Before starting work in the UK, Iain and I took time to explore Europe on Topdeck’s Spirit of Europe 24 day hostel trip. The tour took us to 12 countries: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands. It was amazing to see so many countries in such a short space of time.
Our tour started in London, bright and early at 6am, then we crossed the English channel by ferry from Dover to Calais.
Europe has strict driving laws for coach drivers. They log their time spent driving and need 15 minute rest stops every 2.5 hours. If they don’t adhere to this, they can get fined. This law made our bus journeys between cities long.
We stayed at all our stops for 2 nights (except Florence) and caught up on sleep during the bus days whilst travelling to our next destination.
Paris, France
Arriving in France was exciting. We could finally use the French we learnt at school. We visited the classic tourist attractions — Eiffel Tower (by day & night), Arc de Triomphe and Musee de Louvre (the crowds at the tiny Mona Lisa painting were crazy). We biked around the city amongst the chaotic French drivers. Of course we took up the challenge to try snails (they tasted like paua with garlic) and frog legs (tasted like dry chicken).
Snails and frog legs. Mona Lisa painting at Musee de Louvre
Looking out to the Musee de Louvre and Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower at night!
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Travelling from Paris to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland was the most scenic drive day we had. It reminded me of being in New Zealand. From Lauterbrunnen I took a train to Jungfrau, the top most point in Europe, for an explore and ziplining. Meanwhile, Iain did a helicopter skydive from the village below.
Left: Lauterbrunnen Village Right: Top of Europe, Jungerfrau
Left: Inside the Ice Cave. Right: One of the many stunning views you get in Switzerland
Iain skydiving (1, 2), me about to complete zipline
Nice, France
Nice was very different to Paris with tropical weather and a lovely coastline. We walked along the beach. It was good to relax after the chaos of Paris. On our second evening in Nice we travelled to Monaco and saw the famous Monte Carlo Casino and the Formula 1 race tracks.
Pebbled beach in Nice, and town square in Nice
Looking out to the coastline in Nice, France
Left: Formula 1 race tracks in Monaco. Right: Monte Carlo casino, Monaco
Florence, Italy
Our time in Florence was short, yet we managed to see historic churches and buildings, eat pizza/pasta/gelato and try Limoncella.
Duomo (Florence’s cathedral), river in Florence and Florentine steak
Rome, Italy
One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Vatican City and attending the papal audience presented by Pope Francis in Rome. We also visited the big tourist spots — Colosseum, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.
Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia, Ancient Rome ruins
Papal audience in front of St Peter’s Basilica, The Colosseum
Venice, Italy
Venice was one of our favourite spots on the trip. We got really nice views of the city and canals from the tower in the main square, by gondola and vaporetto.
Verona, Italy
Before leaving Italy, we made one last stop in Verona to see Juliet’s balcony and Verona Arena (Roman amphitheatre like the Colosseum in Rome).
Verona Arena, Streets in Verona, Juliet’s balcony
Vienna, Austria
Spending a Sunday in Vienna was hard as all the shops were closed. We went to Prater Park (amusement park) and it was so much fun. We also visited famous palaces such as the Schonbrunn and Hofburg Palace, and the Museum Quarter. We also got some well needed rest.
Looking out to Schonbrunn Palace. Ride in Prater Park
Hofburg Palace and surroundings
Bratislava, Slovakia
En route to Budapest, we had a stopover in Bratislava, Slovakia. There wasn’t much to see other than the castle and the old town. It was the only place we encountered locals who did not speak English.
Bratislava Castle, Castle Grounds and view to the city from the castle
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest was our favourite city from the trip. The city is amazing to see when lit up at night. During our stay we visited famous sites like Fisherman’s Bastion, numerous bridges and we learnt about Hungary’s involvement in the war. On the night before we left we had a glorious Hungarian dinner including beef goulash on a cruise down the Danube river.
View from Gellert Hill, Jewish Synagogue
St Matthias Church and view from Fisherman’s Bastion in Buda
St Stephens Basilica, view from the top of basilica and enjoying a rose gelato by the cathedral in Pescht
Dinner cruise down the Danube river with stunning view of Parliament of Budapest
Krakow, Poland
Our time in Krakow encompassed visiting churches, the residence of Pope John Paul II and the Jewish Quarter and Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory tour. We tried the local cuisine — pierogi (polish dumplings), they were so tasty and cheap. We also did a haunted house escape room and went to the Leaky Cauldron (Harry Potter cafe)!
Streets in Krakow and Pierogi
Leaky Cauldron Cafe, Main Square and a very spooky house!
Stained glass display at Franciscan Church (Kosciol Franciszkanow), Wawel Castle grounds
Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camps
On the way to Prague we spent a cold morning at two of the Auschwitz Concentration Camps in Poland. It was very emotional walking through the grounds and hearing what happened. The camp also displayed the belongings of civilians who were taken to the gas chambers .
Auschwitz 1 concentration camp
Bags of civilians, children’s shoes and area where people were killed
Auschitwz-Birkenau (train civilians arrived in, the sorting grounds and accomodation)
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague was a magical city with a beautiful castle and buildings. It also had its own mini Eiffel Tower. I managed to find a very tasty Trdelnik (chimney cake — apple strudel flavoured). We also went into a five-storey nightclub where each floor played a different genre of music!
Astronomical clock, church, and Charles Bridge
John Lennon Wall, St Vitus Cathedral, and looking out to Prague’s own Eiffel Tower
Caricature of Iain and I, apple strudel chimney cake, and palace grounds
Dresden, Germany
On the way to Berlin, we stopped in Dresden to explore the old town. It was interesting to see what remained after the fire bombing. We saw many churches, a palace and a mural. We had a very spicy currywurst it was excellent as we were both craving spicy food.
Fürstenzug (mural) and spicy currywurst
Zwinger (castle grounds) and looking out from it to the city
Berlin, Germany
As we approached the end of our trip we decided explore the city by bike. We saw what’s left of the Berlin Wall, memorials such as the Soviet Memorial and the ‘Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe’, bought some Birkenstock shoes, saw the Reichstag (Parliament) and biked around Tiergarten (a park).
Treptower Park, Reichstag, ‘Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe’
Berlin Wall (what is left) and nice view from the river
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam was a very different city where the main form of transport was by bike and we definitely got amongst it. We loved the canals going through the city like Venice. We tasted some traditional Dutch pancakes whilst here and had nutella waffles! During our time here we saw Anne Frank’s house, took the classic tourist photo by Rijksmuseum (#I AMsterdam), explored Museumplein (square of museums) and just explored the city including Vondelpark. Our last evening on the tour ended with a dinner cruise down the canals with Indonesian cuisine.
Dutch savoury pancakes and Vondelpark
View from Canals, ‘#I AMsterdam’ for our last group photo
Dinner cruise
Our return back to London was much quieter because half the group left us in Amsterdam. There was much more room to sleep on the coach. The tour was amazing and it was incredible to see so many places in such a short time frame. We were pretty exhausted by the end of it and were looking forward to not sleeping in hostels for a while!
