Day 22 Monday 22nd June 2009 The last day of our Grand European Rail Tour 2009.

Day 22 Monday 22nd June 2009 The last day of our Grand European rail tour 2009 and our last in London.
We did not wake early as we retired at midnight the night before; we did not breakfast until 9am after which we repacked our bags for our long 24 hour trip home on the 23rd June. We needed to do two things this day; cash some more traveller’s cheques and go to the tube station to check whether I had planned our journey to Heathrow correctly; I had, and we also had enough money left on our Oyster card as well. Fay wanted to do some shopping so we went into Waitrose, a huge department store just like our Farmers Trading Company used to be. We enjoyed a huge cup of tea and a bun. We also did what has become the norm, bought our evening meal.
I have enjoyed our touring especially in Europe and in particular Austria. The variety of bread is almost endless and the crunchy crusts of the bread buns marvellous. I only had one meal I did not like. The English and German trains are fantastic and everywhere. England was the only country that I could find a meat pie. The Cornish pasty I had at Whitby was memorable; I reckon Fay will have to make some when we get home. The English button mushrooms for breakfast are unforgettable. I am sitting in a sundrenched lounge of the International Britannia Hotel overlooking the waters of the land and building harbour of Canary Wharf as I finish this diary. Goodbye, we are off to Heathrow.

Day 21 Sunday 21st June 2009 Cologne to London

Day 21 Sunday 21st June 2009 Cologne to London.
We left Cologne at 8:44 for our final trip on the ICE headed for Brussels arriving 2 ¼ hours later; we only reached a maximum speed of 250kmph this trip. We had 4½ hours to fill in at Brussels so John led us on a final trip on our Euro rail pass to Oostende, a west coastal port were vehicular ferries load cars and trucks bound for England. We had an hour to explore the city. A marina locked in by a lock had many pleasure boats moored in dirty blackish water. When we returned we had time to buy our evening meal at a Brussels supermarket to take with us; the food there is much cheaper than in London. We had to check in on the Eurostar before 5:15pm for a 5:55pm departure. I am not impressed with the train; it is in my opinion inferior to the European trains which have more leg room and upholstery. We arrived back at St Pancras in London at 7:03pm where from we caught the tube train and a elevated rail train to Canary Wharf where the Britannia International Hotel is. The trip took us 2 hours. Never mind the food we bought at Brussels revived us. I had some lovely king prawns amoungst other things.

Day 20 Saturday 20th June 2009 A ride on the Rhein

Day 20 Saturday 20th June 2009 A ride in the Rhine.
We set off for the train station at 8am and caught the 8:18am train for Bingen where we caught another for a three minute one station ride to the Boat jetty. The day was overcast which made the beautiful gardens along edge of the river more colourful. Our boat the Rhien Energie arrived from further upstream at 10:30am. It was a very large boat reputed to carry 2000 people. The river flowed in a wide valley with hills on both sides. Roads and railways were close to the river on each side as were large attractive buildings in villages and large towns with beautiful parks and flowers. Vineyards were on the steep hillsides and many Castles were on the hilltops. There were not many bridges across the river so every now and then car ferries would provide a link with the other side for motorists and passenger ferries for pedestrians. The scenery was a photographers Paradise. Just before midday we passed the Loreley Statue; the sun was shining making the top deck more attractive. Many barges carrying a variety of cargo, oil, coal, scrap iron new cars, sand, shingle and I guess general cargo hidden under the barge covers. There were also quite a number of other tourist boats with lots of people on board. Our boat was really crowded but after the Loreley about half disembarked; hooray, three cheers we could now find a vacant table in the restaurant for a snack and a cup of tea. The boat stopped at twenty seven towns before reaching Cologne; many people boarded and disembarked at each stop. About 3pm Fay and I were sitting at a dining room table in the sun; I was typing and Fay was reading; every now and then we would check the scenery which was not as interesting as before; at the other end of the room some boisterous singing could be heard. I thought a group of young people were responsible but when I checked them out they were all middle aged. By 5pm we had travelled 100km and were passing several hundred people in the water by the riverbank; someone said they were swimming; really they were just keeping afloat and letting the current carry them along; one reminded me of the sea otters we saw in Alaska last year; his head was out of the water as was his feet with his big belly in between also out of the water, just like the otters ; he was actually sitting in an inflated car tube. At six pm Fay and I bought our evening meal on board. We landed back at Cologne at 8:10pm; we had had an restful and enjoyable day. As we walked back to our hotel we saw ancient Roman artefacts through a museum window as well as a small piece of a Roman wall. John also led us into the large cathedral. I thought I had seen the best of them before but this one really was the most! Alone choral singer could be heard clearly in this large cathedral; this demonstrated it’s excellent acoustics. We retired for the night happy.
Photos:- 1. Pretty ice cream shop at Bingen.
2. The River boat Rhein Energie.
3. Castle on a hillside.
4. More Castles.
5. People in the river.

