Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 9 – Hamburg - Home

Captains - Maren, Dad and I

Last train trip - a marathon 8.30am - 5pm with 3 different trains and almost without incident until I kindly offered to get a coffee each of us from the dining car. Upon my return mum managed to reach over me and spill her entire cup of hot coffee all over my legs..........soaked right through my jeans AND thermal leggings. Upon arrival in Hamburg, Maren and my theory of how similar our mothers are was proven when Ruth managed to spill her entire glass of prosecco over Maren's dad when we were all saying cheers ha ha ha

Der Michel

We were treated like visiting royalty - buffet breakfast, home cooked local specialty dinners and chauffered all over Hamburg. Saturday we went to the historic Rickmer Rickmers ship in Hamburg harbour, then for a cruise around the harbour past all the massive container ships. Then to the Michel chuch and the Town Hall Christmas Markets to sample several differnt Gluhweins - i am becoming quite an expert. Then we took mum and down for a walk down the Reeperbahn - the biggest red light district in Europe. Helmut even convinced dad to wander down the screened off street for men only for a spot of "window shopping"!

We love Gluhwein! Maren, Helmut, Mum, Dad and Ruth

For you - only 10 euros!

Dad says there is nothing like
a fish burger for breakfast

Up early the next day to visit the famous Hamburg Fish Market (it starts at 4am and is finished by 10am every Sunday) - absolutely crazy - the fish sellers hawk there merchandise with much theatre and humour - drawing quite an audience to watch what they will throw in to the deal next. Everything is "10 euros" - parcels of fresh fish, baskets of fruits and vegetables. There is a big hall with a rock band or pop music playing, beer flowing and people dancing away - its quite common to head over from a night out on the nearby Reeperbahn to meet people, have a few more drinks and grab some food before heading home, never thought I would eat fish for breakfast but it was fabulous! We sneak in a nap and then try some of the purchases for lunch - Eel? It's actually very tasty. Then watch Maren play handball (disappointed in the lack of fights yet again) and then laugh the night away playing cards - laughter is a universal language :-)

Miniature World airport

Monday we head to Miniature World - I was super excited to see the newly finished airport section, complete with planes that actually take off and land! We had a big event to celebrate that night, Maren and Thorsten had signed the papers to purchase their first house and it was Julie and John's last night of their European Adventure. What better way to celebrate than an all you can eat Mongolian buffet complete with cooked to order wok dishes, roast duck, sushi and black sesame ice cream!

Tuesday morning we made it to the train station after another huge breakfast spread and a few tears.



Mum and Dad, it was brilliant to have you here and a privilege to show you all the things I love about Europe. I hope you had a fantastic holiday

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 8 – Bruges - Brugge

Canal cruise

We arrive around 6pm after another luxury train ride - but this time the ridiculous 42 euro per person reservation fee only gets us a snack, drink and coffee on the 1 hour ride from Paris to Brussels. Then we have to stand for the next hour on the packed train from Brussels to the quaint city of Bruges.

Canal cruise

My friend Caitlyn joins us the next morning from her home in the Netherlands and we wander through the Wednesday morning market on the square with the church claiming to have Jesus Christ's blood in a vial and onto the main square with its towering (and leaning) belfry - only 422 steps up for a great view - luckily it is foggy so we don't have to climb! We decide to get into the local spirit and have some fries and mayonaise for lunch before wandering through the chocolate shops - for presents of course - and then finding the canal boats and going for a cruise around, past houses, gardens and ducks.

Bruges by night

Trouble at de Garre

Then the trouble starts - a delicious Leffe brown before wandering back to the main square and finding a restaurant for dinner - out to make some money after we insisted on the advertised 16 euro 3 course menu, we ask for a large Leffe brown and he brings us ONE LITRE each. NOT the type of beer you drink by the litre!! After dinner we say goodnight to mum and dad and head to De Garre - a gorgeous little local pub with delicously sweet 12 percent beer, served with little cubes of cheese and extremely dangerous. Midway through our second one, they are closing and we somehow end up staying on, chatting to the 3 bar men about who knows what, then managing to stagger home and discover it is 1.30am...........we swear we were only there for an hour!!! Belgian beer is dangerous.

