Chris is feeling much beer this morning after a sleep and the tablets. One of those things that happens when travelling. We leave for the train station and our trip back to Austria. Some food and work out our platform, then waiting and watching. Eventually move to the platform and our train arrives about 10 pminutes prior to departure. Our first class carriages are at the front. We get on and find a cabin of 6 seats and settle in. No one else loves us so we are happy in our space. trainndue to leave at 1018 (yes, the Germans are very efficient and prompt). Train leaves at 1018. We await the conductor to make sure we are on the right train and in fact allowed to stay in our exclusive cabin. No problems, conductor clicks ... read more

Up reasonably early as we have a train to catch at 1030. Breakfast where we catch up with a few of the group and also John and Jane. More farewells. Eat and then go to Skype Jessica, Stephanie and the kids. Sitting at a desk sort of out of the way, we get to chat with Jessica, Pippa and Stephanie. Charlie is doing Lego with Chris and isn't interested. Eventually he comes in but has a sore ear following his swimming lesson. Not happy so we don't get much there. Pippa tells us she is doing dancing. Stephanie took som ballet slippers and leotards up for her. As we chat, the Barossa clan pass by saying their final farewell on the way to the coach and airport. We get them on Skype with the others as ... read more

What a day. A visit to the Budweiser brewery in Ceske Budejovice. This brewery is the original Budweiser. Evidently there were 2 Budweiser brothers, and one went to the USA and the other stayed in Czech Republic. They both built breweries and unfortunately the USA brother set the patents etc. first, so when the original one sends its beers overseas, it has to rename it because it doesn't have the patent in those countries. We wander around the site, learn about the brewing methods, the different strength beers (they have one that is 20% and only available in this town) and the huge amount of storage they have when brewing. We are taken into the cool rooms where the beer is finally made into the actual stuff that is then bottled. Huge vats in about 6c ... read more

Up and at em again. Bags out on time and down for breakfast Then on to the bus. Lynne gets on the bus and wisles us all well, giving an update on Peter's situation. No change from last night. we all wish her luck And then we go. Drive today is to Prague via Dresden. Rolling along when Kari Anne wanders down to see how we are all going. Oops, forgot to mention that our rotation has us in the naughty seats today, right down the back. Reckon these might be the best seats, 4 across instead of 5 and even more legroom..... Anyway, she asks if we have any questions, I say yes, she looks worried. I ask who won the trip arrival guesstimate contest. She is now happy as she had forgotten and I ... read more

Big day on the bus. We head off for Berlin this morning. Pretty much all day sitting. We do morning stop, lunch and afternoon stop in Poland so we still need zloty for any purchases. This is tough as I spent all mine last night when we were trying to arrange change, tips, etc. for the table. Have been offered an interest free loan from the bank of Wozniak (Barossa couple who withdrew too much in Poland). Start the trip with a game of guess what time we will arrive at our hotel. Everyone pours over maps, driving breaks, etc. All enter our times and then I realise, stupidly that google maps could have given me the driving time, then just add breaks - doh..... Never mind, day goes by relatively smoothly, only have to borrow ... read more