Day 19 Friday 19th June 2009 Berlin to Cologne

Day 19 Friday 19th June 2009 Berlin to Köln by ICE.
We could look out of our 1st floor hotel room and look up at the station where we would catch our Inter City Express to Cologne. From the hotel reception we walked less than100 meters through a shopping mall to the escalator which elevated us to platform six. We left Berlin Ostbahnhof on time at 9:38am; we had two more stops in Berlin, Berlin HBF and Berlin Spandau before speeding off for 168 kilometres to our next stop, Wolfsburg where the beautifully landscaped Volkswagen manufacturing plant is. Every now and then the now common place wind generators where churning out power for the nation; they were all on flat land with some right alongside the track. Although we have seen wheat fields all over England and Europe in the last six weeks, today is the first day we have seen a field with the golden tinge of a ripening crop. At Wuppertal, one stop before Cologne we observed an unusual mode of public transport; a suspended two carriage railcar. As we could only catch a fleeting glimpse of it Alan offered to arrange a trip back to go for a ride. It was only a 23 minute ride and 46km on the ICE and our Euro rail passes covered the cost. Its track length is 13.3 km which it traverses in 30 minutes; for the first 4.6km it passes along a street over cars and pedestrians at a height of 8 meters above the ground. Each carriage is suspended by two large iron arms each attached to a single iron wheel, resting on a rail above the supporting structure; the wheel has a motor attachment which provides traction for the carriage. The rest of the route is over a winding stream edged with trees; quite pretty. It was built in the late 1890s, has 20 stops, a cruising speed of 26.6kmph, each of the two carriage trains can carry 3429 seated passengers covers 245 million km per year and 82,000 passengers per working day. We arrived back at Cologne at 6:40pm; I bought some fish and chips which Fay and I enjoyed at the hotel. It was not enough so I ventured out again and found a food market where I was able to buy some lovely chocolate mousse and a jar of apricots in juice.
Photos:- 1. Train track over river.
2. Train track over road.
3 Suspending wheel and arm.

Day 18 Thursday 18th June 2009 Our Day in Berlin

Day 18 Thursday 18th June 2009 Our Day in Berlin.
Today we joined a hop on hop off bus tour followed by a boat cruise on the Spree River. We saw many interesting sites including a tower similar to the Auckland Sky tower. It is 368 meters high carries the city’s main communications and TV transmitting aerials; it has a revolving restaurant which takes ½ an hour for one revolution. We saw a 100meter long section of the old Berlin wall that used to separate the East from the West. It was ugly, deteriorating and covered with Graffiti. There were many attractive buildings gardens, monuments and statues. Many of the buildings were new and modern although quite a few were rebuilt in the old style they were before being flattened by air raids during the last World War. Following the bus tour we passed a shop where wooden models were displayed; there was a huge range of items. We then joined a city river cruise for an hour and a half. This was very scenic and interesting. The river was very crowded with many tourist cruise boats. At some points along the river bank were many deck chairs outside garden bars and restaurants. They were all empty as raindrops were falling; I guess on a fine day they would be filled as the surrounding gardens and lawns and attractive buildings would create a pleasant environment. As most of the day was spent we retired back to our hotel which is part of the rail station complex. As we walked through the mall we found a hairdresser of which Fay took advantage. In the meantime I went exploring; found a supermarket and bought our evening meal.

Photos:- 1. Large Communications Tower.
2. Remains of Berlin Wall.
3. Wooden Motorbike.
4. Deck Chairs.

Sorry the list is not in order.

Day 17 Wednesday 17th June 2009 Regensburg to Berlin

Day 17 Wednesday 17th June 2009 Regensburg to Berlin.
Our 9am start became a 10am start to allow the 21 who went to Prague yesterday to catch up on some sleep as they did not get back until 10:15pm and still had to have an evening meal. We caught our first train about 10:30 and after 4 train changes arrived at the Berlin Hbf at 4:05pm at ground level; then we had to trail our bags up 4 escalators to another 6 platform station which is where the suburban trains cross the mainline country trains at right angles. This two station building is huge has natural lighting through a glass roof. The suburban tracks are elevated as they travel through the city. Here we caught a crowded suburban train to Berlin Ostbahnhof arriving at about 5pm. The Inter City Hotel where we are staying is part of the Berlin Ostbahnhof (Rail Station) complex; it has lots of shops and a supermarket. We had travelled through the usual nice countryside; there were plenty of windmills again. At 7pm the group had its last meal together as a group.

Day 16 Tuesday 16th June 2009 In Regensburg

Day 16 Tuesday 16th June 2009 in Regensburg.
Today, twenty one keen and intrepid members caught the early 7:29am train and headed for Prague. Ahead of them lay a trip taking 10 hours and six minutes for the return journey for a four hour and twenty minute walking tour of the city. Fay and I were two of five that stayed behind to explore the lovely old City of Regensburg. I am pleased we did. The city has nice parks and gardens and the old medieval part is particularly wonderful. Firstly as I was three days behind with this story I spent time catching up as Fay took time out to recover from the rigors of travel. Another reason we stayed behind was that we had used all our cash so we had to find a bank to cash our travellers cheques; yesterday Fay needed a new pair of shoes; we were forced to pay €50.00 in cash, a purchase which took all our remaining cash; debit and credit cards are not readily accepted in this part of Germany and Austria; we found American Express travellers cheques also hard to cash; we tried three banks before being successful at a cost. Generally I find my new visa debit card is better. Having cash again enabled us to take a ¾ hour bus tour of the city which showed us just how many back streets with good shops and cafes there are in the city. In the old part the streets are cobbled which makes for rough riding. We took a boat ride on the Danube that was disappointing after which we visited the ancient St. Peters Cathedral. I asked several people who could speak English when it was built; not one person new. It is very old; down in the crypt I saw inscriptions which suggested it has been used since the year 720. I find it amazing that people of the day could build such magnificent structures. We then returned leisurely to our hotel and enjoyed a cup of tea and a cake on the way.
Photos. 1 The Mall where Fay bought her shoes. 2 an Old Ship Museum. 3 Inside the Cathedral. 4 Stained Glass windows.

