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European Holiday and River Cruising Memoirs

Category Archives: Holidays

Days in Budapest, Hungary – Two more photos of the Amazing Parliament House.

13 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Budapest, Holidays, Hungary, Photography, Time flies when you're globe trotting and river cruising, Uncategorized

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Black and White, Budapest, Colour, Hungary, Photography, Taken from a Sightseeing Bus

Black and White Photo of Parliament House, Hungary.

Black and White Photo of Parliament House, Hungary.

I took this in a rush while we were stopped at the Lights on our Night “Green Bus” tour of Budapest. I was actually rather amazed they turned out as well as they did. I’m just interested in what you think i.e. whether you prefer the coloured version or the black and white the best.

Colour Version of Parliament House, Hungary.

Colour Version of Parliament House, Hungary.

 Related articles
  • Budapest Day One – Budapest, Hungary (travelpod.com)
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  • Days in Budapest, Hungary – Our Photographic Memoirs. (kidazzleink.com)
  • Day 15 – Budapest; Time to say Goodbye to the wonderful Viking Team (kidazzleink.com)
  • Movies shot in Budapest (lostandfoundinbudapest.wordpress.com)

Willet-Holthuysen Canal House – A window into the past

11 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Budapest, Holidays, Time flies when you're globe trotting and river cruising, Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

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Amsterdam, Back in time, Bad Gastein, Canal Home, Gem, Tardis, Willet-Holthuysen Museum, Window on the past

“Windows on the past strengthen our understanding of the present and
   act as a guide for our decision making well into the future.”

– KidazzleInk, 2013.

Windows on the Past

Windows on the Past

In an earlier blog entitled “Bad Gastein – R n R in the Hohe Tauern National Park”, I  talked bout how you can sometimes be lucky enough to turn up a real “GEM”, even when you’re just muddling through with your own passionate, yet haphazard, “Seek and Discover” system for identifying preferred sightseeing hot spots.

Well yes….BINGO! We’d now found TWO SUCH GEMS and both during the same journey through Europe. First there’d been beautiful little Bad Gastein and now, here we were at this interesting 16th Century Manor Home called Willet-Holthuysen Museum.

Ceiling probably painter by Jacob de Wit

Ceiling probably painter by Jacob de Wit

And we’d literally just stumbled upon it …. what a surprising little “find” it turned out to be! Like many people, we usually spend way too much precious time trying to sort through the chaff from the wheat, so that we can make the most of our precious sightseeing and locate the finest of what’s on offer. For Amsterdam, we’d already been through this somewhat extensive exercise and yet still carefully selected many of the usual Amsterdam activities (because they are just so good). Unfortunately, we’d been unable (well perhaps that should read…. unwilling to ….negotiate the extremely long queues required) to see either the Anne Frank House or the newly opened Rijk’s Museum.

So initially, knowing nothing at all about the treasures that lay within this manor home museum, we casually paid the minimal fee (no long queues here, no precious hours spent waiting), grabbed our “oh so convenient”, English Audio Tour Guides and ambled very sleepily off to begin exploring.

Let me just say we got way more than we were expecting! The historical treasures and memories cocooned within these walls were a truly remarkable surprise! My dearly beloved and I still continue to talk about this delightful experience and the historical charm of the home.

Beautiful Clock

Beautiful Clock

Willet-Holthuysen Museum boasts a quality fine art collection and an historical art library, an eclectic range of historical furnishings, beautiful silverware and antique German porcelain as well as Venetian glassware collections. But the absolute best part of all this, is presentation…it is all so well presented and maintained, with a lot of it’s historical tales still intact. We initially thought that he home was completely original. However, on further review, we find it was largely refurbished with a rather eclectic range of original pieces from the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries.

Art works everywhere!

Art works everywhere!

Yet the home is made even more interesting by the fact that it also provides an historical window into the private lives of the rich and affluent in Amsterdam in the 19th Century. We enjoyed the traditional neo-classical ambiance and learnt so much about this grand era. We were able to wonder through the old tiled kitchen, the ballroom, the “Blue Room” (Men’s Room), an enormous pantry, bedroom, sitting room, formal dining room, drawing room, garden room, hallways, stairwells and so much more. It was an amazing four floors of Manor Home, three of which were open to the public.

