http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/mutley---lise/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from mutley lise en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:18:14 +0000 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:18:14 +0000 The home stretch was in sight as we left Berlin. We spent two days in Cologne in western Germany enjoying nonbackpackerlike luxury in a hotel overlooking the Rhine other highlights of Cologne were the great food in the local breweries and the surprising number of professional beggars crowding the entry to the local cathedral.We then flew to London for a few days and finished off some essenti http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Australian-Capital-Territory/Canberra/blog-119454.html We jumped on the train to Berlin successfully avoiding being ripped off again by a Prague taxi driver. German rail impressed us but our trip was continually being interrupted by people who had reservations for our seats. The train was almost at capacity and the only place we could find was in the even more luxurious dining car we had a three hour trip and felt like stowaways hoping the waiter http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/District-of-Berlin/Berlin/blog-119079.html Stopped in a little hidden away corner of the Czech Republic in a town called Cesky Krumlov. It's probably a very nice place in summer. Plenty of people had found their way here including lots of Aussies. On our first night Lisa and I duly took our share of the free keg which was on offer by the hostel while chatting with a guy who claims to be the scriptwriter and engineer behind some of the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-115892.html Merry Christmas everyoneWe started our day in Vienna working out how best to pick Nicks brother Josh up from the airport and hoping the plane wasnt too delayed after all the fog all over Europe. We made it Josh made it and all was goodWell Christmas over here was a little different to what we might usually have at home about 1 degree though no snow still a trip around town on the tram http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Vienna-State/Vienna/blog-113762.html Well Austria is certainly a little chillier than Italy We got very excited on the train with all the snow everywhere but by the time we arrived in Salzburg it was all gone Never mind Salzburg had a great Christmas atmosphere with markets and outdoor ice skating so we spent our time wandering around checking out all the decorations. The markets are also full of special Christmas punch and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Salzburg-State/Salzburg/blog-113537.html Well how could you complain about Florence art and hand bags Nick may have been a little jealous about David but he really is just amazing. We may have been a little ripped off in Florence with gelato one time 20 euros later was just a little too much...Venice was just gorgeous yet again thought we're not sure how people who live on canals survive.... Trying to make our way to St Marks Sq http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-112187.html Roma what a place Not wasting any time Nick headed off to St Peter's Basillica at dawn the first day that we were in Rome while Lisa slept in. The Basillica glowed in the morning light and the absence of any crowd whatsoever made it a very different experience to that a day later when both of us visited at a more leisurely hour. To quote Lisa after several minutes of awe we didn't know where http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-111500.html Nick was very brave and volunteered to pick up a hire car in Como to make our way through Tuscany down to the Amalfi Coast. After a few shaky initial moments he did very well and after only about 40 mins we made our way back to our hotel 10 mins walk away... Something we discovered early the one way streets which are lovely to walk on but not so nice to drive on.Tuscany was relatively easy http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Amalfi/blog-110670.html Spent a few days in Zurich by far the most happening city in Switzerland. Great vibe heaps of bars cafes and shops everywhere. We were lucky to have a guide to show us some real spots Nick's old school friend Murray. He even convinced Nick to eat out in a vegetarian restaurant which was heavenWell they say that Lucerne is the Switerzland people think of when they think of Switerzland http://www.travelblog.org//Lucerne/blog-108619.html It was relieving to pick up the pace a bit in Switzerland after the dozy French regional cities although we were in those places on a Sunday and Monday. We arrived in the Swiss capital Bern on Tuesday night and were lucky to get out of the train station without any bruises The nightlife here was more exciting with an old world feel around the town. The next day we wound our way around the R http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Interlaken/blog-107266.html The last few days in Paris were relatively quiet though we did manage two dinners at the Aussie Embassy Very nice view of the Eiffel Tower I must say just metres from the back terrace lucky you Louise and Paul We had our biggest night to date after our second dinner at Damien and Syl's house after which we headed to a few dodgy bars.Despite the pouring rain we managed to find our way to the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Lyon/blog-106790.html Hi allin Paris having a ball. Seeing heaps every day yesterday was Notre Dame and the Louvre just huge The Mona Lisa was bigger than I thought as everyone goes on about how small it is still heaps of people even though not technically tourist season We have been getting to know the streets of Paris very well as we have been walking everywhere. The other day we walked from our hotel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-105188.html A little out of order but here is our entry from BrugesWhat can I say this place is just picturesque and I urge you all to come visit Our hotel was a quaint little BB with the steepest stairs Nick had to carry my bags up as there was no way I could do it The owners have this enormous dog a daschund which sat in the middle of the dining room and didn039t really move I had to wheel my http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-105353.html Bonjour mes amies arrived in Brussels after a brief train ride from Amsterdam through the countryside the tulip fields are looking very green and keen for Spring to come along only two windmills spotted yet a million bikes in AmsterdamBrussels is just picturesque though the cobble stones are a killer on the feet Not as many bikes as Amsterdam though there are chocolate shops on every corn http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-103887.html Hi allhaving a wonderful time though I have about one million blisters on my feet already... Spent yesterday walking around our plan was to walk through Hyde Park down to Westminster and the Houses of Parliament then onto the Tower of London before lunch. We got sidetracked at the War Cabinet Rooms dad you would like these which was probably appropriate given it was Remembrance Day. Finall http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Notting-Hill/blog-102328.html Lise and I have only two work days to go until we head off. In an attempt to be suitably tanned for the northern winter we headed up to Newcastle my home town for a bit of time at the beach and to visit family. The weather turned away from the summery conditions recently and proved to be rugged with the beach impossible Here was the unofficial start to our travels. Thought I had better buy an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Newcastle/blog-100645.html