Day 15 Monday 15th June 2009 ienna to Regensburg

Day 15 Monday 15th June 2009 Vienna to Regensburg.
At 8am we trailed our bags to the Westbahnhof and boarded our ICE train bound for Frankfurt; we would get off half way at Regensburg. We found our reserved seats at the front immediately behind the driver. From where we sat we could see the track ahead. I thought, this is great I can watch how the driver takes a bend. Five minutes before departure our jubilation turned to despair; the rotten driver had somehow turned the clear glass panel into a mirror. Never mind the scenery through the side window was compensation enough. For a start we saw uninteresting buildings; in general the buildings I saw in Vienna were uninteresting apart from the very old, which were wonderful. We did not have to wait long for better scenery of timber pine forest followed by rolling agriculture and pastoral farm land dotted with occasional electricity generating windmills. At one stage we passed solar panels mounted in a field; there must have been an acre of them. We arrived at Passau on the border between Austria and Germany 11:20 am. The Austrian train crew gave way to a German crew and the mirror in front of us miraculously cleared. Three cheers for the German driver we could see the rail ahead and watch him control the train. We arrived at Regensburg on time at 12:30pm. After a short walk we arrived at our hotel; the Star Inn Hotel. Our room overlooks the railway; I am amazed at how many trains rattle by, both passenger and freight. I often wonder at the number of people who travel by train and think that if they all changed to air travel there would not be enough airspace for them to travel in. Yesterday while spending ¾ hour eating our salad and fish and chips at a restaurant at Schronbunn Palace I counted 25 planes coming in to land at Vienna; the first thirteen at the rate of one a minute. When we returned to our hotel room the aircraft were still passing over but the rate was slower. I am sitting at a desk in our room typing this listening to the trains and waiting for the rain to stop so that we can find a place to eat. At 6pm the rain had stopped so off we went. I thought we would eat at McDonalds as someone said they had complimentary internet. On the way one of Fay’s shoes came apart so we divert to find a new pair, which we did. As we had travelled almost half way across town we kept going in search of the Danube. In so doing we came across the old medieval section of the town. The buildings were very old and did not look as well built as old buildings I had seen in other cities. The cathedral though stood out as a fine building. The cobbled pavements and roads were rough; car tyres made quite a noise when travelling over them. We found a maritime museum on the river; one boat had an interesting funnel; it could be folded down to allow the boat to travel under bridges. On our return we dined at McDonalds; they do not have complimentary internet; seems I will have to wait until I get to Berlin on Wednesday.

Day 14 Sunday 14th June 2009 We visit the Schonbrunn Palace

Day 14 Sunday 14th June 2009 we visit the Schönbrunn Palace.
John advised an early start to beat the crowds; he was right; we managed our tour of the Palace with relative few people around and when we returned to the entrance we had to literally push our way through the crowd. To get there we caught the #58 tram for a short ride to the palace entrance. This is another site of an Andre Rieu concert of which I have the DVD. As we walked from the gates to the entrance steps I could in my mind’s eye see and hear the music of the concert; looking up we could see the ballroom windows behind which the Debutants waltzed to Strauss’ beautiful Roses of the South. On the tour we later walked through this ballroom. We were supplied with a voice box which gave us a commentary in English; far better than a tour guide as I could hear every word. The palace decor and art while ‘being very good‘ was not as excellent as was the castle of King Ludwig II we visited while in Munich. After our tour of the castle we decided to walk around the extensive grounds. At the rear there was a large grassed area on which were well laid out gardens of colourful flowers, back dropped by a huge pond and waterfall, behind which was a grassed hill leading up to a gigantic archway from which we viewed the whole expanse back to the castle and grounds and beyond to the city of Vienna. Surrounding the fore mentioned there were many avenues of green trees with seats placed at frequent intervals upon which we sat to cool ourselves on what was probably the hottest day we have experienced on our tour. We came across nice neatly laid out rose garden so we sat nearby on a seat in the shade; a light breeze cooled us as we looked across the rose garden at a huge old style glass house which held displays of fauna and flora from around the world including a Kowhai, a hebe and a totara tree from Neuseeland. Moving on after an ice cream for lunch we climbed to the Gloriette at the top of the hill the top of which provided a splendid view back down to the Palace with part of the City of Vienna as a backdrop. There were numerous walking/cycling tracks in the grounds through the trees with many people using them. Other attractions in the palace grounds were: - horse and buggy rides, a small yellow and green road train, cafes a zoo and a wagon museum. About 4pm we had fish and chips with salad which served as our evening meal. The salad was unusual but very nice; I have never seen Fay each much salad but she ate this entire one. We caught the number 58 tram back to our hotel after having spent the whole day at the Palace. We enjoyed our day.
Photos. 1 Gardens and the Gloriette at the top of the hill. 2 The gloriette at the top of the hill. 3 The View from the top of the hill.

