heard most of it from their parents and grandparents.
We were also fascinated to learn that there's a gold panning competition of any kind, apparently it's quite competitive. You're marked on time and lose time for missing pieces of gold. All the buckets are "seeded" so they know exactly how much gold there should be. We think we might google up the results at some point and see how he did.

Haven't seen much of Berlin yet but went for some dinner and Nell had roasted pork knuckle. We're staying near a place called Hackescher Markt which is very close to Alexander Platz and Potsdamer Platz, we can also see the TV Tower from outside the hotel although you could probably see it from anywhere in Germany, that was kind of its point. A big up yours from the East Germans to the Allies.

Hoping today to go check out some sights and see what Berlin has to offer.
Will keep you all posted and put up some photos once we have some.

Prague

After a sad farewell to Kel at Madrid airport we boarded our Wizz flight to Prague. Because we spoke English they gave us the exit row seats, so that was a bonus.

We are staying at the Louis Leger Hotel. If the mosaic in the foyer is correct it was built in 1885 and it has an old world feel about it.

The first night we did the obligatory wander and found a place to eat. We had a mountain of food and a couple of beers for the equivalent of AU$35. People smoke everywhere here, so it was strange to be sitting down having dinner and people lighting up all around us. Not pleasant!

The next morning we woke up to a thunder storm! When the rain stopped we found the laundromat and did our washing. Clean clothes were starting to be an issue, so a couple of hours out of our day well spent :-)

Next we went on the hunt for the Segway tour. It was near the Charles Bridge, so a couple of Metro stops and we were there. We booked the tour for the next day and then headed for the Castle. The next downpour started, so we took refuge and had a coffee until it eased. The castle was amazing - apparently the largest gothic castle in the world. Even though it was raining, it was still warm so we just kept going. I had an umbrella, so it wasn't too bad for me. :-).

We continued on to the Charles Bridge and then all around the Old Town. We ended up at a nice hotel opposite the theatre and spent a couple of hours people watching. It was fascinating and we had fun making up stories about people. We caught the Metro home and stopped for a night cap at the Legends Bar down the road from our hotel.






The next morning we got up and went back to the Charles Bridge for our Segway tour. Our guide, Renee was from Brazil and was a real character. We spent three hours hooning around the city, and as usual it was over way too fast. Renee was extremely knowledgeable and it's a great way to get to see a place.






Some more wandering and then home to relax before heading out for our last night. During our travels we kept seeing a poster advertising Hooters - of course that put the idea of going there in Luke's head and when he found out it was walking distance from our hotel it was a done deal! Our hostess was Petra and she was lovely.

After dinner it was time to head back to the hotel to pack. The next morning we were heading to Berlin by train.

Goodbye Prague. You are a fascinating and beautiful city.

Adios Kel

Today is the sad day where we have to say goodbye to Kel :-(

Last night we decided to have a picnic to enjoy the French wine Kel bought when we had the wine tasting.

We went to San Miguel Market and bought ham, salami, cheese, bread and strawberries and set off to find a park.

On the way home we took an unplanned detour (nice way to say we got lost) and came upon a group of protestors against the World Youth Day. Luke had a chat to the Flying Spaghetti Monster flag holders and then we decided to get out of there! Apparently things got a bit out of hand later on in the night.






This morning we head to the airport and Kel heads home :-(. We've tried to convince her to stay, but no luck. We're heading to Prague for a few days, so will post from there … adios for now!

Location:Madrid

Madrid - Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

After the fun and games of trying to get train tickets, we arrived in Madrid at approximately 6.00pm and checked into Hotel Francisco.

After unpacking we wandered down streets off Puerto del Sol found place for dinner and cerveza. Even Kel partook in two beers to quench her thirst due to the heat.

After next to no sleep due to the heat I stayed in the hotel and Luke and Kel went hunting wifi. Maccas had the goods, so they got to surf the web in air-conditioned comfort. They then came back to get me (via Starbucks to get me a coffee) and then we headed off to find the statue of the bear and strawberry tree, the symbol of Madrid. We stopped for lunch and then wandered some more - found Plaza Mayor and Luke bought a hat. It was very hot at this stage so it was time to head back to the hotel for a siesta.







