Andrew and Elizabeth Caldwell's
Travel Page
Act II – Scene I - London to Vienna.Friday 20 April Cloudy, showers and cold 10°C Up @ 9:00am for breakfast at the hotel restaurant (£13). Walked down Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street and into Regent Street. Went to HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp) to pick up our bank cards and bank account details. Quick coffee then across the road to Vodaphone get mobile phones (Sagem MW930’s £49.99 ea, pre pay) then went to Piccadilly Circus then across to Haymarket, past NZ House. Went into “north2south” shop and sent some emails then to Pizza Hut for lunch (£4.50 all you can eat). Photo: "Regent Street, London" Too cold and wet for us so headed for the tube back to the hotel to rest and warm up @ 3:00. Caught a cab to Kylie & John’s place in John Islip Street to drop off our luggage that we didn’t need for the bus tour, and then went to a Thai Restaurant (£60 for 4 people). Back to their apartment for a coffee then back to our hotel @10:30pm Saturday 21 April (tour day 1) London (showers 12°C) to Brussels, Belgium (showers 12°C) Up @ 6:15am for room service breakfast, bags out @ 7:00am, on the bus @ 8:45. Left the hotel @9:00 and drove through London city then south on the M20 to Dover. Dropped of at Hoverspeed terminal @ 10:45. Waited in terminal for the 12:15 sailing, only to be told at 12:00 that we were at the wrong terminal and we had to get back on the bus and go to the normal ferry terminal for the other 12:15 sailing! Made it in time and left Dover @ 12:30 for Calais. Photo: "White cliffs and Channel ferry" Had lunch on the boat and arrived in Calais at 2:00pm (English time) or 1:00pm (European time). Boarded the actual tour bus with Maria-Grazia (Marie-Grace), our tour director, and Fabio, our driver (both Italian). Drove north east from Calais through France and into Belgium, arriving in Brussels @ 6:30pm. This part of Europe is very flat and not very interesting. Into our room at the Tulip Hotel, Ave de Blvd, @ 7:00pm with luggage delivered soon after. The optional tour of Brussels was cancelled due to lack of interest. Photo: "Brussels from our hotel" Photo: "'Atomium' sculpture from our hotel" Photo: "Brussels' botanical gardens" Left hotel and walked through the old part of town to Grand Place (Grand Platz) which is a square surrounded by medieval buildings and the old town hall. At the time we thought this was an amazing place, but later in the tour realised that this type of thing was common in Europe. Photo: "Grand Platz, Brussels" Photo: "Old Town Hall, Grand Platz, Brussels" Walked through Galarie de Reine then down Rue de Bouchers for dinner at La Belle Epoche (French restaurant, 3000 Belgian Francs/£50/$NZ150) and sat next to a French couple with there Labrador under the table! At one stage the matre’de even brought a plate of scraps out for the dog. Walked back to the hotel @ 9:15pm Sunday 22 April (day2) Brussels (fog) to Wurzberg, Germany (Fine 12°C) Photo: "Our bus and Maria-Grazia in Brussels fog" Up @ 6:15am, on bus @ 7:30. Drove northeast through Brussels in the fog then out into the Belgium countryside and headed for the Maastricht area of the Nederlands. Stopped at the Dutch / German border for to change money and for a drink then on through the Ruhr Valley to Koblenz then up the Rhine Valley (south) to Boppard for lunch. We walked around the town and had lunch at a Bakerie / Konditeri (Bakery / Cakeshop) (24 Deutch Marks / £8) Boarded our boat for the Rhine Cruise @ 2 pm then headed up the Rhine river past little villages, castles up on the hill tops and vineyards on the slopes of the valley. Cruised past the Lorelei Rock and finished at Oberwesel. Very pleasant way to see the Rhine Valley. Back onto the bus @ 3:30 then drove past Frankfurt to Wurzberg, arriving at Post Hotel @ 6:30pm. Tea at the hotel @ 7:15, then out for a walk around the block @ 9pm. Back to the hotel for bed @ 9:45.
