Bangkok was.. interesting. We spent 2 nights here on our way to Germany to break up the flight. The architecture is amazing, I loved all the statues and gardens and temples. We had a traditional Thai massage as well which was different and at times pretty painful!!
It was impossible to walk down the street without someone trying to rip us off somehow... whether it be asking us for a taxi ride, or telling us the temple we were on our way to visit was shut and trying to show us something else, or getting private boat tours of the river, it seemed that there was always someone trying to scam us.
We didn't bother bartering because for us, it was so cheap anyway when we converted things to Aussie dollars.. we just didn't see the point of haggling over a couple of dollars. All in all it certainly was an experience!! I don't think I will be in a hurry to get back to Bangkok, but I wouldn't mind going back for some scuba diving off the coast :)
The first of 2 visits to Munich. The first day we wandered the streets and checked out the sites in the morning...
...and then we made our way to the fairground. And we were not expecting to see the amount of people we saw! It was such a busy day. We lined up outside a tent for around 30 minutes, but the doors were all shut and no-one was allowed in because it was too crowded. Unfortunately, all the tents were the same. We wandered through the beer gardens.. well, we barged our way through the constant walls of people and found a table of fun pommy guys on a bucks / stags weekend. They were great and let us sit down and have a beer with them and we had heaps of laughs! Also a few too many beers and not enough food.. we did go on the giant yellow slides later in the night and took lots of blurry photos! hahha
The second day we got up early and lined up outside a tent at 8:30am, even though they don't open until 9. We got in, got a seat, got some beers, ate a chicken and some sausages, danced on the tables, spilt some beer, and headed outside after lunch. Compared to yesterday, it was empty. So we were able to wander into whatever tent we chose! We had so much fun on both days.. its a shame it is so far away from us, or I'm sure we would be going back every year :) The great thing about the German beer is that no matter how much we drank, we never woke up with headaches!!
Berlin... there was SO much to see here and we managed to JUST fit in all we wanted to see in the 5 days we were there!
We walked along the Berlin wall, saw the Brandenburg gate, Checkpoint charlie, experienced the Reunification Day Celebrations, went to the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp (a very disturbing place), wandered around at night taking pics of the lights, and of course went to the Berlin Zoo!
It was at this point that I was so glad I took the DSLR along with me. We actually had 2 cameras with us... Travis was usually in charge of the point and shoot :) I think I took most of my photos at the zoo... and almost needed to buy a new memory card because of it! LOL
we were very glad to get to Cologne because there were only two things we wanted to see in the 2 days we were there: The Gothic cathedral (Dom) and the Chocolate Museum!! We could go at a nice, slow, relaxing place for a change :) mmm.. I could have watched the chocolate production lines all day.. they looked so tasty!
It worked out that the Cologne marathon was also on that weekend so we hung around and watched the wheelchair racers, rollerbladers and runners all do their thing. It was great to see so many people on the sidelines cheering and supporting everyone. It was a huge event!
The highlight of this weekend was the fact that the hostel we stayed in offered free packets of pasta. So we had to buy a sauce and cheese for a couple of dollars and cook it ourselves. So we had a nice home cooked meal for a change. It left us more money to spend at the Becks happy hour where all bottles of Becks Beer were only 1.50 euros! LOL
Again, another 2 night stay, and really only one or two things we wanted to see: The Mannekin Pis, and the girl version! LOL Although we missed out on seeing the girl statue cos we couldn't find her, even though we had the address and directions... weird.
I found it so funny that one minute we were walking through a modern city, and with one turn of a corner, we were in the old town with the 15th Century building and cobble stone roads.
We had a really hard time finding the hostel here!! The signs were not as obvious, and roads just seemed to change names from one side of the street to the other. We had the address, we were looking at the map, we had directions but they were of no use. We pretty much just walked in one direction and them stumbled upon it. The room was in the loft so we kept bashing our heads on the sloping ceiling. It was a super funky room though, I loved it!! The guy that was always on reception had no personality, and no people skills and was just downright rude though. Like Bangkok, it's not somewhere I will be keen on going back to. We were getting a bit bored by the end of the 2nd day. We did enjoy the super strong beers over here though ;)
Like Berlin, there was so much to see in Paris and only five days to do it in! Fortunately we found the hotel very easily and we took off straight away to knock over the Basilica of the sacred Heart, the Eiffel tower, Arc De Triumph and the Champs Elysee's.
