Geoff & Lisa's Excellent Adventure continues

Salutations from beautiful Salzburg.
Oh how the adventure continues!!

We boarded out Insight Tour at 6am on the 21st (yes that did mean we were up at 4am!!)
Got ourselves settled into a brand new, very nice coach, and headed for Dover.

The group consists of Canadians, Yanks and Aussies, so we all speak the same language – sort of! and we are all getting to know each other quite well.
Lots of good natured ribbing going on and also fascinating discussions about how our different countries do government, superannuation and pensions.
Riveting stuff I know – did I mention we are all of a certain age? (old farts)
The tour director is Dutch and is putting up with us all quite admirably!

The trip over the ditch to Calais was smooth and took only 1 1/2 hours. Bit like the trip on the ferry to Tassie only much quicker. Then we were back on the bus and off to Bruges in Belgium where we had a stop for lunch. Very pretty medieval town with canals and churches. Geoff particularly liked the fact that you can buy beer in cafes there – very convenient!

Then off to Brussels for our first night. Had a couple of Belgian beers in the hotel with the rest of the group. They make a really nice strawberry beer girls – Yum!! Then we went to see the local tourist attraction which is a small statue of a young boy peeing!!!!! It’s called Mannekin Pis.
Sounds like something we would have in Oz as a tourist attraction! Took the obligatory photo though, and then walked through an ancient square with a cathedral, to have dinner in a street like Lygon Street in Melbourne.
They all stand outside and try to make you come in with promises of free drinks etc. Food was OK, but I was still pretty sick with this cold and didn’t really appreciate it! Geoff had mussels followed by rabbit, so that really helped – NOT!

When we returned to our room we discovered that someone had gone through our belongings and had taken Geoff’s work phone. Luckily we had everything else of value on us, so we considered ourselves fortunate. Although with this rotten cold, losing my luggage and now being robbed we were starting to wonder if we were jinxed! Then we thought, what the hell – why worry! – so we didn’t!

Next day we visited Cologne and another stunning cathedral. Then we joined a cruise along the Rhine looking at various ruined and not so ruined castles. Very picturesque and relaxing. Then on to Heidelberg to see more ancient medieval cathedrals and castles, before finally arriving at our hotel.

One of the Aussies on the trip told us about the ABC Tour. Another Bloody Cathedral, Another Bloody Church and Another Bloody Castle!
We were on it !!!
They are all beautiful in their own way though and I am informed that the ones we are yet to see in Rome are even better! ABC here we come!

Next we arrived in Munich and joined the optional tour to the German food and beer night. A very entertaining man on the piano accordion played for us while we ate our pork knuckle and sauerkraut, and nearly brought the house down when he played Waltzing Matilda! Go the Aussies!

Arrived in Salzburg and surprise, surprise – more castles & cathedrals. Must say though that they all blitz our churches in the age stakes. I can’t even really comprehend buildings still standing from the 14th century! Of course everything is very ‘Sound of Music’ – the hills being alive and all that jazz! The movie plays in our hotel room on a continuous loop and I must say after walking around the city and then watching the movie, it’s amazing to have actually seen all the scenes and buildings that they filmed!

Had a trip up to Eagles Nest which is a building built for Hitler for his 50th birthday (there goes all that history again!!)
It’s on the top of an inaccessible mountain and is an engineering marvel. You motorcyclists should see the switchback road to get up there. Geoff was salivating despite his height phobia!

Bit of a rest day today as we travel to Venice. Really looking forward to it. Geoff should be entertaining as a singing gondolier?? He won’t be able to help himself. The weather has been unseasonably warm, so we are benefiting from that with fabulous views everywhere we go.

Talk to you again after we sample some of the delights of Italy!

Lisa & Geoff