Today was an early one. We woke up around 6:45 and headed down to breakfast by 7:00. The breakfast was just OKAY. Pretty much the same junk as yesterday but again, better than many breakfasts that have been served to us on the trip.

We loaded the coach and headed out around 8:00AM to head for St. Goar which is located in Northern Germany in the Rhine Valley. The trip is just over 600 Kilometers so it’s quite a ride. We expected about seven or eight hours driving before arriving in St. Goar.

We drove about three and a half hours before our first service stop in Germany. As usual with most places in Europe you have to pay to use the bathroom. Today it was 50 Cents. Through out this whole trip I’ve noticed that the prices of toliet visits have ranged anywhere from 20 Cents, to 1 Euro (approx. $1.55 Dollars) per visit. Pretty rediculous if you ask me. If you were to charge to use the restrooms back home in the US, people would burn the place down. It’s robbery!

We spent about 45 minutes at the rest stop and everyone grabbed some food and drinks for the road. We had another three and a half hours to go. The good thing is that we’re doing really well for time so our tour manager told us that he changed the plans around a little for tonight. We’ll be going to a shop in Germany where you can buy the official beer stein’s, and all sorts of other german souvenirs. After that we’ll be heading to a unexpected river cruise on the Rhine River before checking into our hotel and having some dinner.

The Beer Stein demonstration/shop was okay. Although the steins were outrageously priced at anywhere between 50 – 120 Euro. They also had the largest beer stein in the world inside of the shop. There was also a cuckoo clock shop, and Birkenstock shop across the street. The cuckoo clock store had the largest cuckoo clock in the world. There wasn’t too much to see in the area. We boarded our Rhine River cruise about an hour after arriving in the Rhine Valley. A few of us grabbed a beer and relaxed as we cruised down the Rhine River. The scenery was pretty cool, there were lots of castles up in the hills along the river.

After the cruise we boarded the bus to head to our hotel. When we arrived at the hotel, everyone thought our tour manager was messing with us. It looked like the size of a house, with a few extra rooms attached. We checked in and the rooms weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. They had everything that was necessary, a shower, a door, and 2 beds. Sweet. Only problem was that it was so hot and humid in the room all day, and all through the night.

We went down to the Contiki Included dinner at our hotel around 5:30PM and it was alright. There was Pork Schnitzel, Potatoes, Pasta, and Turkey mixed with Rice. The food was better than previous dinners on the trip so I can’t complain. I think most people enjoyed the meal.

After dinner we headed to the Contiki Optional: Wine Tasting. St. Goar (Rhine Valley) is famous for their Riesling Wine and Eiswine (Ice Wine). The wine tasting demonstration was great. If you are visitng St. Goar, you have to do this optional, whether you’re a fan of wine or not. I’m not a wine drinker myself, but I decided to attend this optional. I never drank wine before joining this Contiki tour and since the beginning of the trip we’ve been getting wine with most of our meals whether it’s white or red and I’ve enjoyed a few glasses so far. Tonight we tasted a few different wines like the famous Riesling, Eiswine (Ice Wine), a red wine, and a few others. Everyone had a great time at the tasting. Most people ended up buying a bottle or three after the tasting. Some finished the bottles tonight, and some bought them as gifts.

I cannot believe that tomorrow marks two more nights left on this trip. It has absolutely flown. We’ll all be spending our last 2 nights in Amsterdam and I’m really looking forward to it. We have quite a bit planned so far including a bike ride through the countryside, a walking tour of Amsterdam (including the Red Light District), dinner at the Sea Palace, and an Amsterdam Canal Cruise on our last night.

Sunday I fly back to Dublin where I’ll spend about 3 days before I’m off again to Southern Italy/Croatia for three and a half more weeks. I can’t wait! This trip might be over, but my travels are no where near over…

The drive from Munich to Vienna was another long one. Ryan and I woke up pretty early to grab breakfast and it wasn’t too bad. The only problem was that once again there were two separate rooms for breakfast and as usual we get sent to the room that has a lot less food, drinks, and more. On the way through the first room I snagged a few pieces of fruit and a few glasses of juice, the staff wasn’t too happy. Oh well.

After breakfast we headed off on what was supposed to be a somewhat short journey turned long journey to Vienna. We made 1 stop along the way in a small town but unfortunately I don’t know the name of it because I slept pretty much the whole ride. When we arrived in this mystery town I stumbled off of the bus like a zombie and didn’t even know what country I was in. I had to ask a few people where we were before I realized we were in Austria again. I’m pretty sure that I just needed to catch up on the lack of sleep that I’ve been getting on this trip. It’s not even that I’ve been out late or anything. It’s the fact that I’m sleeping in a different bed mostly every two nights, and sometimes we’re in a city for one night, then another city the next.

After we left the mystery city we drove straight to Vienna. On our way we stopped to drop a few people off at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna if they weren’t going along on the Contiki Optional: Schnapps Museum. I’m not a big fan of Schnapps myself but I figured I’d go to see how it was made, what types this company produced, etc.

