Thursday 3rd July: Today it rained for the best part of the day so just boring housekeeping duties. Sent a box home from the postoffice which cost me 1,500 Kn ($100 AUD)! Did a load of washing and then sat in a cafe watching people getting drenched in the sudden downpours in the main shopping precinct. Tomorrow should be a fine day for sightseeing in many forms!... read more

Tuesday 1st July: Spent the morning meandering through the back streets of this ancient little town before taking a tour of the Cesky Krumlov Castle. The theme in each room of the castle has been maintained with the same decor and furniture that was in place during its actual occupancy however I doubt some of it was original given the castle has been restored in many areas during the 1800's. The views from the bell tower were very impressive which gave 360 degree views across the town as I walked around the outside perimeter at the top. I then booked a kayak for the remainder of the afternoon and was driven by car 5km upstream and spent 1.5 hours casually paddling downstream back into the town taking in amazing scenery on both sides of the river. ... read more

Sunday 29th June: Franz lived up to the excellent tour reputation we have come to know him for by hiring a Cessna plane from his flying club for the afternoon. My family and I have known Franz now for 18 years so I was very confident in his flying ability which took me back to the days in Bright, Victoria where he used to jump off the Gorge at Mt Buffalo with a bloody Hang Glider! We drove to the airport not far from his home town of Baden on the outskirts of Vienna and wheeled the Cessna out of the hanger. My fear of heights had the nerves kicking in before we had even cranked over the engine! I watched with a close eye as Franz diligently went through all the checks and before long ... read more

Friday 27th June: Caught the bus from Budapest at 7am and arrived in Vienna at 10am where Franz (A good family friend from Vienna) met me and we drove back to his house in Baden. We walked around Baden and saw where Beethoven once lived and composed music before heading into Vienna for dinner and a drink. With the Euro 2008 Soccer Final being hosted by Vienna the night life and streets were an amazing buzz with nationalities from all over the world here. Later Franz took me to a cocktail bar he used to frequent some years ago and when I ordered a "tropical itch" I had no idea it would come back the size of a fish bowl and in excess of 1.5 litres! A few Mojito's later and the rest of the night ... read more

Wednesday 25th June: (Video footage still to be uploaded) - Spent the day sightseeing along the Danube River heading north along the Pest side of the riverbank before crossing Margaret Bridge to Buda and coming back through the Old Town, Royal Palace and then up Gellert Hill. Cooled off in the famous Gellert Spas followed by a massage! ... read more