Longest day of the trip

On Tuesday we travelled from Switzerland back into Germany. The journey started at 8am and we arrived in the small town of St Goar where our dinner and accommodation was 12 hours later at 8pm.

We spent the majority of the day on the coach stuck in traffic stopping only a couple of times for toilet breaks as our coach toilet is blocked and we also stopped in Heidelberg, a small German town home to thousands of university students.

Unfortunately it was raining when we stopped in Heidelberg but we still spent a good hour walking through the main square and checking out the gummi bear shops as Heidelberg is famous for its gummi bears and also it's snowball treats which we tried on the coach. Snowballs are like a big biscuit ball and some are coated in chocolate or icing sugar, they were alright but nothing too special. We also tried beer flavoured gummi bears which smelt like beer but didn't really taste like beer.

Main square of Heidelberg

Remnants of castle in Heidelberg

We then boarded the coach again and played celebrity heads for a solid 3 hours to not only pass time but distract ourselves from the fact that we were stuck in traffic and desperately needed a toilet.

We finally arrived in St Goar and went straight to our dinner at one of the hotels in town. The dinner was sooooo good. It was a big hearty meal of sausages, potatoes and vegetables, exactly what our hungry and tired bodies needed. After the dinner we crossed the road and went down into a wine cellar which was literally right under the ground. There we tried a number of German wines including "ice wine" which is an expensive wine that is made of grapes which were harvested when they were completely frozen with their centres at -7degrees. Most people really enjoyed the ice wine, I thought it was okay but it was really sweet and I prefer dry wines.

Dinner in St Goar

Wine tasting

After the wine tasting we drove down the road to our hotel where we all went straight to bed as our trip manager recommended we all have a quiet night to recharge and prepare ourselves for what she calls "Amsterdamage". 

The real contrasts trip

On Monday, we went up Jungfrau mountain, known as the "Top of Europe" as it is the highest point that you can get to a in Europe using some form of transport, you would have to hike to go any higher. The train ride up the mountain took a couple of hours but the views were fantastic.

Given it is summer over here in Europe, the majority of the trip has been hot and we've been soaking up the sun in our singlets and shorts. Yesterday at the top of Europe was a different story. We copped an especially bad day and it was about -2 (still warmer than Canberra at night) at the top with snow falling whilst we were up there. There were about 10 people in the group who'd never seen snow before so this was an extra special experience for them.

There is not a lot at the top of Europe other than the snow, a Lindt cafe and an "ice palace" which was corridors made of ice with figurines carved in the ice.

So after taking a couple of photos in the cold with our Switzerland beanies, we took the train back down the mountain. Once back at Lauterbrunnen, I got some traditional Swiss cheese fondue for lunch with some people from the tour as the girls decided to go back to the campsite for a nap. The fondue was interesting, it had a strong taste of white wine and it came with a salad and pieces of bread and small potatoes to dip in.

In the afternoon, the majority of the tour group went to an adventure park to do a series of high ropes courses. This was the only optional extra that us girls decided not to pay for as we had heard that it is a bit rushed and we've all done high ropes before. We were really happy with that decision as it rained throughout the afternoon and instead we took a short walk behind one of the nearby waterfalls to see a good view of the valley and waterfall.

View of Lauterbrunnen

Behind the watefall

We had another nice dinner at the campsite cooked by the Contiki onsites then we got ready for our "Swissco disco" where we dressed in red and white and put on our Switzerland merchandise and partied in what used to be a bomb shelter but is now a bar/club at the campsite.

Wearing red and white at the Swissco disco

3 countries in 1 day

Sunday was a big driving day but this never bothers us as time always passes quickly on the coach. In the morning our tour manager announced that we would eat our breakfast in Austria, lunch in Liechtenstein and dinner in Switzerland and that's exactly what we did. There's not much to say about Liechtenstein, we literally just had lunch there at a "kebap" (kebab) shop and saw it's castle nestled up on the hill which is still home to the royal family.

Hannah pointing at the castle in Liechtenstein

We then drove into Switzerland and into Lucerne. In Lucerne, our tour manager Kelley took us to see the incredibly sad lion monument. This monument represents the Swiss army men who tried defending the French during the war but we all gunned down as they were abandoned by the French army. Unfortunately the government realised it could not afford to pay the architect for the sculpture after the architect was almost finished. So, the architect decided he would finish the monument but created a shape of a pig around it to give the message to the government that they are pigs for not paying him.