Day 13 Saturday 13th June 2009 Our first day in Vienna

Day 13 Saturday 13th June 2009 our first day in Vienna.
After breakfast on returning to our room we could not open the door. I returned to the receptionist who reprogrammed my plastic door opener; it did not work; after three such attempts. The maid let us in with her master card key. We were not the only guests who had the problem. Eventually a technician arrived and reprogrammed the door lock. This caused a late start for us so we missed John’s Hop on Hop Off bus tour. We bought a €5.00c two day bus, train and tram pass and caught a number 5 tram outside our hotel. We rode to the end of the line passing over the Danube Canal. On the way back we alighted at the Danube Canal and went for a walk along a wide path that was separated from the Canal by a nice sloping bank covered with green grass and a number of well tanned bodies under a clear blue sky soaking up the warm sun’s rays. One big fat lump was au natural. Many push cyclists were riding along as we walked. Across the river we could see a tower with large round multicoloured top. The building alongside was also had multicolour shapes all over it. Soon we found a bridge which would allow us to get a closer look; the building looked like it was a gas processing and distribution plant. Someone said later that it was a sophisticated waste disposal plant and the artwork is to disguise it. The tower carried the chimney exhaust for the plant and the round globe at the top was a closed in observation platform. The tower and the building decorations were designed by the same gentleman that decorated the toilets in the main street of Kawakawa in Northland. Next we found ourselves walking through the Vienna University; a large collection of grey buildings with plenty of glass windows. We arrived back at a different tram route and decided to go for another ride. About 2km into the ride we had arrived at an interesting park, so we decided to have a closer look as there was a Tyrolean celebration taking place; plenty of beer drinking and music under large umbrellas as well as plenty of strange looking food and a big marquee with exhibitions on display. Across the road was the Khofburg Theatre. On top of the building was a plaque with the words Kaiser Franz Joseph 1 1888. We reboarded another tram to return to our hotel. Some of the trams are old but in excellent condition; the new bendy trams are long and being low to the ground are easy to board. They are well appointed and very clean. You can buy one trip time-based, or all day ticket tickets which allow transferring from one tram to another without the hassle of buying a different ticket. In my opinion Vienna has the best tram system I have yet seen; now that Auckland is possibly to become one city I would advocate a study of the Viennese trams by its officials. In the evening John led us to the opera “for a bit of culture” as he put it. We caught a train to the Opera house for a 7pm start. The opera was Mozart’s Magic Flute; John was lucky enough to get the last remaining twenty seats completing the sell-out of the show; we were seated in the centre of the last row way up at the top in the gods. At 7pm on the dot the lights faded and the babble of voices slowly ebbed to silence as the live orchestra began the overture. The acoustics were amazing as I could hear the music and every word spoken by the performers; only one problem; I could not understand one word. At half time several of us commented on the good acoustics; one English speaking resident of Vienna said she always sat in the gods because as well as good sound you can see the whole stage even down to the performers arranging themselves backstage. The opera finished at 11pm with a twenty minute break. I and others were regretful that we had not read the story line before the show although most of us could see the gist of the story. I regret I did not take my camera.
Photos. 1 Inside a Viennese Tram. 2 Hundertwasser designed building. 2 Tyrolean Festival.

Day 12 Friday 12th June 2009 Salzburb to Vienna

Day 12 Friday 12th June 2009 Salzburg to Vienna (Wien)
Today we had an early start heading for Vienna. We took the scenic route rather than the direct which is fast and takes about two hours. We left at 8:22am and arrived at Villach at 10:53am and the caught a train for Vienna at 11:16am both trains are were quiet, comfortable, had nice dining cars, leather seats and 230 volt power points with. Shortly after leaving Salzburg we travelled along a lovely valley with lots of beautiful mountains, some with small amounts of winter snows still visible. We saw three castles on hilltops. About an hour into or journey our altitude began to increase. We climbed from 400metres in Salzburg to about 1100 at the top of the pass. At one stage we overlooked a nice valley far below us; houses began to increase until they became a town. The town gradually gained altitude up a sloping hillside until it reached the station our train had stopped at. After this town we went through two long tunnels at the end of these we overlooked another valley far below us and on the other side of the train. This time our train descended to the valley floor before we reached the station. We changed trains at Villach. At 12:45pm we stopped at Unzmarkt we a narrow gauge railway had small ore carrying wagons on it; must be mines in the area. We had climbed to 830metres. For the next hour or so we travelled slowly through numerous curves, over viaducts and through many small tunnels. Eventually we arrived in Vienna; I did not find the buildings and surrounding environment impressive. After getting off the train we had to catch a tram to the Westbahnhof (Western Station) were our Intercity Hotel was a short walk away.