The Garden Room

The Garden Room

We’d felt like we’d been transported back in time!

And you know….. I didn’t even see that “Dr Who Chariot” outside anywhere…. Errrr, I think I mean “Tardis” (well you know the time-transport thingy anyway). I know it just has to have been out there waiting somewhere near this wonderful home; just waiting to beam us way back into the past as we crossed the threshold… way back an amazing couple of hundred years or so ago! Yes i must have been there….or how else could we have had a time warp experience such as this??

Red Room

Red Room

But on a more serious note, for those of us who do like to explore the history and stimulate  our “grey matter” (aka cerebral connections and synapses), here are a few of this home’s details:

The Willet-Holthuysen Home is thought to have been built around the 1680s for a Mr Jacob Hop, the then Mayor of Amsterdam. Later of course, it was bought by the young Louisa Holthuysen’s Father. Shortly after he passed away, Louisa finally married her beau Abraham Willet. It is said that  Louisa’s father never actually wanted to give his blessings to this marriage. However, despite this, Louisa and Abraham (who had been quite serious sweethearts for a long time prior to old Mr Holthuysen’s passing) went on to spend many years together as husband and wife. They carefully restored the old family home and amassed the most wonderful collection of art work and  European treasure.

Meet the Willet-Holthuysens

Meet the Willet-Holthuysens

I’ve recently read that they may also have owned another equally luxurious residence in France… However, I’m not quite sure about this. All I can say is that their Amsterdam home was most remarkable. We just loved it. What a wonderful sightseeing GEM and a lovely little window into the past!

The Blue Room

The Blue Room

The Formal Dining Room

The Formal Dining Room

The Grand Bedroom

The Grand Bedroom

Going up the Stairwell

Seen from the Stairwell

Related articles
  • Bad Gastein – R & R in the Hohe Tauern National Park (kidazzleink.com)
  • Amsterdam – Day 3 (thatoneguywhotravels.wordpress.com)
  • Amsterdam – Day 2 (thatoneguywhotravels.wordpress.com)

Madame Tussauds – Photographing the stars.

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Amsterdam, Holidays, Madam Tussauds, Uncategorized

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Amsterdam, Anne Frank House, Coronation, Dam Square, Danube, Madame Tussaud, Netherlands

Strangely, I’d felt a wee bit like a Paparazzi that day….but there was certainly going to be no stopping me!

1-nef  2606201204311_pp

This was my very first (and most likely my very last) opportunity to photograph celebrities at such close range. And “WOW”, I seem to recall there were just so many of them all in the one place! I could see Royalty, Prime Ministers, Scientists, Famous Historical Faces, Sporting Aces, Religious Figures, Hollywood Starlets, Supermodels and Rock Stars everywhere I looked that day. Had it all been for real I know I would have considered myself to be way out of my personal comfort zone!!

1-nef  260620120439

Anyway, it wasn’t for real, and I have to admit to feeling a little excited by the prospect of spending time amongst these replicas of the sparkling glitterati (even if they were only of a plastic variety). I’d managed to convince my dearly beloved that this could be an interesting way to while away an hour or two. He actually even seemed to be in favour of the idea himself. So with the decision made we’d headed back towards the Dam Square in the centre of the City. We’d been trying to make the most of our last couple of days in the Netherlands, just pursuing some of our lighter touristy type interests, before embarking on our long-awaited Viking River Cruise.

The Female Stars

The Female Stars

For today our first choice had been the convenience of a Hop On, Hop Off bus! This way, we’d hoped to gain a slightly different perspective of Amsterdam to the one we’d enjoyed the previous day as we’d travelled through the beautiful canals and the IJ.

Somehow (don’t ask how) we’d managed to arrive safely in-front of the old brick building, Madame Tussauds. We’d narrowly been missed by cars and trams and then also by millions and zillions of bikes! You know, back home here in Australia (aka in the world down under/God’s own country), we’ve really only ever had to worry about being missed by big things like cars and trucks….even then I’m told pedestrians in Australia still have the right of way! (Not that I’m likely to be testing that assumption any time soon. I sort of like being in just one piece!)

Anyway, let me say that the intensity of the traffic around Amsterdam City was somewhat challenging….there was always a lot to watch out for ….and just so so many bicycles. At times, it felt like we were physically crossing up to three main roads all at once. YES THREE…first there were the buses and cars just like we have here at home, then there were the trams and finally after that there were still the thousands of bikes to watch out for!

Yikes…and each of them appeared to be really merciless towards poor strangling, geographically-challenged, pedestrian tourists such as us.

Anne Frank

Anne Frank

Earlier that same morning we’d already tried to visit the historical Anne Frank House. Sadly the queues had been just too off-putting (well over an hour of waiting we’d been told) and that was fairly early in the day. So in the interests of saving time, we’d thought it best to give it a miss for now. Maybe we could try again another day.

Madam Tussauds

Madame Tussauds

So we’d made our way through the crowds to Madame Tussauds. We’d arrived right in the centre of Amsterdam. And it was actually a kind of special time. Dam Square and the Tussauds building (like much of the rest of Amsterdam at this time) were adorned with the most enormous flags and crowns and other quite royal regalia. On arrival a couple of days earlier, we’d learnt that the Coronation of King Willem-Alexander was about to take place in just a couple of days – April 30, 2013 to be precise. Crowds had been building in preparation for the royal event; and there’d been heaps of folk everywhere you looked. We would have liked to have stayed for the coronation too, but unfortunately we’d had to miss it. By then we were already travelling on….sailing down the mighty Danube and on through Germany and Austria to Slovakia and finally into Budapest.

But for this day, neither of us had ever been to a Madame Tussauds before. So we decided to enjoy the moment and just look around at all of the interesting characters on display. I’m glad to say neither of us were disappointed by our visit. It was quite amazing how life-like some of these waxy figures appeared to be.

And of course, for me, it was just another photographer’s paradise… After all, I was photographing some of the most AMAZINGLY COOPERATIVE MODELS I’d ever tried to capture….there was no grumbling, no moaning, no “can we stop smiling now”, and no blinking at the wrong time by any of them. HOW EASY CAN IT BE? We both spent an interesting hour or two acquainting ourselves with all the historical figures and learning heaps more Hollywood trivia.

As we were leaving we stumbled upon a most interesting “Amsterdam Street Artist”.  Take a look below…he was oh so cool and hip in his shiny silver suit. He sat, or should I say stood, in the most unusual and unnatural position for what seemed an eternity. Of course I had to get a photo of him too. I nicknamed him “Amsterdam’s Newest Star!” Unlike all the other stars we’d already seen that day, he was absolutely 100% for real. How he managed to stay in that very strange and unusual half sitting/half standing position I’ll never know. Maybe some of you might have an idea or two…Let me know if you have any inkling regarding how it is done??

Amsterdam's Newest Star

Amsterdam’s Newest Star

Related articles
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  • British songstress Adele immortalised at Madame Tussauds – AFPTV (ashleyabroadinlondon.wordpress.com)

Bad Gastein – R & R in the Hohe Tauern National Park

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Bad Gastein, Holidays, Time flies when you're globe trotting and river cruising, Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Austria, Bad Gastein, Central Eastern Alps, Gastein Ladies, Grimm Brothers, Madame Curie, Queens, Walt Disney

Bad Gastein on a Magical Foggy Morning

Bad Gastein on a Magical Foggy Morning

Austria is simply amazing.

Bad Gastein, which falls within the Salzburg Provence in Austria, is one of those remarkable little gems that you only ever uncover very occasionally – usually just once in every so often, and mostly when you’re not really looking for anything in particular. This was just such a special place – a small town …a village, where my dearly beloved and I could rest, relax and restore our inner vitality after some early travel sickness had taken a heavy toll.

Beautiful Belle Epoque Architecture

Beautiful Belle Epoque Architecture

Bad Gastein prides itself on its beautiful Belle Époque Buildings, morning mists (that clear to blue skies by early afternoon), snow-covered mountains and church bells that ring at different times during the day. It is truly magical. There are both summer and winter activities available within the majestic national park that surrounds – Hohe Tauern National Park.

Church bells ring

Church bells ring

It wasn’t long after our arrival that I realized I would love to be able to visit this charming little township far more regularly. For now, I knew I just wanted to envelope myself in its history and warmth…..somehow I felt a strange connection with it all.

It was “a captivating village….a land of R & R, a place where fairy tales may not have been written but where they could have easily come to life.” During our short, five day stay, I actually thought that Walt Disney or, maybe even one of the Grimm Brothers themselves, might materialize through the early morning mists, and linger awhile, in order to chat and perhaps even pen another charming little folktale.”

I’ve been told that Bad Gastein first became fashionable as a holiday resort in the Austrian Alps during the 19th Century.

The Township on the lower hills

The Township on the lower hills

Back then, absolutely everybody (well everybody who was somebody at that time) would visit for their annual holidays. Kings, Queens, Lords and Nobles all graced this pretty little picturesque landscape. Royals came, not only to relax and enjoy the incredible beauty of the province but also, to renew themselves; reconnect with close family, restore inner life, and promote/foster their own physical health and well-being.

Enormous Waterfall Bad Gastein

Enormous Waterfall Bad Gastein

The township and surrounding area is well known for its enormous waterfall and thermal springs. Madame Curie and Heindrich Mache are said to have discovered that the natural thermal waters around Bad Gastein were very rich in radon. Gas from these springs is evidently trapped in the Heilstollen (literally ‘healing tunnel’) within the rocks under the Tauern Mountains. People still travel long distances to undergo health treatments at he Gasteiner Heilostollen.

Throughout recent history, many have enjoyed relaxing and rejuvenating (R & R) holidays in the township, at the spas and in the beautiful surrounding mountains and valleys.

I truly hope that we’ll be lucky enough to visit again one day.

Sadly, however, Australia is such a long way from Austria. I know they say there are definitely ‘no Kangaroos’ in Austria!! But “WOW” there is beauty to be admired everywhere – just like at home – both places would have to be very much a part of “Gods own Country!”

God's own Country

God’s own Country

In spite of the distances, I do really hope to go back one day. (Not sure if my better half is listening at the moment!) “Can you hear me?” I said, “I’d like to go back!!!”

At the very least, I’ll always remember the peaceful beauty of charming little Bad Gastein.

Bad Gastein Township

Bad Gastein Township

Village: Bad Gastein

Population: About 5 thousand

Area: 170.6 square kilometers

Our Top 10 things to do and see in Bad Gastein:

Historical Walking Tour,   Spa,   Gasteiner Museum,   Waterfall,  Gasteiner Heilstollen,   Casino,   Hiking,  Skiing,   Cycling,   Canyoning and Rafting.

Bad Gastein Casino

Bad Gastein Casino

Great Day Trips from Bad Gastein in a hire car:

Salzburg

Hohenwerfen Castle and Falconry Display

Werfen Ice Caves

Zell Am See

Greatest Regrets:

That we didn’t stay longer and that we didn’t get to the ice caves at Werfen

 

Spring in Munchen, Barvaria

07 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Holidays, Time flies when you're globe trotting and river cruising, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

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Bauma, Bavaria, BMW Museum, Germany, Marienplatz, Munich, Nymphenburg Palace, Queensland

As the wheels touched down, we knew we had actually survived the long haul journey from Australia.

Spring is in the Air- Munich Shopping 2013

Our beloved Gold Coast (aka, God’s own country/ our homeland) now seemed such a long, long way away. It was already some twenty-eight or so travel hours behind us. While memories of Queensland, will always be memories of true paradise, due to the region’s absolute natural beauty……. for now, they were fading quickly.

This large new cosmopolitan city with its age-old cultural highlights and urban, Germanic lifestyle,  was presently clamouring for our undivided attention.

Despite our travel weariness, we had to acknowledge that deep inside we knew our real adventures were only just beginning.

Finally, we had landed in Munich, Germany (locally known as Munchen to the Bavarian Regional Natives).

Golden Statue at Franz Joseph Airport Munich

Yes… here we were at the Franz Joseph Airport….We’d travelled half way round the globe and we had now actually landed in the northern hemisphere.

We’d arrived. It was Spring.

The air was still quite chilly after the long northern winter that had hung on for so long this year. The early morning was about to unveil our new agendas.

Despite the jet lag, we were off to visit the once-in-every-three-year, big machinery and construction expo called  Bauma, in down town Munich (known well and eagerly attended by all of those in the building and construction industries). My better half was more excited than I felt he should have been by such a work related prospect. Meanwhile, his better half was rather tired and weary, and yet, still somewhat curious about how the day might unfold.

But first, there were the usual mundane quandaries to attend to such as customs, luggage collection and geographical orientation —“Where was our hotel anyway and where were we in relation to its location?” These were the serious questions of the moment. Despite beginning to negotiate our way through the added difficulties of language translation and cultural orientation, we were already feeling that this was indeed a great and magical place to be. Somehow an element of ethereal happiness was wrapping us in its cocoon.

Grand Architecture at Kempinski Hotel Munich

Wide Open Expanses -Kempinski Hotel Munich Airport

Our accommodation booking was for the architecturally grand Kempinski Hotel, in Terminal 2, at Franz Joseph Airport. The Kempinski Hotel at the airport is just one of those buildings that has to stand out in a crowd, with its dazzling glass and steel structure and its wide open expanses. The grandness certainly wasn’t lost on us. “Just amazing”, we thought as we looked on it for the very first time.

Rainbow Tunnel that connects the Kempinski Hotel to Franz Joseph Airport Munich

Rainbow Tunnel that connects the Kempinski Hotel to Franz Joseph Airport Munich

We were truly exhausted, yet amazingly, still oh so very alive with the freshness of the early morning experience. It wasn’t yet 6.00am. and we were excited by the prospect that our first day in the Bavarian Capital was only just about to dawn.

City:     Munich

Population: 1.4 million

Area: 310 square kilometres

Our top 10 things to see and do in Munich:

Bauma; Old Pinakothek; Marienplatz; Nymphenburg Palace, BMW Museum, Barvarian National Museum, Olympia Park; Allianz Arena; Munich Zoo; Munich Botanic Garden

Allianz Arena Munich

Allianz Arena Munich

Great Day Trips from Munich:

Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Castles

Berchtesgaden and Eagle’s Nest

Romantic Road, Rothenburg and Harburg

 Salzburg and Lake District

Greatest Regrets:

Sadly we didn’t actually get to see even half of the above due to both of us getting sick shortly after arrival in Munich but we will go back again one day as there is just so much to do and see.

Spring in Munich

Spring in Munich

Classical Architecture - Munich City

Classical Architecture – Munich City

Singapura and a very comfy transit hotel

31 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Amsterdam to Budapest, Holidays, River Cruising, Time flies when you're globe trotting and river cruising, travel, Travelling in Europe, Uncategorized

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Brisbane Airport, Danube, Gold Coast, Keukenhof, Netherlands, Queensland, Rhine, Singapore, Singapore Changi Airport

3.15am and the alarm trilled in the darkness but we were already wide awake. Little sleep had been achieved by either of us during, what had seemed to be, the long and never-ending night before.

1-Michelle Davies_Foggy Morning on the Gold Coast_Light Aware_2

Our big day had actually arrived and our enthusiastic anticipation was now filling the pre-dawn air with an exciting and magical quality.

Today was the day! We were leaving our home on the ever beautiful Gold Coast (in Queensland, Australia – aka God’s Own Country as can truly be seen in the photos both above and below.)

Michelle Davies_Gold Coast 2

We were heading off on our extended four-and-a-half week adventure through Europe to visit the historical, culture-rich, northern hemisphere. Our minds were alive with all of the coming adventures….Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Keukenhof, Slovakia, Hungary and, of course, our grand 15 days of river cruising along the Rhine, the Main and the Danube.

Within 20 minutes we were locking our doors and heading off to the Brisbane Airport  for our long-awaited departure. First stop would be the multi-award winning, Changi Airport in Singapore.

Michelle Davies - Orchids in Singapore

Sad to say, it wasn’t long before we found out that we had way too much luggage. As always, trying to juggle it though the airport and customs was the usual agitating and nerve wringing experience…. Surely this part of a journey has much room for improvement in these modern times! With all of our 21st century technologies and scientific advancements, the airport experience and, particularly customs experiences, could be greatly refined and improved I believe. Perhaps someone just needs to give it a little thought and then give it all a major overhaul.

Anyway, before long we were up in the big blue vastness and being totally spoiled by our gracious air hostesses. We were catching up on movies we’d missed, discussing places we could visit, enjoying just having our meals brought to us for a change and trying to catch a little shut-eye whenever possible. The later, I must say, proved to be a bit difficult to achieve with all of that was going on.

Nevertheless, time passed quickly and soon we were landing at Changi.

Michelle Davies - Changi Airport Tropical Garden Singapore

So many beautiful orchid displays, water features and even goldfish. Changi is always a delight to visit. There were new technologies to explore and entertain us, along with the many bright and bountiful shops and Duty Free Outlets.

But after yet another tasty meal, and a brief sticky beak around to see what was new, it was certainly time to head for our transit hotel which was right within Changi airport itself. There were no windows at all in our room, but what a delight it was! And even more so, as it had only cost us just one Aussie dollar each for the next six sleep filled hours! There was a comfy bed, clean soft towels, in-room amenities for showering and glorious fresh sheets and soft pillows. At last it was time for a little bit of shut-eye!

Packing, transformation, and departure.

26 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Holidays, Packing, Time flies when you're globe trotting and river cruising, Travelling in Europe, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

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April, Australia, Austrian Alps, Budapest, Captain, departure, First there is often new luggage to buy. From there it moves on to decision making time....what to Pack and how much to take? The dilemmas of the excited traveller! We were going to be heading into th, God, layers, luggage, Queensland, suitcases, Travel

Image

Yes, there are always things to organize, even when you’re going holidays!

I’ve found the greatest experiences  seem to come from careful  planning. Thinking ahead can bring it’s just rewards.

Firstly, there’s often new luggage to buy!

Thankfully, for this holiday, we were still suit-cased up from our last little sojourn in Asia…..all telescopic handles, zips, locks and wheels were still miraculously in working order, having survived their previous plane rides.

Nevertheless, there were still a large number of things to be sorted before we could take to the skies and it was certainly decision-making time for us once again….What to pack?…How much to take?…Will there be enough space left over to bring home the souvenirs and gifts for family and friends? These are the usual dilemmas and joys of the excited traveler and so they were for us!

We were going to be heading into the Northern Hemisphere at the very start of the Spring and not long after, what had been, one of the coldest and longest winters in Europe for many years.

Not only that but we had chosen to stay in Europe for close on five glorious, adventure-filled weeks. Should we take more summer gear or more winter gear? What if the weather changed and summer moved in more quickly? What if winter decided to hang on and the temperatures fell to freezing? After all, we knew Budapest in May was likely to be warm (if not sweltering) whereas, the Austrian Alps were more likely to be sub-zero temperatures in the middle of April! Added to all of this we were flying out of sunny Queensland with its balmy, humid, Autumn days.

“Layers“, we kept hearing! “Just make sure you take plenty of basic layers”. So in went the smalls, followed by the T’s; then the polos and the jeans and the cardies and, last but not least, a very warm and snuggly overcoat.. just in case!!

“There’ll be lots of walking and exploring so be sure to take sensible shoes”, was another plea we heard from many friends and neighbours. So in went the joggers and the deck shoes and the flats…. with just one very nice, glittery pair of heels for dining out and going to the Captain’s Dinner on the river cruise. Last but not least, in went the gloves and a very, very warm and furry pair of ankle boots… again just in case the winter had decided to hang around a little longer than it should.

Butterfly on a Queensland Orchid

Butterfly on a Queensland Orchid

Finally we were getting prepared for our big transformation from everyday working couple to globe-trotting DINKS and cultural aficionados. We were getting ready to leave “God’s own country“, Queensland, Australia and travel thousands of miles to the other end of the world. The excitement was building and strangely so were some of our little idiosyncratic stress triggers!! We were going to be as free as a butterfly, and while a few little niggles still played out in the background, they were largely diminished by our growing enthusiasm and new-found “joy de verve”.

Time flies when you’re globe trotting and river cruising.

Featured

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Amsterdam to Budapest, Holidays, River Cruising, Time flies when you're globe trotting and river cruising, Travelling in Europe

≈ 56 Comments

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Amsterdam, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Queensland, Terra Australis

We’re back to reality after a glorious holiday where we’ve been totally pampered and spoilt and now, I feel strangely sad about it all. I feel as though time must have sped up during that short exciting time while we were in Europe. Everyday normality and daily routine have faithfully returned and all that’s left are the rich and colourful memories.

Do you ever feel like this too when you return from a wonderful holiday?

1-Michelle Davies- Painted Ceiling on Melk Abbey Tour

It was brought home to me yet again, after our recent four-and-a-half week sojourn through Europe.

Having never been lucky enough to visit the northern countries before, the pre-trip waiting period had seemed rather dismal and eternal. You know the feeling and the extremely repetitive kitchen-table conversations…”You know we leave in just six months”; “It will go quickly”; “It’s now only five months and twenty days until we fly out”; and “We’ll be leaving in just five more months and ten days and four hours” and so the count down goes on and on.

In the lead up to our departure, the week days actually seemed somehow longer. The weekends also felt less interesting than they had previously and all because we were in what I call “the waiting period“: that eternal period of time when you’re just hanging around and  longing to embark on what you believe is going to be, the trip of a life time.

Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary were all on our bucket list for, what would be, our very first sightseeing adventures through Europe. Three glorious weeks of doing our own thing and two action packed weeks of being totally spoiled by the wonderful Viking Crew on their fifteen day river cruise that would take us all the way from Amsterdam to Budapest across five countries and down three rivers.

And now what?

Well you see…We’re back!

Michelle Davies-Stuhmcke -Gold Coast Skyline

It’s all behind us now and “Yes”…we’re firmly back in Terra Australis, Queensland already, with all of our grand memories and increased knowledge of Europe’s wonderful geography, modern history and cultural delights. We’re back with our 3000 odd photos and our trunk full of souvenirs.

We’re back already on the Gold Coast to be precise and really, isn’t our own country, Australia, supposed to be “God’s Own Country” with its modern high-rise cities, its pristine beaches, its folkloric outback wilderness regions and it’s absolutely glittering coastal resorts?

If, indeed,  this is “God’s Own Country” we’re living in, then why is it that I long for the excitement of planning yet another journey to exotic far off lands. And…. how did it all happen so quickly? Four and a half weeks was supposed to be a long time, or so I thought. But truly it just flew past so very fast. Time, I think, must surely speed up as soon as you board a plane. I’m convinced of it. Time just seems to fly when you’re being spoiled and having so much fun! Why won’t the good times just slow down a little?

If I sort through some of the memories, highlights and photos perhaps I can at least relive some of it for a while. This is my first blog and it’s written to share with you (if you’re interested) the fun times and the highlights of our recent European Sojourn.

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Recent Posts

  • The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers’ Award
  • The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers’ Award
  • Blog of the Year Award – Some More Stars Yeah!!
  • Days in Budapest, Hungary – Puszta Day Tour and Kecskemet Visit
  • Days in Budapest, Hungary – Taken During our Night Bus Tour

Archives

Liebster Award X 2

Liebster Award

Word Press Family Award

Word Press Family Award

Most Influential Blogger Award

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Sunshine Award

Sunshine Award

Sunshine Award

Blog of the Year 2013 – 4 Star

Blog of the Year 2013

Blog of the Year 2013

Community Award

Community Award

Community Award

2 X Sisterhood of the World Bloggers’ Awards

2 X Sisterhood of the World Bloggers' Awards

2 X Sisterhood of the World Bloggers' Awards

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