Well, we both had jobs and a place to stay so it was time to do some sightseeing. Seeing as it was Dan's birthday weekend we decided to head somewhere special; down to Fort William and to visit the Cameron Clan museum that was close to there. We hired a car to get down there since it would have been tricky to get around the area by bus. We had some trouble getting our car since we accidentally booked it for October. After going to the hotel where we were supposed to do the pick-up and no one being there, we called and had to go to the airport. It took us a bus ride to get out there, but from there on it was pretty easy. We waited in line, and the staff were very ... read more

We made it to Paris! When we found out the Thalys ticket agents were on strike we asked the conductors on the platform if we could board the train and pay for the ticket on board. Understanding our dilemma they seemed to think it would fine. So we got on the train. When the ticket checkers came we had to explain why we didn’t have tickets; thankfully it was only 26 euros. Normally, anyone who boards the train without a ticket has to pay 88 euros! Unbelievable; we are so happy we didn’t have to pay that. Otherwise our trip was very uneventful. We arrived at Gard du Nord which didn’t give Ashley the best first impression of the city. It’s very chaotic with lots of kiosks, people shouting and car horns blaring. However, that night ... read more

Well, off to Luxemburg we were. That tiny little country that has to share a Eurail Pass with the Netherlands and Belgium. What is there to do in Luxemburg you ask?? We were wondering the same thing. Rolling into the City (there is only one according to the locals) was one of the most amazing first impressions of a city Dan has ever had. The train crossed the river valley before it would reach the station, the green space below you with the steep sides just seemed so amazing; you couldn't tell you were in a city at all. After the train, first things first... what to do in Luxemburg?? We went straight to information where we learned about the Luxemburg attraction card, which would get us into sights all over the country!!! We didn't dare ... read more

Hans-Juergen came to pick us up at the train station once we arrived in Hamburg. We took a walk down by the Alster, which is where the drink Alster Wasser (beer mixed with lemonade) gets its name. We went down into the Rathaus Passage, which is an underground passage that has been converted into a bookstore and café. Apparently this area used to be teaming with homeless drug addicts and a friend of Hans-Juergen’s had the idea to turn the passage into a business area. We continued on our walk for another hour or so going down the main shopping street and stopping for sausages and sight-seeing. Well, we didn’t do a lot of sight-seeing but Hans-Juergen showed us the Church of San Jakobi. We learned that San Jakobi is the patron saint of pilgrimage so ... read more

On August 5 we left Corfu. We took the shuttle to the ferry port, waited for the next ferry to Igoumenitsa where we caught an overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy. Now this ferry was huge. I don’t remember if we mentioned Dan’s disappointment in the size of our last ferry. But he had previously been on a cruise-like ship and this most recent boat didn't meet his standards. However, this ship did. It had a swimming pool, several lounges and dining areas and more. We set up camp in one of the lounges where we hung out most of the night, watched movies and eventually fell asleep. We thought it would be great to go to Zermatt in Switzerland. So we took a train from Ancona to Milan where we got on another train to Brig. ... read more