We arrived at the famous Austrian Schnapps Museum and Mr. Fischer greeted us as we walked in. Mr. Fischer is the proud owner of the Schnapps Museum and also still to this day produces austrian award winning Schnapps. He explained the history behind the Schnapps factory and it was somewhat interesting. His personality was great, and he made a bunch of jokes through out his talk with us. After talking with us, he took us to the store out back where everyone was allowed to take 3 shots of any type of Schnapps that they would like to try. He was pretty laid back and most people had more than 3. I only tried one, it was called “Vienna Blood” and it was 56% alcohol which is around 112 Proof. Let me remind you that everyone was taking shots and it was only about 2:30 in the afternoon.

After the Schnapps Factory we headed off to pick the others up at the Schonbrunn Palace and head to the hotel (The Pyramide?) to check in. When we arrived at the hotel we grabbed our room keys and ran down to our rooms. Everyone just wanted to relax, and not be stuck on the bus. Ryan and I walked into our really nice room. The walls were covered in glass, two nice big beds, a really nice bathroom and all. I was really happy with the hotel but of course it seems that when ever we get a really nice room we only stay one night in the hotel. I found out that the hotel had free WiFi which has been such a rarity on this trip so I was really pumped about that.

We had about 1 hour before we were back on the coach and heading into Vienna to walk around while the others enjoyed the Contiki Optional: Mozart Concert & Dinner. I didn’t participate because I’m not a big fan of classical music, but my room mate is and he really enjoyed it. I ended up walking around with a few of the girls and we went to an Australian Pub located right off the main road in the old town of Vienna (Kartenstrasse). The meal was really good, it was the first really good hamburger that I’ve had in a while. We chilled out and had a relaxing dinner for once, so that was nice.

After dinner we walked around a bit more and visited St. Stephan’s Cathedral on Kartenstrasse. I have to admit that I’m pretty sick of seeing churches on this trip, I feel like I’ve seen 300 of them at this point. I don’t even bother going into them much anymore because I feel like a lot of the churches in Western Europe have been really similar. Not St. Stephan’s though. St. Stephan’s was a really gothic looking church. The pollution in the city has turned the bottom half of the outside of the chuch a charcoal color and the top of the church is the original white sandstone. We walked into the church and I was even more amazed. The architecture was amazing and I was really impressed. I couldn’t believe how different this church was to the others that I’ve seen so far in Europe. It’s a must see in Vienna!

After St. Stephan’s we headed back to the coach and drove back to the hotel. I was glad to be back home. I’ve spent too much time on that bus lately! When we arrived back I jumped on the internet and made some calls back home. Tomorrow we’ll be doing a walking tour around Vienna and then we’ll have free time until around noon time before we head of to Prague (Czech Republic) for the next two nights.

This morning we awoke to another great breakfast at Haus Lukas. On the menu today was Pancakes, toast, yogurt, and pretty much everything else we had yesterday. I can’t complain, it’s the best food we’ve had all trip! It gives you a great start to your morning.

After breakfast we loaded up the coach to head to Munich! Our first stop on the way to Munich was only about 45 minutes from Hopfgarten. Before leaving Austria, we had to see the Swarovski Factory here in Austira! The girls were freaking out due to excitement of being able to visit the actual Swarovski Factory. I was just envisioning the prices the whole time. We unloaded the coach and headed inside for a closer look. We had an hour to waste so I walked around the shop a bit and window shopped. Supposedly the prices are lower than the actual retail value, but I wouldn’t know the difference. All I know is that that stuff is crazy expensive!

After daydreaming of my trip to Europe ending today due to being absolutely broke, I decided to walk towards the exit. We all loaded the bus and now we’re headed to Munich. Our next stop will be Dachau?, a concentration here in Germany. I’m really looking forward to visiting the concentration camp because I was hoping to be able to make it to Krakow later this summer to see Auschwitz.

We arrived at Dachau and walked about 5 minutes until we arrived at the entrance. The words in german on the iron gate to enter Dachau say: Arbeit Macht Frei which means with work comes freedom. I will only say that Dachau is a place that you need to experience for yourself. I won’t get into it because explaining the camp doesn’t do it justice. We watched a 30 minute film about Dachau after walking through different parts of the camp. Dachau admission is free, and everything inside is free, including the 30 minute video in the theatre. This is a must see if you’re in the area.

We left Dachau and headed to our hotel. Hotel Apart in Munich, Germany. The rooms were really nice, beds were somewhat comfy and the although the hotel was about 25 minutes drive from the city, the metro was just 2 minutes walk from the front door of the hotel.

After checking in and dropping our bags we had about 25 minutes to get ready to head into Munich. We took the bus in and headed to one of the most famous beer halls in the world called the Hofbrauhaus. It was a great time. We had dinner, and 1 Liter beers! Insanity! I had Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes for dinner, and although I thought it would be disghusting, it was actually great. Or maybe it was the giant beers that made it taste better? Who knows…

As most of you know that after I booked my plane ticket to Ireland back in September of 2007, I wasn’t exactly planning on turning this “vacation” into a full fledged trip of a lifetime. Once I realized that my dreams of traveling Europe were actually viable, I started to do some research on a few different companies that offer tours throughout Europe. Not just day tours, not through one country, but I was looking for more of an extended tour through multiple countries.