Day 11 Thursday June 11th 2009 Our Day in Salzburg

Day 11 Thursday 11th June 2009 in Salzburg.
We stayed at the Europa, a modern 15 story Hotel made up of the ground floor reception and cafe, 13 accommodation floors and the breakfast room on the 15th. The hotel is 8 rooms wide with three elevators on one end and is the width one room and wide corridor. Marvellous views of the city and the hills beyond can be had from the glassed in corridors and the view from our window was more than marvellous; it was magnificent. The near ground was not so good so we lifted our eyes to behold a grand castle on a hill with a backdrop of mountains lightly shrouded with wispy cloud and remnants of the winter snow. We broke our nights fast on the fifteen floor where we could gaze out the window at the beautiful view as we ate delicious food. Our room was large with a desk and two comfortable chairs; I was able to enjoy fast complimentary Wi-Fi. Before we retired for the night I booked two tours with the receptionist; one Sound of Music (hereon SoM) tour and a tour of Berchtesgaden. Firstly on the SoM tour we were shown where the von Trapp family lived and then from a distance, the convent where Maria stayed; continuing on we next stopped a public park and were shown the gazebo (shifted there for display purposes) where the eldest daughter met the telegram boy. Just around the corner was the avenue of trees the children were perched in as the captain and the baroness together with uncle Max drove by on their way home. This avenue traverses all the way back to the city ( a long way). By this time the weather was deteriorating as a few raindrops began to fall. By the time we got arrived at the next stop the rain was quite heavy. Never mind most of the brave souls including me (I advised Fay to stay on the bus and she did) followed the guide along a lakeside to where the sequence of the children and Maria falling out of the boat was filmed, on the lake and in from a large square shaped, four story house. The guide was very knowledgeable about the way the whole film was made; at this spot she spent about five minutes telling about the problems they had with the boat and actors. In the mean time we were getting drenched! Along the lakeside a lot of people and children with fishing rods were trying to catch a meal; some were sheltering under large umbrellas; most were not and were wet. One young fellow hauled in a fish as I passed; it was about 100mm long and 20mm wide. The next stop was a little way from a small village; we had to walk 500metres to shelter; Fay shared an umbrella with Peggy. Here we saw the abbey where Captain Von trap and Maria were married. The inside offered shelter from the rain and solace for the mind. The interior was as with most of the churches we have seen, very beautiful. You may have deduced by now the mansion in the film and the lake and gazebo were not as in the film but all over Salzburg. The true story of the Von Trapp Family was not as portrayed in the film. If you want to read about their life Maria Von Trapp has written two books.
Maria's book, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, published in 1949, was a best-seller. It was made into two successful German/Austrian films:
The Trapp Family (1956)
The Trapp Family in America (1958
She and the Baron had three more children in America. We next had refreshment in a small cafe. I bought a CD of Austrian yodelling and an umbrella ( I dried out soon after and did not need it) at a shop nearby before trekking back to the bus which took us back to the City through nice countryside with many small dairy farms. The farmers farmed a maximum of twenty cows. Our guide said that the farmer received €0.25 for the milk which sold in the supermarket for €1.00c. I reasoned that if a cow produced 20 litres a day then the farmer would receive €80.00 per day with 20 cows; €24,000.00c for a ten month year. The weather had cleared when we arrived back at the bus depot; we had ¾ hour to wait for our next tour. The tour guide talked us out of the Berchtesgaden tour because of the possibility of rain in the mountains and suggested a lake tour which would be mostly under cover. While we waited for 1pm to arrive we explored a nearby garden; it was well laid out and the flowers were colourful. From one end I took a photo of the garden with the same castle we could see from our hotel as a backdrop. On the Lakes tour there were only six of us, two Aussies, we two NZers and an elderly Swiss couple, so we were driven in a minibus by our guide who could speak four languages. After driving through nice small farm country side again we arrived at a large lake. We drove past a large mainly glass mansion which looked like it was sitting in the middle of an artificial lake; it belonged to a very rich man who had made his money from royalties from the Red Bull energy drink. We boarded a boat at St. Gilgen. Our tour driver left us there to drive the minivan around the head of the lake to St Wolfgang where she would pick us up again when our boat docked. The boat ride was a pleasant relaxation as we sipped hot chocolate and cruised past small villages and pretty tourist resorts some of whom were in hot pools; there were high mountains all around the lake. At St Wolfgang our driver led us on a walking tour through the narrow streets full of souvenir shops and cafes. The buildings were pretty with all their window boxes full of bright flowers. She stopped outside a hotel painted red with a picture of a white horse prominently displayed and explained that this was the hotel that inspired the operetta White Horse Inn for which Robert Stolz wrote the music. After our tour we hurried back to our hotel to get ready for our evening entertainment. John had booked a dinner and show for twenty of us called The Sound of Music Show, would you believe. The dinner, well, it satisfied the inner being and nothing else; the show, yes it was entertaining and interesting. It started with a pianist thumping (descriptive) away at the piano as a prelude to a short black and white film picturing an elderly Maria von Trapp telling us in English about the von Trapp children and how the Captain asked her to marry him. Then four actor/singers continued to tells us more with song and dance. They sang songs from the film as well as tunes from light opera. After a short interlude we were shown another short film, this time Maria von Trapp narrated their escape from Austria in 1938. This was followed by more song and dance this time with audience participation. We caught the tram back to our hotel and retired for the night at 11pm. We had had a big day. Again! Our stay in Salzburg has been good.
Pictures show:- View from our room at the Europa Hotel, Sound of Music Gazebo and The White horse Inn.

Day 10 Wednesday 10th June 2009 Seefele to Salzburg viia Munich

Day 10 Wednesday 10th June 2009 We return to Munich and rejoin the group at Salzburg.
We caught the train with the group at 10:45am to retrace our journey to Innsbruck where fay and I caught a fast train to Munich arriving there at 2:27pm. The walk on the platform was longer than the street walk to the hotel; we had no trouble regaining Fay’s passport, after which we returned to the station where we bought our lunch to eat while we waited for the train at platform 12. There were 29 different platforms at Munich station. We found the train was ready so we ate on the train which left at 3:26pm. My lunch comprised a 75mm wide 12mm thick warm composite meat slice in the centre of white bread bun with a nice crispy crust. I do like the food in Europe particularly in Austria. This was a moderately fast train which reached a top speed of 160km. This was an express train which terminates at Budapest. We travelled nonstop from Munich Salzburg; the journey for the 153 km in 88 minutes; average 104kmph.

Day 9 Tuesday 9th June 2009 Munich to Seefeld

Day 9 Tuesday 9th June 2009 Munich to Seefeld in Tirol.
Today we move on to Seefeld in Tirol. We were catching the 8:32am train so we had an early breakfast and set off for platform 19. This proved to be false information so we set off for platform 29 which in normal circumstances would have been correct. Unfortunately there was a sign on the platform which I could not read but it severed the purpose because it was decided to make inquiries. It seems that the train which should have left from there and would have taken us directly to our destination had been cancelled because of track repairs. We had to catch a later train to Innsbruck and from there another to Seefeld in Tirol. I was told the original trip would have been more scenic but we saw good scenery anyway. After about half way to Innsbruck we travelled away from rolling farm lands and travelled with high mountains all the way to our terminus. Innsbruck is surrounded by high mountains. We changed trains and headed for Seefeld and soon started climbing up steadily from the 600 odd metres we had been at for the last couple of days; eventually reaching an elevation of 1250meters. On the left of the train was a valley with some industrial buildings and an airport at first, then giving way to house and eventually flat farmlands. There were plenty of scenery to photograph but every time I was ready to push the button trees would get in the way; plenty of them; very frustrating. We reached Seefeld after an hour. My! What a stunning alpine village. After we unpacked in our room with a view of the surrounding mountains; suddenly panic stations Fay could not find her passport; turned out we had left it under a pillow at the Inter City Hotel back in Munich. Our new hotel receptionist rang the Munich hotel and yes they had found it. John started to work out a train schedule for us to return immediately to pick it up. I was not happy to return straight away as we would not be able to explore Seefeld, so I suggested we return the next day at a slower pace. This we did; it turned out to be the best option. Panic over we started exploring. The first thing we found was a hairdresser. We made an appointment for Fay at 4pm. That was good, she had been looking for one for a long time; they are hard to find in large towns. Then we found a post office; good we could send of postcards. Then we found a public Laundromat; I did the laundry while Fay had her hair washed and set ready for our dinner appointment with the rest of the group at 7:30 pm. The town is small about 1200 permanent residents which double with tourists who come to the area to enjoy the mountain walks. While Fay and the laundry were being processed I explored the town. I found a lovely cottage with both a well tendered garden as well as a wild garden; the base of the wild garden was red clover with its red flowers supporting small white daisies, wild red poppies and a variety of other flowers of various colours. I found shops with nice pictures on their walls; a soap specialist shop that smelled nice and one of my favourites; a supermarket. I could have bought a nice hot meal with vegetables here. As it was I could not resist a big fat brown sausage which I enjoyed in a small park by a church; its bells were ringing and the sausage was heavenly. Our hotel is part of a casino complex. We have a beautiful view of the town with mountains as a backdrop from our window.
Before we dined as a group at 7:30 I took advantage of the gathering to take a group photograph. Our set Menu:
Salad from the Buffet.
Parfait of raw ham with watercress.
Carrots – ginger soup.
Braised veal shank with potatoes.
Mousse of lime and yoghurt with rhubarb or Ice coupe of black forest
Picture show our Hotel Karwendelhof in Seefeld, and two views from our room.

