Travel Agent Pacific Pines

Wow! Wow! Wow!

After a long flight to Europe it was with a mix of excitement and relief we landed in Prague & Mehmet and I had three days to explore Prague and its beauty. We felt the sadness that this city went through and also felt the happiness that has come about as this beautiful city grew up into a modern western city still maintaining her old world charm. Visiting the oldest pub in Europe, Cruising the river and soaking up the sun in Wenceslas Square were highlights for us. We then caught the bus to Budapest to begin our adventure, cruising the Danube to make our way through Europe. Budapest was one of my favourite cities... I really enjoyed the magnificent buildings and stocking up on Hungarian Paprika for the family back home was fun!

Our home for the next 14 nights was "The Imagery" with Avalon Waterways. Our suite opened out to Europe and each morning we woke up and pulled back the curtains, opened our door and Europe joined us on our journey.
I have done numerous coach tours through Europe which I thoroughly enjoyed, however seeing Europe from the "working rivers" was very special and we got to see so many smaller villages along with the big cities. And I unpacked for 2 weeks setting up home and that was a big bonus.

The 14 nights took in Bratislava, Vienna, Melk, Linz, Passau, Regensburg, Frankfurt, Koblenz, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Nuremburg, Rudesheim, Bamberg, Wurzburg, Durnstein, Wachau, Miltenburg.

The ship and the staff really looked after us with exceptional food, beautiful wines whilst making our way through 69 locks.

The engineering feat of the locks connecting the Danube with the Rhine River via the Main Canal is absolutely amazing and learning about how they all work was another highlight of my River Cruise experience. We actually were travelling up a mountain via a river! The locks enable ships to go up the mountains and back down the mountains of Europe, and it is connected via a man made canal at the top of the mountain. At one stage we were actually sailing above a road, the ship was above the traffic. That was just another amazing experience of my trip!

Each night they would bring the local area's specialized entertainment onboard for us to enjoy and well, did I tell you about the food!

In Vienna, we had a wonderful evening enjoying a Royal Waltz Concert in the famous Kursalon, a great opportunity to get dressed up for an evening of elegance. Oh! Did I mention the food?

I had the chance to experience a Soccer Game in Germany, (Mehmet's love after me!) We worked off our food by lots of walking around the villages of Europe, picking up some bargains - by the way -take really comfortable walking shoes as the whole of Europe is cobblestones and uneven!

Visiting Nazi Headquarters was a chilling, sad experience. We experienced the very different city of Amsterdam, built on canals and took a walk through the famous "Red Light District". One funny little sight was the amount of bikes in Amsterdam.....instead of car parks...they have bicycle parks!

After our 14 days cruising the rivers of Europe finished, we took the train across to Paris and had 3 beautiful nights here. Paris is one of my favourite cities in the world! For those that don't believe they have a romantic bone in their body, Paris will bring that out in you, I promise... and even though it is expensive, an absolute must is a visit to the Moulin Rouge Show. It has to be one of the most amazing shows we have seen, the colours, the dancing and there are Australian girls in the troupe which makes you feel proud! Oh and the food! French Patisseries are the best!

Sad to leave Paris, Singapore Airlines took us home via Singapore for 1 night to break the journey and pick up some shoes!

My European Experience had come to an end but I have so much more to tell! I would love to share more of my experience with you so contact me for anything you want to know about this unique holiday and for best prices.

It is truly a holiday that beautiful memories will stay with me forever.

Oh and did I tell you about the food!