Sad lion monument 

Bridge in Lucerne

We then walked across the beautiful bridges to visit a Swiss watch and knife shop where we saw a demo video of the history of Swiss watches before having the option to purchase watches and knives.

Best view on the drive from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen

The afternoon drive from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen was easily my favourite drive of the trip so far. There were spectacular views of mountains and lakes and we had a fun time on the coach playing games. My favourite was "Miss Coach 2017" where the coach was divided in half and each half had to nominate a guy to dress up as a girl in a beauty pageant using whatever we had on the coach. We spent almost an hour dousing these guys in makeup, braiding their hair and squeezing them into our clothes. They then had to prepare a speech and walk down the aisle to show off their look and we voted on a winner.

Before we knew it, we had made it to the beautiful town of Lauterbrunnen where our campsite was located.

Adrenalin in Austria

Saturday was an another amazing busy day filled with adventure. We travelled back to Austria to go white water rafting in the morning. It was all of our first time going white water rafting and we had an absolute blast. There were 9 girls in our boat with a guide. The ride went for about an hour and involved many rapids and fun games trying to splash other rafts and also trying to balance on the edges of our rafts. We all ended up falling in at least once and the cool icy water was a nice refreshing wake up as we had spent the morning travelling on the bus and recovering from our time in Munich.

All geared up and ready to go white water rafting

After an exhausting but exciting time on the raft, we boarded the bus and headed to our hotel in Niedenrau which is a small village in the Austrian Tyrol. The village was so cute, it looked like somewhere from a fairy tale and our hotel was nestled right in the middle of the valley and had incredible views of the mountains. A 10 minute walk from our hotel was the area where we would go paragliding!

Hotel

View from hotel

After a quick check in to the hotel, we went off to go paragliding. Once again, no one had ever been paragliding before so it was an exciting and for some a terrifying experience. I was one of the last to go and I saw everyone come down and land with the biggest smiles on their faces, it was so good to see how much everyone enjoyed the ride. 

I finally got my turn and it was absolutely incredible. The views were amazing and the ride itself was exhilarating at the end when my guide asked me if I would be okay if we did some spins and turns and of course I said go for it and it was so much fun turning upside down whilst coming straight for the ground. After landing I looked through the photos that were taken in the air and purchased a copy on a memory card which I will post once I am home.

Dinner at the Tyrol was a nice pumpkin  soup followed by beef stroganoff and veggies and finally chocolate mousse. After dinner we played trivia along with the other Contiki group that was staying there. Our group won the first round which won us a shot each which might explain why we miserably failed in the second round. After trivia, most of us headed down the road to the local pub for some pizza and drinks to celebrate a fantastic day and farewell Austria once again.

Mix of emotions in Germany

On Friday we drove through to Germany, firstly stopping 45mins out of Munich at Dachau concentration camp. We spent an hour looking at the concentration camp that the German Nazis used in WWII to imprison, torture and execute Jews and other minority's groups from across Europe. The camp remained as it was when it was in operation but had a number of memorials built on it and also plaques with information describing the horrific experiences of the prisoners. It was a really sad and scary experience to see the camp and the gas chambers which were used to execute hundreds of thousands of Jews. The visit to the camp really made me think about how lucky we are to be here today and living peace as described in the song that our tour manager played as we left the concentration camp.

Memorial statue in Dachau concentration camp

45minutes later we arrived in Munich, home of the Oktoberfest in Germany and the capital of Bavaria. The weather in Munich was so nice, it was pleasantly warm and still. Perfect for a bike tour! Tim and Jack from Mikes bikes tours showed us around Munich and took us to the second biggest beer hall in Munich for a stein of beer and traditional German food.

The tour was very fun and entertaining with Jack and Tim constantly cracking crude jokes and they also had some silly games that we played. One of the games was, if they were talking to us and some strangers try to listen into the talk, someone needs to scream "stranger danger" then everyone crouches down as fast as they can and stares at the stranger. We did this a few times and got some funny reactions including people crouching down with us.

House of Parliament that was bombed in WWII and was rebuilt with glass to represent transparency 

English gardens

On the tour, we went to the main square of Munich, Marienplatz and also through the English gardens on the way to the beer hall. The English gardens looked like a fun place to have a picnic and go for a swim. However, they were interesting in that it is legal to be nude in the gardens and we saw a couple of interesting sights as we quickly passed on our bikes.