After researching for a few weeks I came across a company that really interested me. This company is called Contiki. They were the only tour company that I found to offer specialized tours designed strictly for 18-35 year olds. I found this to be great considering I will be traveling on my own and would prefer if possible to hang out with a few people my age. I had been reading some travel forums about a few other tour companies and many people said that the tours were filled with tourists from the age of 3 to 60, senior citizens, the whole lot. Not that I have anything against children or the elderly in any way, but if I’m going to drop a couple thousand dollars on a tour through Europe, I would simply rather travel with people my age. Pretty understandable, right?

Over time, after giving another look at a few other tour companies, I decided to choose Contiki. In January I went ahead and booked the Contiki: European Vista Tour. The European Vista tour is a jam packed 23 Day tour that starts in London on May 11th, and ends in Amsterdam on June 1st. In between London and Amsterdam we’ll be spending time in Paris, Lucerne, Nice, Florence, Rome, Venice, Hopfgarten, Munich, Vienna, Prague, and Rhine Valley.

In each city along the way there are what Contiki calls “Included Highlights”. These highlights are included in the tour package price of course. Some of many included highlights are:

• (Paris, France) – Tour of Illuminations, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Champs Elysees & Notre Dame Cathedral
• (Lucerne, Switzerland) – Wooden Chapel Bridge, and the Lion Monument
• (French Riviera) – Visits to Nice, Monaco, and Monte Carlo. French Perfumery, Royal Palace, Casino in Monte Carlo, and a scenic drive along the Riviera coast.
• (Pisa, Italy) – Leaning Tower of Pisa
• (Florence, Italy) – Walking tour with local guide, Florentine leather craft demonstration, the Duomo, Basilica Santa Croce, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry & Piazza della Signoria
• (Rome, Italy) – Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Colosseum & Roman Forum
• (Vatican City) – St. Peter’s Basilica
• (Venice, Italy) – Private motorboat to the historic islands, Piazza San Marco, Bridge of Sighs, the Doges’ Palace & St. Marks Square, Murano glass-blowing & Burano lace-making demonstrations
• (Brenner Pass) – Scenic drive past vineyards, orchards and castles
• (Tyrol: Austria) – See the picturesque area famous for adventure sports
• (Munich, Germany) – the Glockenspiel & Marienplatz, and visit to a beerhall
• (Vienna, Austria) – Schonbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral & the State Opera House, Scenic drive along the historic Ring Road
• (Prague, Czech Republic) – Hradcany Castle, Cathedral of St. Vitus, Charles Bridge and Wenceslas Square
• (Rhine Valley: Germany) – Scenic River Cruise, Lorelei Rock
• (Amsterdam, Netherlands) – See the Canals, Gable Houses, and city by night, Bicycle tour through the dutch countryside, visits to a cheese farm and clog maker’s house, and a visit to a fishing & cheese village.

There are also many extra Activities that everyone can choose to take part in or not along the way. These activities are what Contiki calls “Optionals”. The optionals are NOT included in the Tour Package price, if you choose to take part in the activities you will go through your Contiki guide to do so. Some of the many optionals that are available on the European Vista are:

• (Paris, France) – Famous Parisian Cabaret Show w/ Dinner
• (Lucerne, Switzerland) – Boat Cruise on Lake Lucerne
• (French Riviera: Monaco) – Dinner at a restaurant in Monaco
• (Florence, Italy) – Tuscan Hills Feast w/ Entertainment and visit to a Florence Nightclub
• (Rome, Italy) – Guided Imperial Rome Tour
• (Hopfgarten, Austria: Tyrol) – Tandem Paragliding / Mt. Biking Tour & BBQ
• (Vienna, Austria) – Mozart Classical Concert & Dinner
• (St. Goar, Germany: Rhine Valley) – Wine Tasting
• (Amsterdam, Netherlands) – Evening Canal Cruise, I also hear that depending on your Contiki guide you might also be invited to a special so called “Amsterdam Cultural Show”, but I’ll report back on that one. I can only imagine at the moment…

So as you can see above, there will be so much to do and see along the way. Most of the main attractions and sights over the course of the trip are for the most part included, which is pretty cool!

The fact is, is that most people tend to shun these types of tours due to not being able to spend enough time in a each city. I’m not too worried about that because I didn’t really choose to take a Contiki trip to see as many places as I could in 3 weeks, I decided to take a Contiki trip so that it would provide me with an idea of where I’d like to go back to for a weekend or two here and there near the summers end.

My Contiki trip is a little over a month away at this point. I head off to London on May 11th, stay the night and meet with all of my fellow Contiki’ers at the hotel. It should be a great time, and I’m sure I’ll make a few new friends along the way. Maybe even a few that I will get the chance to meet up with later in the summer…