All refreshed we walked to Sol Metro. It was packed with people (all the kids here for the World Youth Conference) so we had to pack onto the train like sardines. We
got off at Retiro Park and strolled around the lake to find an icy pole which we had in the shade on the grass as it was still hot at 7.30 pm! We went on a solar powered boat around the lake in the park, which was really nice. We were going to use the row boats, but the heat, combined with 100s of kids doing the same thing spelled disaster in my books! :-)





Dinner was at a restaurant chosen specifically because it had water misting sprays. The waiter was cheeky and referred to Kel as his baby. After dinner we walked back to the hotel down the same street we walked in the morning. However this time we noticed a lot of sex shops and several ladies looking for a friend!!!

We slept a bit better as we'd had the windows to the room open all day. The only issue was that the kids seemed to think chanting and screaming outside our window until at least 2am was a good idea (I'm sounding old and grumpy now, aren't I?).

A nice morning stroll to the Prado Museum was in order and now we're back in Maccas taking advantage of their free wifi :-). It's soon time for our siesta before we head out for our last night in Spain.

Location:Madrid, Spain

Barcelona finally!

Well after a trying 30 hours and an unscheduled sleepover in London I finally made it to Barcelona.
First impressions were very hot so a refreshing cerveza and some tapas were required. I have no idea of the name of the place but the beer was cold and the tapas was good, even if they did forget to bring the patates brava (fried potatoes to you and me).

After some rest we decided to head to La Ramblas to check out some sights, even though the girls had been there already.
It was busy but good just like I remembered it although this time the thing of choice all the hawkers were trying to sell was some annoying noise making thing that sounded like a cross between mosquito and Donald Duck.
We made it halfway down and got to La Boqueria which is the big meat and fruit market, however my bad luck was holding out and it was closed on Sundays.
So we decided instead to catch the Metro to Parc Guell and check out the Gaudi designed buildings. After a quick trip on the Metro and a 20 minute constitutional we finally made it. The buildings are quite amazing and very intricate with tiled mosaics. Theres also a large area with seats also in tiled mosaics, it must've taken ages to build.


After looking around for a while we decided to cab it back to the hotel and freshen up for dinner. For dinner we wandered down the road from the hotel to a tapas place and I had a very nice black rice paella, quite unusual looking but thankfully not unusual tasting.


Again although the girls had already been to see the dancing fountains they indulged me so i could witness them too. The were quite spectacular and there was thousands of people there watching them as well. On the way back "home" we stopped in for another cerveza before bedtime.



The next day (today) we had to check out but got up early to walk to La Boqueria for only last attempt to see it before we left. For some reason it was closed again, we checked the sign which clearly said open 8am till 11pm but it wasn't.

Dejected we headed back to the hotel to check out and head to catch the train to Madrid.
Once again I must've killed a kitten because we got there about 2 minutes after they closed the ticket window. We figured a siesta but no apparently there was strike on and we managed to pick the day. The weren't opening the windows again till 3pm. We thought maybe one last crack at trying to see La Boqueria, so stowed our luggage and headed on the Metro to La Ramblas. We got there but it was still closed, so looks like I don't get to see it this time.



We caught the metro back to Placa Espanya to get something to eat and headed back to Sants Estacion picked up our bags and got on the train to Madrid.

We're currently doing 301km/h and it's 36 degrees outside this train is telling me, the scenery is very nice little villages and churches on the hills and some farms or similar growing fruit and vegetables of some description. Will update more once we get to Madrid.

- Luke

Location:Barcelona

Hola Barcelona!

After an extremely long day on the bus we finally arrived in Barcelona! Feeling refreshed after a quiet dinner with the group at our hotel, we were up early the next morning for a day of exploring!

We hopped on the bus for a driving tour around the city with a local guide, our first stop was to see La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) Church designed by Gaudi.

After briefly seeing the city we were off up into the mountains to see Montserrat. The trip up to the top of the mountain was nerve wracking on the bus. Not a lot of room and a huge drop to the bottom. Luckily our driver, Rafael, is awesome and got us there and back safely.