The beer hall was cool in that it was well organised, there was a variety of traditional German food and the atmosphere was vibrant with live music and people saying "Prost" (cheers) and clinking their steins everywhere. Although I don't like beer I tried something similar to a Chaney (beer with lemon soda) and still didn't like it but I did enjoy a bratwurst sausage and giant pretzel.

Enjoying beer and pretzels at the beer garden

Tour manager Kelley dressed in the traditional Diandl

Surfing in the rivers in the English gardens

Music at Hofbräuhaus 

After the beer hall we rode back to where the tour started then walked to the most famous beer hall in Munich; Hofbrauhaus where I opted for some white wine rather than another beer and we again enjoyed some live music before heading back to the hostel.

Checking out Czech Republic

On Wednesday we travelled from Austria to Czech Republic firstly stopping for lunch in the small town of Cesky Kromlov. Before lunch we visited the palace and it's two guards which were live bears. We then had lunch in a cute little tavern, I had beef sirloin with traditional potato dumplings that soaked up the yummy sauce that covered the plate.

View of Cesky Kromlov from the palace

Beef selling and potato dumplings

One of the palace guards

After a couple of hours in the beautiful town of Cesky Kromlov, we headed for Prague. After a dinner at the hostel, our tour manager took us on a walking tour through the centre of Prague and old town. On the tour we saw St Vitus cathedral, many interesting statues that supposedly give you luck depending on where you touch them and also fantastic views of the city.

St Vitus Cathedral 

View of Prague

Prague at night from the bridge

Astronomical clock (the designer had his eyes burnt out so he could not make a more beautiful clock again)

We finished the tour in Pragues main square where we had a trdelnik which is a donut filled with chocolate sauce and icecream. We then headed to a club called Coyote for some drinks before going to a larger night club called golden tree which was underground and seemed like a big rabbit run. The club was really cool and most of us got back to the hostel as the sun was rising.

Trdelnik

On Thursday morning we had a sleep in before heading back into the town for a free day of exploring. We wandered through some markets before making our way to a tattoo parlour where about 10 of the girls on tour got tattoos to remember their trip by (not me don't worry mum).

At this stage I wasn't feeling too well and decided to go back to the hostel to rest. The other girls had a look at the john Lennon wall and got some lunch before coming back to the hostel and then going out for dinner and another night out.

On Friday we said farewell to Czech Republic and travelled to Germany!

Aussies in Austria

After a long day of driving, our Contiki family arrived in Vienna on Monday afternoon. We checked into our hostel, had a bite to eat and then begun getting ready for our "Classic Night Out". We then got back onto the coach and headed to a 16th century Austrian opera house for the performance. The show was a classical music performance which included small excerpts of ballet dancing and opera singing. The small orchestra played some of Mozarts most famous pieces, which was very fitting as Mozart had played inside the venue while he was alive! During the intermission we were treated to the VIP experience. We were able to go backstage, have a glass of champagne and get photos with the performers.

Photo with musicians in intermission 

Mozart and Strauss concert

After the show ended, some of our group headed to a student bar called the "Travel Shack" which was a funky little place with interesting drinks. Yesterday we headed on the coach into the centre of Vienna where our tour manager took us on a brief walking tour to point out some of the iconic sights in Vienna. We then visited a Swarovski crystal store as Swarovski where we were given a brief spiel about how Swarovski originated in Vienna. We then went for an early lunch up a roof top bar where we had views of Vienna and a tasty lunch. After lunch we had a couple of hours of free time before we had to meet up with the group for our schnapps tasting. The majority of the group headed to the park which had some nice statues and had a nap on the grass. I decided to go back to the hostel to put on a load of laundry and have a nap there. After a rest I was waiting for an uber to take me back to the meeting place and our tour manager and coach driver walked out so I went in on the coach with them instead.

Schonbrunn palace

After picking up the rest of the Contiki family, we headed to the Schnapps museum which is about 100 years old. We were given a talk from the girl there who told us about the history of Schnapps, the different types of Schnapps and Absinthe you can try and also how to make your own Schnapps. We then got to taste the Schnapps and some braver travellers tried the Absinthe which went up to 80% alcohol. I tried chocolate banana and hazelnut chocolate Schnapps which were both very tasty.

