Apr 08

On the way to Munich we stopped in at Dachau Concentration Camp, where the Germans in World War 2 held their prisoner who opposed their rule. Mainly Jews, political prisoners, and some soldiers. The living conditions of this place was appalling in those times as the SS was in charge so the treated everyone in the camp with no human dignity. Regular beatings, no food and harsh working conditions. The SS medical unit also tested their new ‘war’ medicines on the prisoners, putting them through gruelling tests. One such test, was putting the prisoners in baths full of ice to simulate their German pilots bailing out into the Baltic sea – to see how long they can last in the ice water and what drugs they can use to help prolong death. The ice bath for the prisoners weren’t so bad as after awhile in the bath the person went numb so they couldn’t feel any pain. However when they took them out to thaw back to normal – the pain would kick in and the screams could be heard throughout all the town. This practice was highly criticised by the locals. Walking through this museum where it all happened made me feel mixed emotions. At the end I was so mad at what happened. Parts I wanted to cry, and some parts I wanted to be sick. It was a visit I will never forget.

Arriving in Munich we went and ate at a traditional German beer hall. Jo had a roast pork steak with mash dumplings and sauerkraut, and I had a pork knuckle – which was great. We also had beer steins and they only came out in 1Litre steins. Needless to say it was a very happy evening. We got an early night not like everyone else who decided to stay on for as long as they could. The next morning on the bus was amusing as everyone slept. However the trip wasn’t a trip to sleep on the bus – the views as we drove through Austria and the Alps were amazing.

We arrive in Venice that night, and the next morning head into Venice. We were ferried by boat into the main square (San Marco Piazza) went and saw a glass blowing demonstration then saw a lace demonstration. Very interesting, but we were keen to get out and walk around the city. And walking we did. In the rain and everything it wasn’t very pleasant. Venice also stuck of raw sewerage. I think they were pouring it straight into the canals. So when we went for the Gondola ride through the Canals the stench was retched and the it decided to rain so we just huddled under our umbrellas. We did manage to walk over the Rialto bridge have a lovely romantic dinner sitting near the bridge. I ate some seafood Spaghetti (nice) and Jo had a Roast Veal and potatoes. We were very glad to get back to our hotel to dry off and rest our legs. Jo did take some great photos so make sure you check out her myspace.

We are now on our way to Florence, it is another rainy day so it is a top day to sleep on the bus and catch up on some blogs, and reading.

Well Amsterdam was a real eye opener, and Im glad we had only 1 day there. From Amsterdam we head off to Germany. Just a simple day driving taking in the sights of the picturesque European countryside. The Neitherlands is nearly all flat and most of it is about 6m under sea level. So its weird actually driving up to the ocean.

Our tour director told us a story about one of his friends (a couple) who visited Amsterdam and decided to taste a magic mushroom. So they shared this mushroom and then proceeded to walk around the city and makle their way back to their hotel. It just seemed like a normal day in the city – however when they woke up the next morning in their hotel room – they looked at each other and proceeded to ask each other what happened last night. They both remember that on their way home they saw a Leprechan and they surprising managed to catch it and bring it back to their hotel. Looking at each other they realised that Leprechans don’t exisit and remembered that they locked it in their hotel bathroom. So gathering up the courage they opened the bathroom door and found a 7 year old girl. They had some explaining to do with the police.

We crossed into Germany and started out way into the Rhine Valley. We stayed at St Goar, which is just a small viallage town on the Rhine. Its known for 2 things – Beer Stiens and Wine. Its is such a random stop on our trip, but is a good change from seeing cities all the time. We went wine tasting in this old wine cellar. The owner gave us 4 diferent types of wines to drink. And we had a nice taste of an Ice Wine. This wine is made through 8 – 10 days of continual frosts just near harvest time. What normally takes 1 bunch of grapes for 1 bottle it takes 8 bunches of grapes to make one bottle of this wine. As the frost crystalises the sugar in the grapes the Ice wine is really sweet and due to its prestigious nature its $150 for a 500ml bottle. it's like drinking liquid sugar.

Today we head off through Germany for Lucerne, Switzerland. It good being on this tour as we don’t have to think about where we are going too much. All we need to worry about is making sure we have our cameras ready and we get back to bus on time.

We arrived at the Contiki headquarters (royal national) hotel in London on Wednesday afternoon – and the hotel is pretty ordinary to say the least. It was only one night – so we just sucked it up and slept!

That night we cruised on down to the local Laundromat to catch up on some of our laundry. After starting to plow through a Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream tub with the smallest little plastic teaspoon possible a semi-famous actor walks in to use the Laundromat. Im not sure of the actor’s name – however he is the fat guy in the movie with Heath Ledger “A Knights Tale”. Very cool!

The next morning we arose around 6am and raced on downstairs to get on the Contiki Tour bus which will be our home for the next 17 nights. We drove on down to Dover (The White Cliffs of Dover) and took a short ferry ride to Calais France, in which it was back on the bus for a few hour drive into Brussels Belgium. Here we walked around the streets with our new found friends on the tour and tasted ‘real’ Belgium chocolate, waffles and of course a local Belgium Beer. The architecture was extraordinary. Last night we stayed just outside of the city in a nice hotel and sat down for a nice 3 course meal.

This morning we had a great European breakfast with Nutella and salami’s, hams, cheese (I mean really good cheese) and some cereal – oh it was good! Then a short drive into Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a cultural mess of a place. Many people come to Amsterdam for two things – Marijuana & Sex. Certain Cafés openly sell in their menu Pot food and smoking delights and if you’re lucky you can also pick up some magic mushrooms. There were even signs saying buy 4 mushrooms and get 1 free! It was good to walk around and just be wowed at how up front it all is! We didn’t walk through the red light district – but we heard of some seedy stories from some of the other people on the tour that ventured in that area.

Tonight we head off into Amsterdam again for a nice meal and a canal cruise – should be fun. I’ll keep you posted!

We are in Dublin Ireland!

very thankful that we are here, after the USA - Ireland is an awesome place. Much like Australia in that we speak the same language, drive on the same side of the road and eat the same food. Glorious!

We have been eating at pubs all over Dublin - nice quaint spots to enjoy a Guiness and listen to the Irish sounds of then.

Managed to get a lost a couple of times walking on the streets. Not as easy navigating the streets as it is in the States. All the roads used to be horse and cart trails - apparently horses don't like the grid system - too confusing!

We went to the Dublin Zoo yesterday and caught up with all of Jo's friends (only kidding). There was this cute Jaguar that spoke to us and we thought he wanted to 'play' - probably just was putting on a cute face to get us to jump the barrier so he can have an 'easy' meal.

Jo has been taking thousands of photos of the doors of Dublin. All old Georgian Architecture around this city. The weather has been nice the last couple of days - so we have been enjoying just walking everywhere.

Look forward to your comments

Matt & Jo