We then had a few hours rest in the hotel and then it was time to head to our farewell dinner and Flamenco show. Kel was in heaven with the seafood buffet at dinner and even managed a sea snail … I declined this time. Watching her hook it out of the shell and having it ooze out was enough to turn my stomach!






The Flamenco show was great. As a treat for being such a good group the tour guide then took us to see the dancing fountains. They were pretty spectacular. When we got back to the hotel it was time to say goodbye. There will be a few we will gladly never see again, but we have also made some good friends. :-)






Of course we were still a little parched with the heat so we had to go to the rooftop bar for a refreshment. When that bar closed we went back downstairs to the other bar where our tour director and driver were. It would also have been rude for us not to have farewell drinks with them as well!

We got to sleep in this morning and then we had brunch with some friends we'd made before they headed to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye to them. We then made our way to our new hotel which is about three blocks from La Ramblas, so in a very good spot. We had a stroll and did some shopping and now we're back at the hotel cooling off and waiting to see if Luke gets to London in time to catch his flight to Barcelona!!!!!!

Still having troubles uploading photos, so stay tuned......

Location:Barcelona

South of France

Just when we thought things couldn't get any better along comes the south of France! Our first stop was Avignon to wander around and have lunch with views of the Papal Palace.

Next came the decadence of Monaco! Wow!! It is such an amazing place - beautiful people and cars everywhere. Of course we needed a glass of bubbles there - four drinks = 76€. Not a place for a big night unless you win big at the casino :-)

We have spent two nights in Nice and could spend a lot more time here. We have dipped our toes in the Mediterranean and spent a lot of time wandering around people watching.

Yesterday we went to St Paul, then the Fragamond Perfumery before a "typical" French lunch which consisted of more wine than food! The Aussies showed our true form ;-)

Last night Trafalgar put on drinks (just what we needed after lunch!) and then it was time for our last stroll and dinner.

Today we leave beautiful France and head for Spain. Hopefully we'll be able to get better Internet there so we can include some photos in our next post.

Location:France

A Mixed Bag

We were going to do a pictorial of the last couple of days, but the hotel wi fi wouldnt let us upload them! :-(

So, succinctly we climbed the Eiffel Tower, then it was off to Napoleon's Tomb, and the next stop was the Louvre.

After the Louvre it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for the Moulin Rouge. It was a late night - but something we'll never forget. It was straight home to bed for a 5.30 am alarm to start the next day, when we headed to Chatre to see the Cathedral and Chambord to see the Chateau, and then to Chenonceau.

We stopped for the night in Tours where we experienced a wonderful dinner of smoked salmon and goat's cheese, osso bucco and chocolate cake at Beatrice's place.

Again, after dinner it was home to bed for another early start further south to Lyon, with a few more cathedrals!!

Today we head for Avignon and Nice, with a wine tasting on the way!

Meet The Tour Buddies and Montmartre

We met our tour leader Marie and the rest of the group this afternoon. An interesting bunch. Veronica and Geoff from Albury have already befriended us and seem like a lot of fun. There are 39 people all up.

After welcome drinks we took our first trip on the bus. We headed toward Montmartre and when we got to the Moulin Rouge we hopped off the bus and got on a quaint train to head up the hill. Just as we got to the top the heavens opened up and drenched us! We made a run for the Sacre Coeur Basilica and took refuge inside. The Basilica is amazing. Words cannot describe how wonderful it is and we weren't allowed to take photos :-(. After the storm (thunder and lightning included) we headed to the restaurant for dinner. Kel ordered snails and I had beef burgundy. I can't believe Kel convinced me to try a snail! It was interesting and yes I have photographic evidence for those non believers!!!!

We only had a few minutes to look around and then it was time to hop back on the train for the trip back.











PS: We've just arrived at our hotel in Tours - we have a lot of updating to do. Since the post above we've climbed to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, went to Napoleon's Tomb and the Louvre. Last night we went to the Moulin Rouge.

We had a very early start this morning (alarm went off at 5.30 am). We bussed it to Chatres, Chambord and Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley. We've just checked in and have an hour to get ready to go out to dinner!!!!

Must run - love to all our family and friends xxxx

Location:Paris