Topdeck Trip 2008

I know it is really overdue but now I have arrived at Uni and I have reliable internet access and the blog page is not in German I can start posting more regulary.
Below is a copy of the two emails I have sent out todate which outline what I have been up to for the last month and a half. Enjoy...

Well I arrived into England on Saturday afternoon (the 16th) and then added a 6 hour train ride to my 24 hour plane flight which allowed me to stay the night with my sister Lucy up in Botton Village. This village was amazing with about 30 houses each comprising a set of host parents, one or two gap students like Lucy and 3 or 4 people with disabilities like autism which means they have trouble integrating successfully into mainstream society. The town works remarkably well and Lucy is enjoying her time there although it comes to an end very soon when she begins to travel around.

I left Botton on Monday and travelled back to London to spend one night in a backpacker’s hostel before my Topdeck tour began. I was a little worried about the shared nature of the accommodation – my room had six people sleeping in it, and I only met one of them – but there were not problems and I managed to have a chat with a few people at the bar downstairs who were also on their own.

Our Topdeck tour left on Tuesday morning and we began by travelling for a full day, leaving from London, getting the ferry across the channel and then driving onto Paris. Our group is pretty cool and everyone mingled pretty easily despite the fact that only a few people knew each other prior to the tour. The day concluded with a look at the Sacre Coeur church which sits on an enormous hill and then had a night tour of Paris in the bus. As we were walking around we were approached by ‘string men’ who come up to you with pieces of string which they prepose to tie around your finger. Curious tourists will find that once their finger is tied, a large sum of Euro’s are demanded for its removal. No-one on our tour was caught out as we were pre-warned.

Our full day in Paris saw us climb the Eiffel Tower, check out the Notre-Dame and spend a couple of hours in the Louvre which was amazing. We caught a glimpse of the most overrated painting in the world (Mona Lisa) among other things. Later in the day we went on a bike tour or Paris which allowed us to see the sights up close and hear the stories behind all of the ancient buildings.
Paris is amazing, there is only one high-rise building in the main city but most of the buildings are 3 or 4 stories high. The effect is amazing and sets it apart from any other city I have ever been to. You can almost feel the history.
We had a champagne dinner by the Eiffel Tower (which included snails) and finished the day with a boat cruise.

Our next stop was the tiny village of Lauterbrubrunnen nestled in the Swiss Alps and a full day there saw us catching the train up the mountain to Jungfraujoch the highest point in Europe. There was an ice-palace at the top and they allowed you outside to play in the snow, a fact that seems amazing to me because only 24 hours later we were cruising through Italy in 30 degree heat!

Our trip took us through the city of Pisa where we stopped to check out a certain leaning tower they have there and take all sorts of silly photos in front of the leaning bell tower. We didn’t have the time to climb it but this activity has been re-allowed after a number of years of closure. The tower is constantly getting worse, moving about 1 millimetre each year. It is expected to fall over some time this century despite a number of attempts to correct the lean.

Our second stop in Italy was the ancient city of Florence where we partook in a walking tour around the city, Florence was the birthplace of the renaissance period was Michangelo, Donnatelo, Gallallo among others residing there during the sixteenth century. Their influence is still present in the cobblestone city streets today.

On the same day we travelled to Rome and did a walking tour around the streets. We took a few photos and enjoyed some pasta for dinner directly in front of the Pantheon and caught our first glimpses of the Colosseum.
Our second day in Rome saw us visit the Vatican City, the smallest country on earth. The place is simply incredible with intact artworks dating back as far as 300BC, the Sistine Chapel painted by Michangelo at the demands of the Pope at the time is incredible especially since restoration works in recent years have brightened the colours back to their original glory. Our guide for the tour was young and enthusiastic which made the tour incredibly interesting. Our final stop was St Peters Basilica which is enormous and, rumour has it, contains enough solid gold in the ceiling to bring India out of poverty! I touched this cross which absolves all your sins so I am back to a clean slate (until that evening where 9 members of the tour left us and we had a large number of celebratory beverages!).
We walked around the Colosseum and looked inside the ancient amphitheatre and checked out the Forum before heading back to the campsite for a swim in the pool.

Email2:
As I write this, we are speeding through Belgium where we will make our last stop before jumping on the ferry and returning to London tonight.
I think my last email saw me in Rome, so many countries ago!
Since then we travelled to Venice, stopping at the ancient city of Verona, the home of the renaissance artistic period. Venice is and incredible city, you see pictures but there is something surreal about travelling on a gondola in a cannel with house and shop fronts facing you directly into the water!

On the evening before we left Venice we had an opportunity to bust our stuff at a toga party. I was quite impressed at some of the outfits people were able to create with just a single sheet (although my cape with my superman boxer shorts was not all that impressive!).
From Venice we travelled to Vienna in Austria. I would have to say Vienna was my favourite city in terms of liveability that I have been to. It is clean, easy to get around, very beautiful and has an effective public transport.