Monday 23 April Wurzberg (day 3) (fine) to Prague, Czech Republic (fine 12°C) Photo: "City tram outside hotel, Wurzberg" Up @ 6:15, on the bus @7:30am. Drove out of Wurzberg and headed east to Nurnberg, arriving @ 9:30. Walked from the Hauptmarkt (main market square) through the old part of town to the Konigstor, one of the four towers built as part of the (still intact) old medieval town wall, and the Hautbahnhof (main train station). Walked back through town to the Hauptmarkt and bought some fruit at a stall (2 Bananen (banana) for 1.85 DM) then back to the bus at 10:30 am. Very pretty town with lots of old buildings. I bought a Swiss Army Card (like a Swiss Army Knife but in the shape of a thick credit card) containing scissor, knife, tweezers etc. Photo: "Konigskirche, Nurnberg" Photo: "Old city wall, Nurnberg" Drove from Nurnberg through Regensberg to the Czech border. Waited for 20 minutes at the German side to leave the country due to a broken printer, and 45 minutes at the Czech side. The Aussies and the Singaporeans needed visas to enter, which they had, but we Kiwis also needed to apply for a visa, which we hadn’t! Luckily though we just had to fill an application form and they let us through. Drove from the border to Pilsen (where they make beer) for a rest stop at the main square. The Czech Republic has a completely different look and feel to Germany and is still quite rundown and dirty after years of communism. After a 10 minute stop we carried on to Prague. We arrived on the outskirts of Prague @ 6:00pm, but due to closed roads, low tunnels, bridges that couldn’t carry buses, three point turns, double backs and asking for directions we arrived at the Hotel Olympic at 7:15pm. Due to our late arrive the evenings optional Czech folk evening was cancelled, so we had dinner @ 8:15 and straight to bed. Tuesday 24 April (day 4) Prague (fine) to Vienna, Austria (fine 17°C) Up @ 7:00am, on the bus @ 8:15am. Drove into old city of Prague for a walking tour with Vladek, our local guide. Walked past the Powder Gate (one of the towers on the old city walls) through to the Main Square then through the old Jewish quarter to the River Vltava then along to the Charles Bridge. Walked over the Charles Bridge then back through narrow shopping streets to the Main Square to watch the astronomical clock @ 11:00 (the bells ring and the 12 Apostles pass by an open window) along with a large crowd. Old Prague is very pretty with lots of history but still feels a little rough around the edges as it is still part of Eastern Europe, not unsafe but a little less comfortable than other parts of Europe. Photo: "Charles Bridge, River Vltava and Prague Castle (l to r)" Photo: "Astronomical Clock (1)" Photo: "Astronomical Clock (2)" Had lunch in the square then back to the bus @ 12:30 to start our drive to Vienna. Drove southeast past Brna then south across the Austrian border (only a 10 minute pause). Immediate change in the feel/look of the countryside to that of traditional Austrian villages, each with a church or two, amongst rolling hill country. Arrived on the outskirts of Vienna @ 5:30, and we got lost again heading to our hotel due as the result of taking the wrong turn. Arrived at our hotel, (Artis Tower) on the southern outskirts of Vienna @ 6:30pm. Out in the evening to Gumpoldskirchen for a traditional meal in the Viennese hills @ 7:30pm (optional). This consists of a “rustic” meal (roast chicken, roast pork, goulash, sauerkraut etc) and “two glasses of wine”. The glasses that the wine was served in were 250ml drinking glasses, full of wine. In the restaurant was also a man playing a piano accordion and singing. As well as two bus loads of Cosmos people the rest of the restaurant was taken up by a group of Italians celebrating a 40th wedding anniversary. The man on the piano accordion started out playing traditional waltzes and polkas etc but later started taking requests, including playing (and singing) Waltzing Matilda, pokarikariana etc. Very enjoyable evening with much singing, dancing and good fun. The evening concluded with the Italians doing waltzes and foxtrots, and us Kiwi’s and Aussies doing the birdy dance and the conga line! Back to the hotel @ 11:00pm Photo: "Viennese Wine Evening" Photo: "Our Table, Viennese Wine Evening"
Next installment: Vienna to Florence |