Day 8 Monday 8th June 2009 We visit Ludwigs Castle

Day 8 Monday 8th June 2009 We Visit King Ludwigs Castle.
We were expecting to catch the 9:45am train to Prien, but at the 8:30a. Briefing John suddenly sprung it on us that we should catch the 8:47am. the rush was on because we had to walk along a long platform; it seemed like a kilometre; we made it with a couple of minutes to spare. The country side was lovely farmland with the Bavarian Alps with just a little of the winter snow on them as a back drop. The rain was clearing as we left Munich but light rain began again at Prien. While walking from the station we discovered an old steam train (Chiemseebahn) which we could catch to the ferry which in turn would take us on a fifteen minute ride across the Chiemsee Lake to Herreninsel Island. There weather cleared miraculously as we boarded the ferry. The island is 240 Hectares in area; the pathway along which we walked was of forest, horse and cattle grazing grasslands and eventually beautiful gardens surrounding a 19th century castle built at the extravagant expense of legendry King Ludwig II. The scenery is breath taking. From the front of the castle you can look over many fountains in the gardens to the left and right of a wide path (about 40 metres wide) which became a fine grass lawn bounded by on each side, green forests before reaching the lake side. We were provided with an English speaking guide for a tour of the castle. The artwork on the walls and ceiling was absolutely stunning. The walls of the entrance hall way were Italian marble as was the stairways. Artworks and sculptures abounded and brought gasps of astonishment when we first entered. Cameras were at the ready: I nearly cried when our guide told us that no photos were allowed to be taken; I would have had a ball. Never mind I bought some later. The paintings on the ceilings were spectacular. The artwork must have taken years to complete. On our return to the ferry Fay and I rode on a wagon drawn by two large draught horses. We enjoyed lunch by the ferry wharf in the sunshine before re-boarding the ferry to retrace our steps back to Munich arriving at mid afternoon. Fay wanted some wool and needles so she could knit while I blog. After quite a little bit of street walking mainly in the wrong direction we eventually found a large department store quite close to our hotel. Fay is now happy.

You will have to use your imagination with the titles to the pictures. I have not yet worked out how to put them in the correct position.


<-- Reg and others get a ride to the Castle

Ready for the weather

Waiting for the steam train

All aboard

The Lake area

Day 7 Sunday 7th June 2009 Luxembourg to Munich

Day 7 Sunday 7th June 2009 Luxembourg to Munich.
Today Fay and I were to have a new experience; riding on and ICE train. (Inter City Express train). We departed Luxembourg on a DB Inter City train at 9:30am bound for Cologne. (Spelt Köln on some maps of Europe) We were seeing grape vines for the first time. Very soon we were travelling through the Mosel Valley. The following was taken from Wikipedia :-The Moselle (French: Moselle, German: Mosel, Luxembourgish: Musel) is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine river, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our. The Moselle has been made navigable for large cargo ships from the Rhine in Koblenz up to Neuves-Maisons, south of Nancy. For smaller ships it is connected to other parts of France through the Canal de l'Est and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Here the grape vine were growing on narrow terraces on the hillsides: some terraces were quite small; some were very high on the slopes. I would take some time to climb to the top terraces. The valley was very pretty as were the houses. At Koblenz the train reversed and then I was travelling backwards. For a while we followed the Rhine River. We arrived at Cologne at 1:42pm; we had travelled 256 km in 4hours 20 minutes; only a 59kmph average. At Cologne we only had twelve minutes to change platforms which involved going down stairs, walking to another stairway climbing them to a new platform before the ICE train arrived. We made it but found ourselves at the wrong end of two long trains coupled together. The race was on; we had to move fast to the other end; Fay and I were way behind the rest when a whistle blew so I decided to get into the nearest carriage and walk the corridors; we were just in time; after about 10 minutes of trailing our bags pass curious people we eventually reached our reserved seats. As it turned out we were not the only couple that did this; when the race started one couple went the wrong way and got on the second train. (Remember there were two coupled trains) They had to get off at the next station and race down the platform to join us. Three cheers were accorded. The interior was plush; it was smooth on the tracks and quiet but surprisingly it swayed from side to side. I had to be careful when moving about. I went to the onboard cafe to get Fay a muffin and cup of tea; a train attendant would not let me carry it back to the seat and carried it for me; I guess he thought I would spill it all over the nice carpet. Of course he may have just been nice; he also took my bag off the train for me. The train could really move; on one straight the in cabin speedometer showed 300kmph. Most of the time it travelled a little slower. John took me to the front of the train where we could observe the drivers cabin. All we could see of the driver was his head above a big chair each side of which through a narrow windscreen we could see up the track ahead. We arrived on time at Munich at 6:30 pm having travelled 594km in 4.6 hours averaging 129.13km per hour with six station stops on the way. Our hotel was alongside of the station so we did not have far to walk. We had a lovely hotel meal before I enjoyed the free high-speed Wi-Fi internet; I ran a speed test and the result was 3.3mbs.