100 year old cash register

Selection of Schnapps and Absinthe 

We then went back to the hostel to get ready for our "Schnitzel and Screams" night at Prata theme
park. At the theme park, we had a dinner which consisted of a soup entree, followed by chicken schnitzel for the main and apple strudel for dessert. The food was alright but fairly average given it was in a theme park. We then had 3 hours to go on as many rides as we wanted. We were given a voucher for the 90m Giant Drop and the Super 8 roller coaster and the other rides varied from 4-15euro each. What was great about this theme park is that there were heaps of rides to choose from and literally no lines to wait in. The whole two days prior to going to the theme park, our tour manager and coach driver had told us of their experiences riding the ecstasy ride and how sick it made them and challenged everyone to do it. So after using our vouchers on the giant drop and the roller coaster, we all met up as a group and the majority of us went on the ecstasy ride which spun you round and round and upside down in time to music for a solid 6minutes. Everyone really enjoyed the ride but when we got off, a handful of people threw up their dinner and many others decided they felt too sick to go on any other rides. I felt absolutely fine, I don't really get motion sickness at all and I was keen to go on as many more rides as I could fit in the time. A small group of us ran around for the remaining hour and a half going on another coaster, a big spinning ride and finally the slingshot. We then headed back to the hotel and most of us decided to have a quiet night in as we were completely exhausted from the theme park and also still battling the Contiki cough.

Hannah enjoying the Volare coaster

This morning we said goodbye to Vienna and Austria and we are now driving through the Czech countryside and a rainstorm.

A day in the sinking city

After a long journey from Greece back to Italy, we arrived at our campsite near Venice late Saturday night. Yesterday we spent the entire day in the beautiful city of Venice. Venice is known for being a floating city which is believed to be slowly sinking. Venice consists of over 100 islands with bridges connecting the islands, it does not have any roads, you can get around on foot or on the canals. Venice was definitely one of the most beautiful places we've visited. The streets were impeccably clean and the palaces that lined the grand canal were spectacular. The small streets of Venice were full with fancy clothing stores and stores selling Venices specialty goods such as Venetian masks, blown glass ornaments, lace and tapestries. There were also plenty of nice Italian restaurants to choose from and crazy pigeons in St Marks square.

Grand canal

Bridge of sighs

We began the day taking the Motoscafi (water taxi) from the campsite to Venice then had a short walking tour where we learnt about the history of Venice and how the city operates today. We then enjoyed a drink and tapas at one of the canals before our tour manager took us to Suso gelato shop where we ate the best gelato there is (according to our tour manager). She was not wrong, the gelato was amazing. I got the Opera which was chocolate and Nutella and also Suso which was a caramel toffee flavour.

We then had a few hours of free time before our Gondola ride. A large group of us set off in search for masks for our masquerade party. It did not take us long to find a nice mask each and then we continued to wander through the shops until we decided it was time to stop for lunch. Being a city built on water, Venice is known for having excellent seafood. A traditional dish in Venice is squid ink pasta, which I knew I had to try. The pasta was good and the ink tasted alright but it didn't really have that much flavour, it was definitely not something to be afraid of. We then wandered some more before meeting up with the group for our Gondola ride.

Tucking into squid ink pasta

The Gondola ride was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. It was strange how as soon as we were off the island and onto the canals, the city seemed almost completely still and silent. We cruised through the canals including the most famous Grand Canal before getting back into the hustle and bustle of the streets of Venice. We then had some more free time to get some dinner and another gelato before heading back on the Motoscafi for our masquerade party. So far, all of the Contiki parties have been well organised and a good time. But this party was a little disappointing as it was held at the outdoor bar at the campsite where they turned the music off early and closed the bar early before kicking the entire group out of the bar area. Nevertheless, we still had a good time and also began celebrating another 21st in the group.

The girls + Bianca enjoying the Gondola ride

St Marks square and Basilica 

This Contiki group is awesome. It was hard to tell at first what the dynamics of the group should be like and whether everyone would get along but we've all hit it off really well and it's so easy to have a conversation with anyone in the group. Furthermore, everyone is always full of positivity and keen to have a really good time. Our tour manager has told us that she's really happy with the group because there hasn't been much drama or fighting and everyone looks out for each other and we always own the dance floor compared to other Contiki groups. We are now up to day 18 of our 29 day tour and despite the fact that the majority of the group (including myself) is battling the dreaded "Contiki cough" everyone is looking forward to plenty more exciting days ahead.

We are now saying Ciao to Italy for good this time and heading to Austria, first stop is Vienna.

Palace where George Clooney was married

Mask shop