We began our day here with a walking tour through the city then had a coffee just off the central square. The waiter was quite friendly and upon departure encouraged us to “Enjoy Vienna, and your life…” which I sure plan on doing. We rented bikes and I caught up with Reece and Dee, my friends from Uni who are over here doing Education Abroad like me. The Hofburg palace in particular was breathtaking. This palace has the most amazing gardens and boasts its own zoo! We also visited a schnapps factory and received free shots on departure and a fun park where we spent hours riding rollercoaster’s!

Our next stop was Budapest in Hungary. This was easily the worst hostel we stayed in, bunk beds that swayed, showers with no curtain which allowed you to make friends with the person brushing their teeth while you soaped yourself up! (Needless to say I didn’t wash here!) Breakfast too only consisted of two bread rolls with lettuce and ham in them.
While I am speaking about breakfast actually let me say that I am so sick of ham and cheese. A European breakfast consists of bread, butter, ham and cheese! It’s crazy. Some of the places we stayed at, especially the more Australianised places like the Wombats hostel in Vienna did offer cereal which was a refreshing change!

Budapest itself however was a very picturesque city; we headed up to the labyrinth which is a series of caves which you can enter through a house which looks like an ordinary house in the middle of a street. This is where the Germans were hiding during World War 2. We also indulged in the spring fed baths which was an interesting experience to say the least (if I see one more old man in a loin cloth!)

The city of Krakow was our next stop and here we took a walking tour through the Jewish quarter of the city which was excellent but confronting. We walked through an ancient Jewish graveyard which had been turned into a tip during the Nazi occupation and the gravestones used to pave a path to a concentration camp. We also saw a series of empty chairs situated in a square which was were Jews were told to wait before being taken out to concentration camps and in most cases gassed. The empty chairs represent the waiting period and the fact that they are empty is representative of the fact that almost all of those who waited there were killed.
Our afternoon saw us heading to the salt mine which was pretty amazing. They have a whole church underground entirely carved out of salt as well as many other salt statues.

We visited Auschwitz the following morning, a truly sobering experience. Auschwitz was the worst of all concentration camps set up by the Nazi’s during World War 2. Over a one million Jews were sent to this camp and the majority were gassed on arrival. Those that survived the original inspection could expect a lifespan of only 3 – 4 months due to the brutal conditions to which they were subjected.

That night we did a walking tour through Prague which is a beautiful city by night and then hit up the beer factory. This is a bar with tabs on the tables and you pour you own beer. At the end of the night you add the tab up for the table and pay it based on how many litres you have drunk. Throughout the night they have running tallies showing which table has drunk the most in order to encourage consumption. A pretty cool place.

Our full day in Prague was a little slow to begin but we walked the width of the city and jumped on a boat cruise where we were shown the effects of terrible floods in the city about 10 years ago. That night a few people were leaving so we hit the town, heading out to possibly the worst nightclub I have ever been in! My free drink which I received upon entry turned out to be a shot of vodka in a glass with ice (you had to pay for the lemonade!) and there were people openly doing drugs on the table behind me! Needless to say we didn’t stay long.

Berlin was our next stop via Dresden. It is amazing to think that less than 20 years ago there was a wall surrounding the entire east side of the city and people were shot for attempting to cross from the east to the west. Today the city of Berlin is a really happening unified city as we discovered in our free day walking around. A city with so much history!
The pub crawl that night was massive and most people had a tough time getting up the next morning for our trip to Amsterdam.

Upon arriving in Amsterdam we headed off to one of the cities world famous sex shows. All of the males in our group were targeted to get on stage with some being drawn on and others pulling strings. I was lucky enough to have a dance on stage with the stripper in front of about 60 people!

The following day we visited Anne Franks house, a little girl who wrote diaries while in hiding from the Nazi’s during the war. The house was a bit larger than I expected, I had visualised only a single room but actually there were about 5 rooms although Anne and her family had to be completely silent to avoid being heard by the factory workers just one floor below. We also cycled around the city and visited a sex museum which was quite unusual!

Our stop in Bruges was short but sweet, what a beautiful city! The tour is now over and I am a little sad. It’s amazing how close you get to people when you live with them over short periods of time. I caught up with a couple of the guys yesterday when we went to a soccer match and hoping to catch up again tomorrow when we head out to Bath.
I am currently staying with my cousin Andrew and his girlfriend Nat who have been fantastic and their house in Brixton is really close to London’s excellent public transport grid which makes getting around very easy!

That brings you up to date as of 2 weeks ago. Will post the rest soon!
Micahel.

Preposed Itinerary

Ok so you don't go in blind, you want to have some idea of what you are getting yourself into! