Europe 2014 Trip Wrap Up

Well... what an amazing trip! So much fun across so many different countries. Can't wait for the next one...

Cheers from Business Class!

We made it home safe and sound, and loved the upgrade to Business Class for part of the trip. Well I did. Greg had a bit of a fiasco with his meals not being delivered and not getting much service. That aside, the extra space and being able to lie down was wonderful. Now just need to work out how to afford that for every flight!

We had the most special welcome home from Parker. He did a full double take when we opened the door and was so excited we peed on the front door step! So nice to be home again with our lovely animals. It's one of the only sad things about travelling now. At least it gives us something to look forward to when we get home I guess.

Highlights of the trip

Biking the Vineyards in Alsace 

This was an absolutely magical day. Some of our best days ever have been biking, although we're not the most avid of bike riders. We had an amazing day riding around Potsdam, and also had bikes years ago on a trip to Russel in New Zealand. All three times have just been so much fun - definitely something we want to keep doing. A great way to explore bigger areas, and it's good to be able to have some drinks on the way too!

Biking through Alsace

Up up and away! In the Hot Air Balloon over Baden Baden

Cheese!

Meat

Hot Air Ballooning over Baden Baden
Wow - what an experience. Such an amazing feeling, and something I'd like to do again on a clearer day.

Europa Park
We LOVE theme parks. Europa Park was such an amazing day. I felt like a little kid - so excited! And it was perfect to be staying at the theme park too, will definitely do that again.

Pretty Much Every Moment in Germany
 Love that country, and here's some of the reasons why, in no particular order:

• Dogs are welcome almost everywhere, including hotels, restaurants and bars, and they understand German (was funny listening to a guy yelling Nien! to his dog). Most people however don't really like you patting their dog which was sad for me as I wanted to say hello to all of them!
• Everywhere is super clean, and most everyone is really friendly.
• Nearly everyone can and will quite happily speak English, especially if you start out with Guten Tag (hello) and make an effort.
• Amazing cured meats and cold cuts to be paired with incredible cheeses and bread, are all just part of the day to day German lifestyle.
• Delicious sausages and huge cuts of beasts like pork knuckle and lamb shoulder are available everywhere too - Yum!
• The wine exceeded expectations, with a couple of new varieties, and lots of different names for the same varieties.
• Lots and lots of beautiful flowers, especially in the old town areas, making some of the towns with old stone buildings look gorgeous.
• The black forest is huge and stunning. We had such a good time walking around it.
• The lakes are beautiful, especially those within the forest. I think next holiday we may have to spend some decent time at a lake
• Driving at 200kph on the autobahn is a pretty incredible experience! Sure gets you where you are going in a hurry. It also felt really safe as the car was amazing, and everyone is so sensible on the roads. As soon as someone passes a car, even on a 4 lane autobahn, they move straight back over on to the slower lane.
• The waitresses wear traditional costumes in loads of restaurants and hotels which means lots of cleavage.
• Grüß Gott. We had to ask someone who told us how to spell it, then looking it up, the translation we found was "Howdy God". Some areas say it commonly instead of hello. Pretty funny when you understand what it means.

We came to the conclusion that Germans really like two things: meat and... flowers! And that we really like Germany! We'll be back for sure!

Typical flowered courtyard in Alsace

Germany is awesome. Travelling is awesome. When's the next trip?