Salzburg and the Austrian Lake District on PhotoPeach

Regensburg and 60's party on PhotoPeach

The Upper River locks on PhotoPeach

Day 14

We went on a guided tour of the Melk Monastry. It was a huge complex that even holds an exclusive school within its walls. There are 10 libraries and it would take you 300 years to read all the books there. One Abbot designed a reusable coffin to save money.
The church was another wow with lots of gold leaf and frescos on the ceiling.
In the afternoon we enjoyed the 25 degree temperatures on the sundeck with an ice cream party while we admired the beautiful scenery of the Wachau Valley.
While Dave had a quiet afternoon I joined a walking tour to a tiny city called Durnstein which means dry stone. That was what the wall was made of.In those days if they had a stone wall enclosing the town they could apply to become a city and then they could collect taxes from those who came inside the walls which created wealth for the area.After our walk we were treated to aprricot schnapps, brandy and chocolate, then we finished off with apricot bubbles.
After another superb dinner we went to a wine tasting with our guide Catherine from this morning. The wine was ordinary compared to ours but the atmosphere including an Austrain accordian player and singer and getting up and doind the bird dance all added to a great atmosphere

Day 13

This was our big day on tour. From 9am til 7pm we were on the Salzburg Sound of Music tour. A coach trip through lovely green countryside took us to Salzburg. Our guide took us on a 2 hour walking tour which included a lovely narrow main street with guilded signs above each store as they are not allowed neon. We then took a cable car to the fortress. The view over the town was amazing. Looking the other way we saw the alps and Hitlers Eagles Nest.Another hightlight was the Lakes District where we pulled off the highway and saw a superb lake with sky divers coming off a far away cliff ( not unlike Queenstown). We then went to the village of Mondsee where the church was used for the wedding in the Sound Of Music. You could see why because it was absolutely amazing inside. This was an exhausting day but a special one.

Day 12

This morning Dave went to the Audi factory, 4 rings stand for the four companies united, now owned by VW. Travelled on the autobahn. We were doing 100kms in the bus and being past as if we were crawling along. There is no speed limit on the autobahn. Tha Canvastown kids will be interested in how they hunt boars here. They sit on the top of big stands and wait for the pigs to come out of the bush and drink beer.
I spent the morning in Regensburg, a lovely little medieval city that still has it's city wall, although now many houses are built into it. The stone bridge was built in 10yrs and was considered and engineering masterpiece. During the war the city declared itself an "Open city" which meant they welcomed in the Allies and avoided getting bombed.
When the boys ( and Janine and Fran) got back we walked into town to see the beautiful Cathederal and went to a Hungarian market where we enjoyed a nice cold wheat beer in the sun. All the shops were closed as in Germany it is law that shops close on Sundays.
After dinner there was a sixties night with wigs, glasses, blown up guitars etc. The staff dressed up and got everyone grooving, including Fran, the hoola hoop queen and Janine the dancing queen. The rum punch went down well too.

From Bamburg to Nuremburg on PhotoPeach

Rothenburg and Klitzen on PhotoPeach

Day 11

Today we visited Nuremberg and opted to do the WW2 tour. We visited the National Congress built for Hitler, to his plans ( based on the Coloseum in Rome- but bigger) to hold the Nazi party rallies. It has a granite exterior with brick for most of the thickness of the walls. It was never finished or used for its intended purpose because war came first. It was built to hold 50,000 Nazis. Then we went to the remains of the Zeppelinfield where the rallies of up to 100,000 people gathered to listen to Hitler speak. Our German guide Alexander was vey passionate about how Germans feel about what happened in the past. It must have been a terrible time for everyone.
Then we went into the old city centre and looked around market, bought a few trinkets and ate Lebkuchen ( gingerbread), more like a spiced biscuit.
We sailed in the afternoon and went through massive locks that took us up to the highest point in the river. We sailed into what looked like a big garage, the door closed behind and started to fill with water.It was amazing how deep the lock was and how fast it filled. When you get to the top it is like to are sitting up on top of the trees as you look down to the river we have just come from. At 6.30 we sailed past the Continental Divide and celebrated with blue bubbles! There are lots of low bridges to go under and it was funny to see the wheelhouse disappear down and the Capatin pop his head up through a hatch to steer the bo

Wertzberg on PhotoPeach

Day 10

Today after breakfast we were treated to a 2nd breakfast "fruhschoppen" ( one we really didn't need but had to try)which consisted of sausage, pork, sourkraut, a potato mixture and pretzel breadsticks washed down with a nice cold beer. No one needed lunch that's for sure.With german music it was a great atmosphere.We also had a very interesting lecture about the European Union.
After lunch we went on a walking tour of Bamberg-The Franconian Rome, with our tour guide Aimee.Through the centre of town runs the river and one area is aptly called "Little Venice". Bamberg has 9 breweries and 81 more in surrounding areas. It's specialty is Rauchbier (smoked beer)a dark, red ale with a smooth smokey after taste of bacon. We all got vouchers for a free one...very interesting smell and taste.After dinner we had a wonderful singer called Valerie who sang songs in many languages from the Coutries in Europe.

Day 9

Today we had a guided tour of the Prince Bishops Residenz. It is a beautiful baroque palace. It had a huge staicase with an enormous fresco on the roof along the lines of the ones in the Sistene Chapel.It had a room of painted mirrors. Everything was very elaborate and over the top but great to see. We had time to look around the little market square before catching a bus the Rothenburg a pictureque village that is completely surrounded by its city wall.The town is also home of Germanys famous Kathe Wohlfaht Christmas store and there is even a torture museum.
After dinner The Aulic Council and Wine Queens escorted us to Germany's oldest wine cellar where we sampled 5 local wines served by 2 bucksome Wine Queens.A good night was had by all...well at least the by the ANZACs.

Dave's 50th dinner on PhotoPeach

From Miltenberg to Wertheim on PhotoPeach

Day 8

What an amazing day Dave had on his 50th birthday. We started the day with a champagne breakfast and then we had a glass blowing demonstration by a 7th generation glass blower from Wertheim.Then we went on a walking tour of the quaint village of Miltenberg.The main street was chock full of cute little half timbered houses.After a carbo loading lunch 6 ANZACs joined a touring group of 21 to bike from Miltenberg to Wertheim- only 31 kms!!Andrea would be very proud of us.. especially me because she knows I hate the bike!!What an amazing afternoon as we followed the river through little towns along a very busy cycle way, only about 1 km on open road. We stopped half way at a beautiful little bier garden for a well earned cold one.We finally arrived at our destination just before the shops shut and had time to visit the glass blowers shop.We then set sail again. Our wonderful new friends had arranged for balloons at our table, kindly blown up by our non cyclist friends, champagne- Moet and Chandon no less.Dave was presented with his own Captains hat- especially good as we always sit at the Capatins table. As dessert was served, the lights went out and everyone started to sing as a beautiful cake with fireworks on top, came out as well as another bottle of Moet. We are so lucky to have met these wonderful people in Paris. When we arrived back in our room the housekeepers had made our towels into a birthday cake with crepe paper ribbons in the colour of the German flag, decorated with chocolates for candles.An wonderful end to an amazing day.

Cruising on the Rhine on PhotoPeach

Day 7

Today was castle day. We travelled along the most famous stretch of the Rhine River hearing about the history of the many castles we saw. We had several coffees with "Men's liquer" Yum.Lots of pretty villages,vineyards going up steep hills.One hard case priest in the 17th century found a solution for getting men to church.On one half of the building was a bar and you had to walk through the bar to get to the church.
In the afternoon we stopped at Rudesheim. It has a population of 10,000 but has over 3 million visitors a year. It has quaint, narrow cobblestone street with lots of bars etc.We travelled by a mini train up to Siegfried's Musical Cabinet musuem which was amazing.The highlight was one cabinet that had almost a full orchestra including violins in it. Walked back to the boat where the boys enjoyed cards up on the sundeck.

