Christmas Roady 2012

We had the most epic road trip over Christmas and New Years.  As usual we traveled with Anna and Borrie (who are nearly as cool as us) and it was good times.  We always seem to want to do the same things, and most importantly, when I am ready for a beer stop Anna is too.  It is going to be hard to write about everything we did as we fitted so much into our 19 days.  You can see from the map above that we covered a lot of kilometers.  All-in-all a summary of the trip would be:

19 days
2 flights
3400km covered by driving
5 countries
9 cities

I have decided just to give one or two highlights for each country we visited as it would take far to long to record everything we saw and did.
Germany - I loved the Christmas markets that were everywhere, but I thought Koblenz had the best ones. It seemed each corner we turned there was another market set up.  They had lovely decorations but I didn't buy any as they were the first markets we visited.  I guess you want to wait and see what other markets in other cities have to offer.   Also, driving along the Rhine river with Castles dotted all about the place has to be another highlight.


Czech Republic - We found an awesome restaurant that was in an underground cellar. They cook their meat BBQ style and we got the biggest, best tasting, and cheapest steaks I think I've ever had.  It was so good we went back a second time.  The boys wanted to do a tour of Eggenberg Brewery. With a little help from tourist information we found the brewery down a little lane that opened up into an empty, deserted (except for a bus of Asian tourists), run down looking place.  It was us four plus one American who wasn't overly obnoxious but was still a bit annoying.  While hanging around the entrance a homeless looking man approached us asking if we were there for the tour.  He told us where to buy tickets and after we had done so he said he was our guide!! The tour through the brewery was eerie - it was dark and empty, no workers around as it was the weekend.  As a result we got to taste beer straight from the tanks.  Best tour ever.  We also got shown where there was a secret tunnel running underground from the brewery to the Nunnery, and also to the Castle. So Royalty and Nuns have been enjoying this beer since 1560.  At the conclusion of the tour we were enjoying our free pints in the bar when we invited our American tourist to have a beer with us.  Turns out he used to be Mayor of his town and we got into a good discussion about American gun laws, as this guy owns 25 guns! While finishing our pint our tour guide returned giving us each a book he has written on the Haunted Houses of Cesky Krumlov.  It turns out this man works at the city archives in the Castle.  Not bad for someone I thought was homeless! Never judge a book by it's cover.

Not my photo - 'borrowed' from internet

Hungary - Eating really nice goulash soup when it is freezing cold outside cannot be beaten! While in Budapest we had our first day of snow.  This day we planned to visit the thermal pools.  Once in our swim wear we discovered we had to walk outside across the cold ground to get to the pool.  The locals were wrapped up in towels and wore jandals.  Not us Kiwis. No towel or bath robe for us, just bikini's and bare feet in the snow.  Once in the pool it was amazing - we were so warm and there was steam rising up, then we could see the snow falling and settling around the pool. A very surreal experience that I don't think I will ever experience again.  I also found the Terror Museum really interesting.  It was used to house prisoners during the Communist era.  I learnt a lot about Hungary's history through this museum and also from the city walking tour we did.  It has been occupied by Nazi's and Communists and has had land taken from all sides. A very sad past but hopefully a bright future.

Danube river cruise - Parliament Building

Slovenia - The Christmas lights in the main square of Ljubljana were amazing. They had planets and shooting stars coming from all over, and plenty of trees covered in lights.  I also enjoyed all the bars and restaurants along the river. We were in Ljubljana over Christmas and we were worried that town would be closed and there would be nowhere to have Christmas dinner.  However, the bars and restaurants were very vibrant with lots of families out and about on Christmas day. 

Austria - Nath and I took Anna and Borrie to a beer monastery that we stumbled across when we first came to Salzburg in 2010.  Our first visit was in summer so we sat out in the beer garden.  This time everyone was indoors, in huge beer halls.  It was de ja vu, but not, all at the same time.  Very confusing! I think I even had the exact same meal. 

2010

2012

I also really enjoyed the Sound of Music tour, with its cheap bubbles you could buy on the bus, and the sing-a-longs we had to partake in. This did not make Nathan's highlights reel. Skiing in Innsbruck was awesome and a real highlight for both Nathan and I.  Each morning we walked to the local bus depot where you board a free bus to the ski field of your choice.  Innsbruck has 11 ski fields near by so we skied 3 different fields in 3 days.  I'm still not convinced it is worth lugging my ski boots around Europe for 19 days to only use them for 3 days.  Lastly, a group highlight was Neuschwanstein castle. We drove from Salzburg to fairly near Munich to see this castle, to then have to drive to Innsbruck that evening. So it was a real detour but worth taking the time for.  The Castle was amazing, with incredible views of snowy mountains out one side, and grassy fields and a lake looking in the other direction. The Disney castle is said to be based off Neuschwanstein castle.

Whew, so that's it. Needless to say when I returned to work I was exhausted and in need of a relaxing holiday.