Flanders Fields cemetary

Flanders Fields - 15 year old soldier

Not happy when the alarm goes off at 7.30am for the Flanders Fields tour........after quite a struggle we make it to the meeting point and it is an excellent day. We head out into the countryside and visit various monuments and cemeteries while hearing about how World War 1 started and key events in the area. It makes me sad to see so many graves with "unkown" marked on the headstone.......the average age is 20 years old and I see one of a boy of only 15. We hear how a truce was called in the trenches on the first christmas and soldiers from each side played football and exchanged gifts. We learn about the chemical warfare and how live artillery is still discovered each year when the farmers plough the fields. We finish in the town of Ieper (completely wiped out, along with all other towns in the area and rebuilt after the war) and lighten things up with some beglian waffles complete with Nutella and ice cream. Heavy stuff but highly recommended

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 7 – France - Amiens and the Paris blitz

Amiens Cathedral through the fog

Arrived in Amiens after only 11.5 hours on the train instead of the expected 12. Got a surprise on the train from Mannheim to Paris - apparently the compulsory reservation of 19euros per person gets you an airline style meal with wine and dessert upon arrival! Pity we had just had lunch..........oh well it was free, we had to eat it!

Mum and Dad were up early to go on the Wester Front Battlefields tour that we came to France for - they thouroughly enjoyed it - they ended up with a personalised guide and Dad got to visit where his grandfather fought in World War 1 - successful trip

Went on a bit of a detour for dinner........the restuarant that the guide recommended "just down the road" ended up being a 40 minute walk in the fog and cold after an initial wrong turn.........was good food once we found it..........mum has been banned from directing

Up early with a mission - blitz Paris in 26 hours..........can we do it...........

Julie and John from Trocadero

Arc de Triomph

Checked in at our hotel by 11am, we jump on the metro and head up to Trocadero - best view of the Eiffel Tower in the city. Over to the Arc de Triomph to see the flame of rememberance and a quick walk on the Champs Elysees. I have to laugh when mum sees the top of a tower of the buildings and asks what's that? Ummm the Eiffel Tower mum.............ha ha ha!

Notre Dame

Jardin de Tuiliries

Down to the Latin Quarter for a delicious and cheap Plat de Jour and then across the road to the Notre Dame - such an impressive cathedral and nearly 1000 years old. Unfortunatley it is a cloudy day so we bypass the magic stained glass of Saint Chapelle and walk through the Louvre, past the glass pyramids and into the beautiful Jardin de Tuileries - autumn leaves all around. There is a ferris wheel set up right in front of the 3300 year old Egyptian Obelisk on Place de la Concorde and we find some hot wine with amaretto at the christmas markets along the Champs Elysees.

Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

Time for a Gluhwein at the Champs Elyesees
Christmas markets

Back for a quick nap before dressing up - I haven't worn heels for months (yes I know!) so I decide to crack out the biggest heels I own (which I regret about 20 minutes later after the 100th metro stair. but they look HOT.) and we head to Chartier - the best restaurant in Paris. No bookings allowed and rock bottom prices for amazing french food - we wait in line for about 20 minutes before being whisked in and have a single diner seated at our table. He is quite happy to chat in english with dad - he is a banker in credit - calls himself a "bankster" ha ha. Egg with mayonaise, confit duck, red wine and sensational dessert - vanilla ice cream with a pastry casing and hot chocolate sauce with slices of roast almond........mmmmmmmmmm - less than 20 euros a head with tip. Then to the Moulin Rouge - just as good as the last time - champagne, a girl swimming with boa constrictors, a strong man who supports a girl in all sorts of poses, a million fabulous costumes, the can can - it really is a must

Sacre Couer

A sleep in and up to my favourite part of Paris - Montmarte and the Sacre Couer. Bit of an uphill walk and then the church is right there - along with the entire city of Paris below. Inside the church is beautiful, it has the largest Christ in Majesty mosaic in the world on the ceiling above the alter and it is very impressive to stand inside and take in the feeling of the building. The view is too hazy today for good photos which is a pity, but its a beautiful stroll back down through the steep cobblestoned strees, with all the artists painting and selling their works. We stop for macaroons half way down and then head for the train station. Paris in 26 hours - DONE!