Cologne on PhotoPeach

Wonderful Amsterdam on PhotoPeach

Day 6

Woke up in Cologne after cruising all night. Had a walking tour of the city with our lovely guide Monica. The highlight being the Cathederal which had superb stained glass windows and missed the bombing of WW2 which is lucky as it took 600 years to build.In town Karen bought 2 pair of shoes for 5 Euro each. Then we went to a flower show in Koblenz with our guide Otto.There were acres and acres of everything to do with plants. Highlights were floral graves and a cable car ride over the Rhine which was spectacular.Another superb meal followed by an excellent 2 piece band who got us up to dance.

Day 5

Woke up after a good nights sleep to the most amazing breakfast. Did a really informative canal trip of Amstersdam. There are over 200 canals. Then we did a walking tour to the flower markets. You can also buy your cannabis seeds there but we settled for christmas decorations.
The evening highlight was a classical violin trio who entertained us after another superb meal. The staff really seem to like our table and were very attentive... never an empty glass all night.

From Paris to Amsterdam on PhotoPeach

Day 4

Today we had breakfast in France(Paris), lunch in Belgium (Antwerp) and dinner in the Netherlands (Amsterdam). Photos may be hard to put on due to internet restrictions but we will try.Had Belguim chocolate, Belguim beer and Belguim fries in the market square.(Known to us as French fries because the American GIs had no idea where they were when the locals made them during WW2.) Arrived in Amsterdam around 5pm and had a welcome cocktail party hosted by the Captain, with Champagne and red roses for the ladies. Our Paris group took over the Captains table for a wonderful 6 course meal with copious amounts of wine.
After dinner 8 of us walked a short distance to the Red Light District which was an eye opener.
All in all another great day.

A day on the metro on PhotoPeach

Day 3: On the Metro

Last night we had a fabulous meal while cruising up and down the Seine then watched the illuminated Eiffel Tower as the lights flickered on the hour. After a tour by night we crashed and enjoyed a sleep in this morning.
As there are only 9 of us on this section of the trip, our Tour director Emma took us on the Metro to Mont Martre to see Sacre Coeur and visit the market square where all the famous artist of French history, painted. Even managed to see the last 10 minutes of the All Black game in an Irish Pub.Some of our fellow travellers bought beautiful original paintings but decided that 290 Euro could be better spent this trip.
Then we returned to visit Fragonard Parfumeur Musuem where many euros were spent by some.
Back now after a fullon day soaking my feet in the bidet... well isn't that what you are meant to do??

Paris Sightseeing on PhotoPeach

Day 2: Bonjour from Paris

After am hour on the tarmac waiting for clear airspace over Asia,we finally took off at 1am. Eating supper at 2 in the morning was a little strange. With lots of empty seats we were able to stretch out and try to get some sleep.When we were finally allowed to lift the window shades we were lucky enough to see a beautiful sun rise over Venice and ahead we could still see the black of night.

We arrived only 30 mins late to be greated by Micheal ,our chauffer driving a lovely silver Mercedes. With skillful driving we arrived at our hotel in Paris ( 1 1/2 hours to travel 30kms) to met our APT Tour guide Emma.

Day 1

First day of our big trip and the first place we went was... the dentist! Poor Dave broke a tooth on the flight over but by 10 this morning a lovely dentist in the plaza across the road had it all fixed for less than it would cost in Nz and knew all about us, our family and our holiday plans.

Spent the rest of the day checking out Singapore on the hop on hop off bus with lunch in a little local place in Little India/ $15 for the both of us including a nice cold beer!!!

Then spent a couple of hours relaxing by the pool at our hotel (29 degrees today).

Enjoying the Singapore Airlines Gold Lounge before our flight to Paris at 11.55 tonight.

Dave's Grandad is in this picture. He was a medic in the New Zealand Army who served at Gallipoli from Day 1 of the campaign until the last day. Visiting Gallipoli at the end of our tour is sure to be a highlight for us both.