ICE Train Drivers cabin
ICE Train interior

Grape Vines on the terraces

In theMosel Valley

Day 6 Saturday 6th June 2009 We Visit Maastricht

Day 6 Saturday 6th June. We visit Maastricht.
After breakfast 19 of our group caught the 9:15 train and headed for Amsterdam.7 tour members stayed behind to explore Luxembourg. Just after the train left we passed over a 400 metre wide ravine which had perpendicular cliffs at its edge; at the bottom were many attractive houses, a church and a small river. Yesterday we were travelling through open pastoral country whereas today we were in a long tree clad valley with occasional open patches of farm lands as well as timber forests; some were being milled. There was plenty of greenery around. We changed trains at Liege and at 12:18 headed for Maastricht arriving there at 12:50. Here we left the remaining 17 to continue on their journey to Amsterdam; we wanted to see the Vrijhof; this is the site of the first Andre Rieu concert DVD that we have purchased. I had no idea where to look so I went to the information desk at the station to enquire. No one was in attendance so I helped myself to a free map that was behind the counter. On the street outside I asked the first person I could find that spoke English if he had heard of Andre Rieu; it was not until the forth try that I found some that had. He told us how to find the Vrijhof square which was two kilometres away. We decided to catch a nearby bus; one obliging bus driver said we should catch a number 9, 4 or a 3.. Soon a number nine arrived so we boarded and asked the driver to take us to the square by pointing to it on the map. He said we should catch another 9 or 4 or 3. So we waited for the next which was a #3. He repeated what the first driver had told us. On the fourth attempt we were on our way; it turned out that there were two busses on each route, one going clockwise and the other anticlockwise. After an interesting drive we found our target and wow! There it was just as it was on the DVD, minus the orchestra and all that went with it of course. The cathedral and churches; the crowds of people sitting outside the cafes and bars alongside the trees together with the apartment blocks. I wanted to take photos but Fay said she wanted a cup of tea first and tugged strongly at my arm as she made her way to a cafe. We could not get a table on the curb side as it was crowded. We had to settle for the inside seats. After an English Breakfast cup of tea I managed to get many photos. As we headed for the bus stop the bus departed; we missed it! So we decided to walk. We walked most of the way through a cobbled pedestrian mall; through large crowds. After a few minor bumps I observed that the crowds were walking one way on one side and the other way on the other side;we moved to the left; no more bumping! It was a Saturday, the shops were open, some people were shopping but most were walking fast to get somewhere. I have never seen so many people walking in malls at the same time before. It was like that for most of the way back to the station. On the way the main mall crossed a bridge over the River Maas where barges with cargos, passenger cruises and pleasure boats were sailing. We arrived back just in time to catch the 3:09pm train back to Liege for a train change. We had an hour to wait for a train back to Luxembourg. I spent most of the time photographing this magnificent station. To hold the extensive glass roof up huge beams extended from the centre out and upwards in a flat V shape to support a semi circular convex cross beam. There were many white such beams running parallel to the 9 platforms they covered. We left liege at 5:18 and arrived back at Luxembourg at 7:45pm. We had pizza, salad and mousse for tea. The other 17 had rather a difficult time returning from their trip to Amsterdam due to trains being cancelled for track repairs. They were due to arrive back about 8:45pm. It was not until after midnight that they arrived back at Luxembourg!

Day 5 Friday 5th June 2009 Paris to Luxemburg

Day 5 Friday 5th June 2009 Paris to Luxembourg.
As we did not have to check out of the hotel until midday I spent some time looking for a post office to post some postcards. I did not find one, but I did see some more of Paris and its people especially the long queues of them waiting for a taxi at the railway station. I spent the rest of the morning with this diary. At midday we checked out and walked about 1km to the Gare de lÉst train station. We were not able to get on the 1:09pm ICE (Inter City Express) train as per itinerary as bookings were required that come at a cost. We caught the next ordinary train one hour later. We travelled through more beautiful farming countryside; the main difference this time is that the farm houses and buildings were in a group in the centre as a hub with the farms radiating out around them. I remember that last year when we flew from Zurich to Frankfurt I observed the same pattern. That was a lovely flight over very scenic country side. Small woodlands dotted the countryside. We arrived at Luxemburg at around 4:30pm and walked from the station across the road to the Empire hotel. I was able to catch up with our email courtesy the hotel Wi Fi.

Day 4 Thursday 4th June 2009 Our second day in Paris

Day 4 Thursday 4th June 2009 our second day in Paris.
Today Fay decided she would like to by a new skirt so after breakfast we set off in search of one. We did not have to go far. There were lots of shops close to the hotel all having sales. The shops were separate for men and women, were small but the range of clothes was enormous. The women’s clothes were particularly pretty. Fay succeeded; she bought a nice skirt, only €10. I tried to buy a new pair of trousers, but they were all too long in the leg and we did not have time for them to be altered. There were nice trousers for €10 (marked down from €30. It was cheaper to buy a new pair rather than have a one dry cleaned at €11.50. In the afternoon we joined John and others for a train journey through nice rolling pastoral country, to Boulonge on the French coast; this is a French port where the passenger ferry operates from. All rail and truck freight used to travel through here to Great Britain but with the opening of the Channel Tunnel the port traffic has been considerably reduced.