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 6 – Berlin. BAM

Inside the Reichstag

Back in my favourite city in the world. Our apartment is surprising large and I'm impressed with the improvement in my German when our contact does not speak English and we run through everything auf Deutsch. It's a great location too just 100 or so metres from the metro and a great turkish kebab shop downstairs. Little incident arriving - my map had a U1 and a U2 metro - turns out they are working on the U2 so have created the U12 - confusing but good for us in the end as no changed required from Zoo! Unfortunatley once I figured out where we were going we all went to jump on the first train and the doors started closing after only Paul had got on...........the look on his face as the train took off - poor guy! Lucky he had the sense to jump off at the next station and we collected him on the next train through.

Day 1 I took the group to the Insider Famous Walking Tour - fantastic tour that we sell through work - and left them to it while I went to get my hair done. Such fun having a new hairdresser every time you need an appointment - this one was a good one luckily! Walked back into centre to meet them and discovered an early christmas market at Potsdamer Platz selling hot wine with Amaretto - amazing - we ended up going there several times over the 5 days! We spent the rest of the day at the free Topography of Terror exhibition - it walks you though the lead up to the rule of the Third Reich, their early days, WW2 and then gets quite graphic and full on when explaining - in written documents and photographs - the horror of what the persecuted people faced. It really is beyond comprehension that humans do these things to each other.

Sunset from the Reichstag

Day 2 we went on another Insider Walking Tour - this one walking through the city and delving into the Third Reich regime and significant events at various locations. Extremely interesting and worthwile. We had an appointment to visit the glass panorama dome of the Reichstag parliament building at 3pm and Paul didnt have his passport on him so I did a 50 minute sprint/metro/million stairs (yes i actually RAN a lot of it!!!) to go back and get it only to discover a drivers license would have been sufficient. !*"~&£%)*&£)%*&!" Spectacular views and a beautiful sunset over the Tiergarten soon made up for it




Day 3 the group went out to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp - I still haven't been to one and I don't know if I will, it really intimidates me. I enjoyed the apartment all to myself - the SILENCE - even had a bath, read my book and painted my nails
 

Dad and I at ice hockey

Day 4 mum and I hit the shops in the fruitless search for fashionable snow boots, stopped for some hot wine and then we all ate at our local asian restaurant - after 3 times they knew we needed the English menu, under 50 euros for 5 people entree, main and drinks, berlin is so cheap! - and then hit up the ice hockey - god I love this sport!

And here come the ice bears!

Eisbaren beat Ausberger in an extra time penalty shoot out - pity there was no fights, but the atmosphere was amazing - it was like a rock concert before it started, with music, FIREWORKS inside the stadium, individual player introductions - coming from a giant inflatable polar bear along with dry ice smoke...........mental

We farewell Diane and Paul at 6.45am the next morning and head to the train for our 12 hour journey to Amiens............

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 5 – Praha

Czech trains are a bit of a surprise after the luxury of Swiss and Austrian trains...........even in 1st class you see the rails when you "flush" the toilet!

We arrive in Prague where it is already dark and cold and have a short walk to Wenceslas Square where we meet up with Diane and Paul - friends of my parents from 40 years ago. They are kiwis currently living in England and will be joining us in Prague and Berlin - so i now have a tour group!

The apartment looks good on the surface - until we discover the little things - the "lift" only goes up to the 5th floor - we are on the 6th, the "free wifi" doesnt actually connect, my bed stops my bedroom door from closing (and after jamming it shut we mysteriously find it open upon returning the next day.....), we have 1 roll of toilet paper for 3 nights and 5 people..........not that I expected too much for the price and location, but I really hate false adverstising.

We head to my favourite goulash restaurant - beautifully spiced Italian style goulash with tender meat and best of all - served in an edible bread bowl

Now that's a Becherovka!

