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Published: August 13th 2018
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Highs and lows
Scotland:
H: party in Peebles with the family; WHW day 1 of walk, as Rach was there; day 3 scenery was just awesome, albeit in the clouds for some of it
L: Rach not being able to do WHW days 2&3
Berlin:
H: Berliner Dom with dad, and time with Mum and dad generally
L: picking up wrong suitcase at airport; first experience of European smokers.
Prague:
H: that awe inspiring, ‘oh shit’ moment getting out of the cab in the heart of the city at our air bnb at night; mum’s enjoyment and comments during the night cruise on the river; feeling like walking through a fairy tale land (a wonderfully preserved old city)
L: Bloody tourists were everywhere (I now understand where the collective noun for tourists comes from: a glaze); selfie generation; arsehole staff getting on the train to Vienna
Vienna:
H: traditional Viennese meal in a lovely restaurant in a small side street; saw Klimt’s The Kiss
L: Volume of tourists again, and not getting into Schoenberg Palace despite having paid for it; both had allergic reactions to the air bnb room and had to move to a hotel
Budapest:
H: night cruise on
the Danube; amazing parliament building and tour; chapel at Prague Castle
L: we were both sick
Salzburg:
H: the view from our dinner table over the Austrian Alps and the concert we attended at the Hohensalzburg Fortress;
L: rushing around as we only had just over a day there
Venice:
H: somehow, we just felt at home in Venice; wandering the tiny side streets; Doges palace and prison, and basilica tour and museum (seeing the amazing 4th century BC bronze statue of horses of Saint Mark) with a really knowledgeable guide; gondola ride and seeing Casanova’s and Marco Polo’s houses; just chilling out over a beer/wine watching the world go by
L: sorting out the initial transport from train station to hotel (obviously there were no cars); dreadful heat (even at night it was 30 degrees and muggy)
Florence:
H: just a beautiful city with a great vibe, that I felt at home in instantly; Segway tour of the city with a fun, knowledgeable guide was a brilliant way of finding out more about the amazing city; amazing art that we had the privilege of seeing
L: absolutely dreadful guide for two of the most world renowned art galleries (although
Rach did call her out on a number of things in front of the group)
Rome:
H: arriving on a free Sunday and walking into a number of attractions for nothing; Saint Peter’s Basilica and dome tour, again with an excellent guide, who fed off the interests of others; Ancient Rome and Colosseum tour at night (without the glaze of tourists) which allowed us access to below the arena; got to the Borghese gallery early to experience some wonderful art without the mad crowds
L: the single worst experience of our trip: getting ripped off by buying specials at a restaurant (quick lunch between tours); paid €205 - a whole separate story
Barcelona:
H: visit to Monserrat; various things including the Fenicular ride up the mountain, the scenery on our hike round the mountains above the monestary (including getting caught in a serious thunderstorm), and the monestary itself; Gaudi tour with the highlight being the Sagrada Familia, which words or photos just don’t do justice (you just feel the soul of the man in the building)
L: both having a tummy bug, despite Rach repeatedly squirting antibacterial gel onto our hands
Learnings:
- if you want to avoid the
heat of summer, don’t go in the summertime
- If you want to avoid the heavy glaze of tourists, don’t go in peak season
- If you want to see religious artefacts and great gothic architecture for free, go Catholic
- The moments that almost make you cry are the real special ones (getting out the cab in Prague, mum’s comments on the Prague river cruise, the view from our dinner table at Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg, Montserrat monestary and stunning scenery in a walk in the mountains above; walking into Sagrada Familia)
- If you have a bad tour guide or tour experience, let the operator know; they need to know how to make the experience better for future tours, and you may get some of your money back (Rach very respectfully complained about the Florence art gallery tour, requesting a partial refund, and they refunded the whole lot);
- Buying good walking shoes was the right thing to do, made the trip a lot more pleasurable;
- You just can’t see everything, so pick some main things to do and work around that;
- Treat yourself to the comfort and clean toilets of airport lounges are worth the
money, if you have a long wait
- The world is a enormous, need to do many trips
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