Day 3 Wednesday 3rd June 2009 Paris

Day 3 Wednesday 3rd June2009 Paris.
Today is brilliantly fine and warm; not a cloud in the sky. Most of our group went of touring on their own. Fay and I set off on foot; after about four hundred meters we came to an eight street intersection; I tried to find it on the map, but it was very difficult. So we did not venture any further and returned to the hotel where we joined John and about ten others for a hop on hop off bus tour. We did not do much hopping on and off; only once for ¾hour to partake of lunch. It certainly is a good way to see the city for the first time. On top of the double Decker bus a gentle breeze kept us cool. It was very interesting to look down on the passing traffic. I had heard that the Paris traffic can be chaotic and it certainly gave that impression, but on reflection some of the apparent chaos did make some sense. There were very few marked lanes on the many one way streets to follow which meant that small cars and motor scooters could fit into the gaps. There seemed to be some sort of system; the only part I have worked out so far is they drive on the right and give way to the right. What really did amaze me was how close the cars were parked at the curb side. I started thinking that the drivers must have an understanding that every driver left their car in neutral and the handbrake lightly on so that another driver could bumper push the others to get enough space to manoeuvre out. I have a great imagination, haven’t I? We were provided with earphones so that we could listen to an English commentary. We passed a magnificent opera house. Two tour members went through it and said it was very ornate and plush. We drove through a narrow entrance to the Musèe du Louvre where the bus stopped for people to hop off and look at the Mona Lisa painting etc; on our right hand was a huge square shaped archway through which we could see gardens leading to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées which we drove through later on our way to the Arc de Triomphe; this is a large stone square shaped archway the size of which is appreciated more when looking to the top of the structure you can see people who appear to be so tiny by way of comparison. We drove past the police station which is undergoing a facial cleanup. The scaffolding was covered in a white fabric with all types of police personnel pictured on it. We saw other structures with a similar covering but with pictures to suit the activity of the buildings. This covering is a good idea as it hides all the ugliness. We then hopped off the bus at the Notre-Dame Cathedral for a ¾hour lunch break. After lunch we walked back to the cathedral to get a photo, but unfortunately we could not enter it because a large gathering of people at a memorial service prevented us from so doing, so we hopped back on the bus. As we drove beside the River Seine many tourist boats were cruising by; one was bedecked with white clothed tables for dining; this would be a pleasant way of seeing some of Paris; unfortunately we do not have the time. Moored beside the embankment were quite large house barges; one had the decks almost covered with garden growing in large orange coloured containers; another had a car parked on the rear deck. Soon we arrived at that magnificent iron structure the Eiffel Tower. I would have liked to have hopped off here but it was getting late and I may miss the last bus; then I may have had difficulty finding my way back. As it was we did not arrive back to the hotel until about 6pm; the traffic was very slow but interesting to watch particularly at multiple street intersections. The buildings in the old section were all about seven stories high and very ornate; many bedecked with magnificent sculptures; some were covered in gold leaf. There were also many statues of famous people. I know the city has many art galleries, but I reckon the city is a work of art in its own right. While some streets were not wide the main streets were, especially the footpaths. When walking on the wide footpaths we still had to be careful not to be knocked over by a push cyclist; the reason being there was a 600mm cycle lane one meter in from the curb which was quite easy to wander onto even though the lane is clearly marked. Paris is more than 2000 years old but to me it did not look old. The architecture of the buildings seemed to me to fit in with the modern world. We enjoyed our first look at Paris; I would certainly to return one day. In 2005 there were 2,153,600 people counted in Paris.

Day 2 Tuesday 2nd June 2009 Euston to Paris via Brussels

Day 2 Tuesday 2nd June 2009. Euston to Paris via Brussels.
After a hearty breakfast we left the Travelodge Euston at 9am and in line one after the other we trailed our bags along busy footpaths about one kilometre to the St Pancras international rail terminal. It was a large station; it had to be as the Eurostar is about ¼ mile long. (Courtesy of a station attendant) the assembly point and customs were at street level with the trains on top under a large all encompassing glazed roof. We loaded onto the train about a ½ hour before its departure at 10:57am. Although the train travelled fast and smoothly I was a little disappointed with its interior. I have seen better appointed trains in Britain and Ireland. The Eurostar took us to Brussels in two hours and six minutes. We were twenty minutes under the English Channel. We were in the Brussels station for one hour and ten minutes before leaving on a Thalys TVG train. This was a far better train, and not because we were in first class with its complementary refreshments and wireless internet which I could not get to work before the journey ended. The signal was dropping out a lot. The countryside was pleasant with green fields of grass and grain crops. We took one hour and twenty two minutes to reach the Paris Gare du Nord in France. Our hotel Mercure Terminus Nord was just across the road from the station entrance. One of our members had the misfortune to have his small camera bag stolen while we were waiting at Brussels. He lost valuable property in the bag.

Day 1 Monday 1st June 2009 In and around London

Day 1 Monday 1st June 2009. In and around London.
Today we start our Grand European rail tour, but before we do I have to buy a new suitcase. This year I declared that we would not buy anything to take home. Talk about famous last words. Some of the extras are maps and mementoes that we have collected. As we return from Europe to the hotel where we are now, I have been able to leave one suitcase behind and collect it before we catch our plane home. I bought a smaller suitcase which makes it much easier. We had to check out of the Britannia hotel at Canary Wharf at midday and move to the Travelodge at Euston which is close to the St. Pancras Station where will catch the Eurostar bound for Paris. Opposite the Britannia Hotel was a medical clinic. I decided to take Fay there for a check up on her knee which she injured in a fall in Dublin. The doctor there said she was 95% sure that the injury was not serious but to be absolutely sure she sent us to the Royal London Hospital. It was not hard to reach travelling on the underground and a good experience for us. Fay’s knee was x-rayed a found to be not badly damaged. We then retraced our steps back to the Britannia Hotel, picked up our bags and travelled to the Travelodge in Euston. That was our day.