Next day we have free vouchers for the city hop-on hop-off bus tour so we do a loop around the city, then I leave the others to stop at the sights and head off to get a massage - awesome - a chiropractor and a massuese all in one - fixes my sore neck right up for only 16 euros and only makes me cry once. We revisit a small local place off the Old Town Square that a certain Italian once took me to and it is just as delicious. I remember that Prague is unfortunatley one of those places where you have to be wary of scammers - I buy a bottle of water on the way home and the sales girl tries to give me half the change I am owed by giving me lots of small coins. So disappointing that people try and rip off people who bring money into their city.

Kutna Hora - Kostnice bone church

Kutna Hora - Kostnice bone church

Next day we are up early and off into the countryside to Kutna Hora, famous for Kostnice - the church decorated with the bones of 40,000 victims of the 14thC plague and Hussite wars. Creepy, facsinating and definatley worth the trip. I would recommend heading straight back to the train station and saving yourself the extra 3km walk into the town

View over Old Town square

A friend of Diane's has recommended a restaurant on the Old Town Square with views of the Astronimcal Clock (which we finally see at the 7pm performace - I enjoyed my hot wine more) - we find the U Prince Hotel and head up to the 5th floor terrace - nicely heated against the cold night air and blankets provided - a beautiful view and delicious food - perfect date venue!

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 4 – S is for Salzburg, Salt, Sound of Music and Style

Mozart dinner concert

Salzburg - stylish like a mini Vienna, but in the Alps and home to only around 150,000 people - but it uses everything it has - namely the Sound of Music and Mozart

We arrive to this gorgeous little place mid afternoon and decide to spend the first night at a Mozart concert and dinner - its fantastic, held in a beautifully decorated baroque hall, we are treated to 3 courses and 3 samples of Mozart's operas - complete with live music and entertaining opera singers in period costume before strolling home across the crystal clear river and through the narrow, cobbled streets

Bavarian mountains

Next day we are up early and picked up for our tour of the Salt Mines - Salzburg meaning "salt castle". We head into nearby Germany, into the stunning Bavarian mountains ablaze with all the autumn colours, past Hitler's Eagles Nest and upon arrival we are handed miner's overalls to change into. A train ride, a raft ride on an underground salt lake and all sorts of information on how it is mined don't compare to the best bit - mum, dad and I holding on tight and whizzing down 2 different steep wooden slides!

Sound of Music tour - Von Trapp's house

Mirabell Palace gardens

The afternoon brings the Sound of Music tour..........we get to see the different filming locations of the Von Trapp house, the gazebo, the scenes of Do Re Me and the wedding church in nearby Mondsee.




I wished I had bought either my Ipod or a travel size schnapps when the sing a long started on the bus but Mum enjoyed it!

Beer and chicken at Augustiner

Salzburg fortress

Today we went into St Peter's Church (where they hid from the Nazi's in the movie) and then up to the Salzburg Fortress - with stunning views over the city and surrounds and a few interesting museums on Salzburg's history. Then to the Augustiner Brewery - pure beer brewed by Monks - no preservatives = no hangover so I had 2 and we ate some delicious roast chicken. When you go in, you grab a ceramic stein, pay for your beer and they fill it right out of the keg. When you want a refill, you can rinse it out at a fountain and then get some more! You can also bring your own food into the hall, so its full of locals just meeting up and hanging out - love it :-)

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 3 – Wien

It’s 5pm and dark already – winter is definitely on its way. Off the train from Venice we need to change to the U bahn, and then change lines to the Hostel. But – no problem, there are LIFTS, escalators and ramps – life is easy in Vienna

Dinner in the Naschmarkt – right out the front of the hostel, it is endless rows of fresh fruit, vegetables, spices, olives, nougat, pretty much anything you can imagine – then the bars and restaurants. We go for Vietnamese/Thai and get a special room out the back in the grocery store as it is so full – it’s actually nicer than being in a packed restaurant!

Spanish Riding School

Up to enjoy the Hostel’s €3,70 all you can eat breakfast buffet and then to the Spanish Horseriding School performance at the Hofburg palace. I love how it looks like a ballroom, complete with chandeliers until you look down and see the sand on the floor. It is such a grand and elegant city – I would feel perfectly at home here, pity I’m not eligible for a visa. Unless I marry an Austrian……..