The first thing we noticed was how expensive everything was!! We generally tried to eat away from the tourist areas as things were more reasonable. Still expensive for what it was when we converted it to Aussie Dollars, but not too bad.
We met up with July, who was in Australia last year on work experience and worked with Travis. So it was great to have a real French person to help us out with ordering and talking to people!! hahaha Especially when we went to a pub to see the England v France semi final of the Rugby. We painted French flags on our faces so people didn't think we were going for England :) That was one crazy night!! I saw someone with a platter of salami and cheeses, so we ordered one for ourselves.. and when it came out, we found out it cost 20 euros!! LOL It was delicious though ;)
After the game, we went outside and there was a marching band of sorts playing in the streets and everyone was singing and dancing in the streets, even though France actually LOST the game! LOL
Our French classes came in handy and we were able to have very very limited conversations in French. Which was great, everyone we spoke to was really nice and we didn't have any problems with rudeness that you always seem to hear about.
This was what I was looking forward to the most!!! The people running the B&B we stayed at were sooo nice and went way above and beyond. They told us to go up to the Jungfrau the next day after we got there while the weather was great. It was spectacular!!!
It was also very very cold.... especially outside on the viewing platforms with the icy wind whipping through us!! But with this view, I barely noticed it. Neither of us packed gloves, and when we were outside towards the end of the day, my fingers were so cold that they got really really painful. I was barely able to even flick the on / off switch on my camera, and it took over 30 minutes for the pain to go away once I was out of the cold.
We also went para gliding, did some shopping, hired a bike to cycle around the lake and used the kitchen to cook our own meals. We would eat in, then go out for a few drinks and dessert :) Out of all the places we have been to, this is the only one that I can actually picture myself living in :) I loved it!!!
We almost didn't get to Lyon on time because of the train strikes in France.. we got as far as Geneva and the strike was to last until midnight, so we were advised to look for accommodation for the night. After a chance encounter with a lovely lady named Gwen, we hired a car and split the cost. She was originally from Lyon so she drove us there and dropped us off at our hotel.
We were here for 2 nights and all we had planned was to meet Travis' German pen pal that he started writing to when they were only 10 / 11 years old! She was so nice, she showed us around the city, cooked us dinner, took us out for drinks and did the booking for our overnight train to Munich for us :)
I think we were both a bit over taking photos at this point! LOL We just wanted to relax and chill out as we were heading towards the end of the trip anyway. I was just hanging out for a plate of vegetables because I was so sick of eating in restaurants..
Anyway on the Sunday afternoon, we caught a train back to Paris and had to hang around there for a few hours before catching an overnight train back to Munich for the last 2 nights of the trip. We had booked first class sleeper beds, but it seemed like thye were all taken, as we had 2nd class bed. However, we were sharing a room with only one other couple, instead of 2 other couples like the people in 2nd class. And it worked out well that they were nice and from New Zealand, so we could actually talk to them :) The trip went so quick.. one minute it was 12am and we were going to bed, the next, we wake up at 9am just about to pull into Munich station!
We dumped our luggage in the lockers at the train station and jumped on a train to go to Fussen to see King Ludwig's castles.
As the train was heading up the mountain, we could see tiny patches of snow. By the time we got to Fussen, the snow was really thick and it was actually snowing! The snow was the nice fluffy, powdery stuff so we were throwing it at each other left right and centre! Travis threw a couple that landed smack bang in the middle of my face... We only went into the white castle (the one that inspired the Walt Disney castle in the logo) and then came back down. It was great to be back somewhere where the food is cheap and the portions are HUGE!!!
Once back in Munich, the weather was freezing. I'd say it was around 5 degrees throughout the day, certainly not much more. It was also raining and miserable so we didn't do much at all apart from shopping and eating on our 2nd day. We bought ourselves a cuckoo clock, but it is getting shipped over to us, so we should have that in about 2 or 3 weeks :)
The 3rd day was spent in a museum. It was really interesting and very hands on, which meant that I didn't get bored :) It was also 6 stories high and we had to pull the pin on it when it was after 3pm and we were in dsperate need of lunch.
Our flight home was at 10:45pm, so it was a long day. We jumped on the plane, slept, landed in Bangkok at 1pm Bagnkok time and did some duty free shoping. We had 5 hours between flights, and finally landed home in Sydney at 6:30am.
The dogs really missed us and Onlsow has been following us around and making sure we are always in sight. I am so glad to have a cupboard full of clean clothes again, and likewise to having a plate full of vegetables for dinner!! LOL
