ZURICH held many little surprises for us when we arrived, not least of all catching up with Chris and Gwen and enjoying their great hospitality. The weather was another little 'surprise'....it was rubbish and we thought that we were going to miss out on our opportunity to experience Mount Rigi.
Mount Rigi, deep in the Swiss Alps and situated on the shores of Lake Lucerne is the home of the Vitznau-Rigi railway and cable car. The scenic location of Mount Rigi, made it an ideal place to construct a railway from Vitznau, on the shores of Lake Lucerne, to a point close to its summit. The railways goes up to a height of 1954m (6410ft) above sea-level. The train ride up offers some of the most amazing views of the Swiss Alps ever and left us all awe struck with its natural beauty.
Something to do with the altitude, but yodeling (or at least attempts) were heard from all over the hills....high on the hills. There was even an appearence from a lonely goat! What a perfect setting!
Pictures will be posted soon as we get to one that doesn't opperate (or attempt to) Windows Vista!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Schnitzel and "Weiner Art"
Traveling by train is pleasant, but stressful when changing with 4 minutes between arrival and the next departure! We took a train from Prague to Frankfurt at 6am. We arrived 8 hours later and were greeted by Gunda's smiling face (a family friend of Shannon's)! Gunda took us to visit a church built in the early 9th century, and we looked around a medieval city with beautiful gardens run by current day Monks.
The next day after a restful morning and an amazing German breakfast, we took the train into town with Gunda. We had a quick look around the city and were then met by Joni and Adam who had arrived from London. With the group now all present, Gunda presented her tour guide flag and showed us proudly around the sights of Frankfurt. In honor of the 4th of July, we went home and BBQ'd a massive meal of traditional German meats! Fun and laughter with a game of cards lasting long into the evening.....guess who won? (hint:SG)
Wine was on the mind for our last day in the Frankfurt region. We set a course for one of the many wine districts along the Rhine River. After visiting Niederwalddenkmal, a massive statue commerating the victims of the Thirty Year War, we stopped at Kloster Eberbach, a monastery and wine shop! Monks again came up with the goods....amazing how they have their fingers in everything! After a wine tasting, and buying 8 bottles for later, we visited the impressive monastery.
Next stop Zurich - Thank you so much Gunda for all your knowledge and hospitality!
The next day after a restful morning and an amazing German breakfast, we took the train into town with Gunda. We had a quick look around the city and were then met by Joni and Adam who had arrived from London. With the group now all present, Gunda presented her tour guide flag and showed us proudly around the sights of Frankfurt. In honor of the 4th of July, we went home and BBQ'd a massive meal of traditional German meats! Fun and laughter with a game of cards lasting long into the evening.....guess who won? (hint:SG)
Wine was on the mind for our last day in the Frankfurt region. We set a course for one of the many wine districts along the Rhine River. After visiting Niederwalddenkmal, a massive statue commerating the victims of the Thirty Year War, we stopped at Kloster Eberbach, a monastery and wine shop! Monks again came up with the goods....amazing how they have their fingers in everything! After a wine tasting, and buying 8 bottles for later, we visited the impressive monastery.
Next stop Zurich - Thank you so much Gunda for all your knowledge and hospitality!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Even MJ Liked A Little Crack!
In a serious tribute to the King of Pop, we couldn't help but giggle at 1 of the 4 faithful mourners in Prague's Old Town Square. Long live Wacko Jacko!!!BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.
Old Man Prague
Saying goodbye to our wonderful hosts in Copenhagen, we embarked on the Eastern European segment of our holiday.
FACT - European Airports (outside of the UK) work with true German efficiency- 2 minutes in line + no worry about weight = no fuss awesomeness! Asia and the mighty UK have a few things to learn from their European brethren!
After some very poor transit directions from the tourist information lady, we found Susan's (a previous colleague) apartment. It is truly nice to have our own space to spread out and remove everything from our bags....thanks Susan!
English isn't widely spoken in Prague. Playing charades with friends and learning the art of cross language communication in school, have come in handy when we have been to the supermarket and tried to explain things that we need. Craig has even had to resort to his German when ordering a beer....Leicht!
We met up with Steph & Doddy (colleagues from Manila) and our very knowledegable tour guides, Doddy and Shannon, walked us up and around the amazing Prague Castle, St. Vitus Catherdral and across the Charles Bridge. After all that culture and old buildings, what more is there to do than to top it off at the Tourture Museum...OUCH, you dont want the saw treatment! To cap off an awesome day, Mexican was on the menu - located in Prague's equivalent of Burgos street! Dodgy, yes.... but good food!
Susan lives on a hill that surrounds and overlooks the city. This makes it a perfect location for a park and a beer garden. Spectacular views and nice beer were a perfect end to a Sunday of being lazy!
We were interested in going to the contemporary museum, so we tried on Monday, but it was closed all day...surely Wednesday it would be open. Nope...technical difficulties (apparently) shut the museum until 3pm. Too late for the explorers so we settled for the National History Museum. Prague seemed to be a little against us on our last day with the museum being shut and the water level too high on the river for a boat tour. Oh well, next time!
Tomorrow morning we catch a train to Deutschland.
So long Prague!
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