The show has many segments, all MC’d in first German, then English – my favourite is when the perfectly trained white Lipizzaner horses perform their exercises that look like dancing and tricks such as standing on their hind legs – with the rider on their back. Amazing – such beautiful creatures

We sightsee the city – the Opera House, Hofburg Palace, St Stephens Dom , H&M, Zara, Museums Quarter…….and decide that it makes sense to eat dinner at around 5pm – the locals are doing it

Schonbrunn Palace

Bit of an adventure the next morning – head to the Hofburg Musik Kapelle to see the Vienna Boys Choir perform – location as confirmed with the ticket sales assistant the previous day. Getting a bit nervous when no one else is waiting 10 minutes prior to the scheduled performance time – then a couple appear and we are reassured – before they phone a friend to find out it is actually being held at another venue (where we collected the tickets from, thanks sales assistant) – they offer us a lift and we rush to their car and speed to the right venue. Only 5 minutes late we have to wait for the first applause break to enter – and the usher upgrades our standing place tickets (that we paid €6 for) to front row seats! We hope that our rescuers didn’t see us being swept down to the front row from their seats…………… fantastic 2 hour  concert of orchestra and choir all in an elegant ballroom of course – we feel slightly underdressed as apparently suits are quite normal here at 11am on a Sunday morning. I love it!

Dad's new job - guarding Schonbrunn

Wiener schnitzel and potato salad

A break to try the famous Sacher Torte and then out to Schönbrunn Palace to see how I was meant to live………a tour, complete with interesting insight into the daily lives of the Habsburgs, through 22 of the 1000+ rooms of the palace – one of the loveliest and most elegantly decorated palaces I have seen. The gardens are also extensive and beautiful – particularly stunning now with the autumn leaves in full display. A great restaurant recommendation from an ex-local leads us out the side entrance and into a Viennese style beer hall – the BEST Wiener schnitzel and potato salad I’ve had, plus a cherry schnapps that gets Julie quite happy and in fits of giggles on the metro home

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava city centre

Day 3 we head on an hour train ride to Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. The direction upon arrival was lacking but we manage to find the correct bus to get us into the main part of town.  A beautiful little place of less than ½ million people, lovely old buildings, quirky statues all through the old town and a castle on the hill with impressive views of the city. Would be great to visit in summer when you can arrive via boat on the Twin City Liner along the Danube. 

Vienna – So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, adieu…………off to Salzburg!

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 2 – Venezia.

Italy - I hate it and love it. Mostly hate it.

I hate that the Italian train didn't bother to turn up in Spiez, so we have to get off the Swiss train in Brig and wait an hour for the next train, which is then overbooked and has people siting in the aisles for over 2 hours.

I hate that the minute we leave Switzerland and arrive in Milan to change trains, what we think is a fellow passenger insists on helping with our bags. Too late I remember - this is his job and when we hand over €2 for his trouble, he sits there and pouts and points at the bags and asks for €5.

I hate that upon our 9.30pm arrival in Venice, we go into a restaurant offering a €11,50 "Menu of the Day" only to be told "oh no, you don't want that, it's only little, here have some of the (more expensive) other dishes" and have to ask 3 times before he will tell us the Menu of the Day


I hate that when the ATM Mum is trying to use won't dispense cash, she asks the Money Exchange office if they offer cash withdrawals which they assure her they do and it will cost her no more than an ATM. For €500 cash she gets €595.43 charged to her Travelcard - "bank fees" of course, not commission

I love that you can get perfect, strong coffee instantly and for €1 or less at any little bar

 I love it when they say "prego"

I love seeing families and friends greet each other – ciao! kiss, kiss – ciao! kiss, kiss – you can see and hear the genuine happiness to meet

I hate it when they offer a "free demonstration" and then tell you it will be €5 when you sit down

I love all the amazing gelati

I love that they have fresh fruit and vegetable stalls lining the streets

I hate it when you are patiently waiting your turn at the counter and someone pushes in. They just don't understand queuing

I love the Israeli restaurant we found just near the Guglie vaparetto stop - Gam Gam - AMAZING kosher food - hummus, honeyed carrots with sesame, eggplant, chilli paste, curried egg, chickpeas and celery, sensational mussaka..............get on it

Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 1 - Schweiz

A 5 hour train trip from Lauterbrunnen to Frankfurt, an overnight stay and a 5.45am train to Frankfurt airport. 7.45am and I am still sitting at the arrival gates……..QF5 landed on time, it was “dispensing” and now it has disappeared off the arrivals board……..oh here they are, the last through the gates after being interrogated by an overzealous immigration officer

Turns out they were lucky to make it over at all – a migraine on the flight to Singapore and possible kidney stones on the flight to Frankfurt nearly stopped the adventure before it even started 

We manage to board the train back to Lauterbrunnen without incident, only a slight hiccup when jetlagged Julie gets a bit lost on the way back from the train toilet, luckily I am onto it and rescue occurs just before we need to change trains. Mum has a slight problem with the “quiet carriage” that we have reserved – it seems it is torture for her to go without speaking for more than a couple of minutes and when she is told to “shhhhhhh” she manages to make even more noise rummaging through her bags and dropping things between the seats

Dad, me and Mum at the top of Schiltorn

We arrive safely to Camping Jungfrau and head to the restaurant for dinner, introduced mum and dad to rosti which was delicious as usual. Unfortunately the pre dinner snacks  became bitter lemon flavoured after mum decided that her overflowing drink was best poured over them.

Day 2 was perfect and after a late breakfast with my friend Daniela we headed up to Schilthorn – beautiful views, James Bond, paragliders over the alps and lunch in the revolving restaurant

Luzern

Day 3 my friend Christine drove us to Luzern over the amazing Brunig Pass and we explored the beautiful city. Crystal clear river running under two ornate bridges that are hundreds of years old. An old city wall that you can climb on and walk through the guard towers, with views down to Lake Lucerne and over the city.

Bern

Day 4 we caught the train to Bern, visited the Einstein Museum, the Zytlogge (quite disappointing display when the clock struck 2pm, slightly better at 5pm), the bear pits and the Bern Munster. Nearly got run over by a bus that quietly snuck up behind us when we were walking down the main street. Am dealing with constant questions – highlights include “What latitude are we at?”, “How do I know if I’m writing in lower case?”, “What happens when it snows?”.  Have discovered a new love for coffee with schnapps.

Mum and I at the top of Jungfrau

Ski chic Johnno

Day 5 up at 6am to get the 6.59am train up to Jungfraujoch. 2 trains, 3000m and 2 hours later we are on the Top of Europe. Absolutely STUNNING views all around, snow everywhere and the sun is shining. Dad finds the ice palace hard going, he shuffles along clutching the rail but makes it out still upright. Mum on the other hand has no fear……..we head out to the platform in the snow and despite repeated warnings to hold on to the rail she manages to fall flat on her bum while taking ANOTHER photo – she has managed to take 512 now – in THREE DAYS. No time lost though, before I can stop laughing she is back up and taking more photos

View from dinner at Beatenberg

Day 6 and we head into the village to get the cable car up to Grutschalp intending to walk the Murren loop. They have decided to close it for the week so we end up on a packed bus to Stechelberg and squashed into a cable car that dangles above the valley floor on the way up to Gimmelwald. Lunch at the Eiger hotel in Murren with the snowy Alps right in front of us and nice, although quite steep, downhill walk back to Gimmelwald. Cable car down to Stechelberg and a nice walk along the valley floor to the Trummelbach Falls. By this time dad has had enough and starts questioning my timings……..apparently my standard answer of “oh about 10 minutes” isn’t cutting it when it turns out to be a bit longer……..and he is not happy about the many stairs inside the falls that I accidentally forgot to mention…….

Day 7 – a sad goodbye to Lauterbrunnen and 5 train changes to Italy await……….oh and apparently the Italian train didn’t turn up (welcome to Italy) so we have to make an extra stop, wait for an hour and change all our reservations to hopefully now arrive in Venice around 9pm……………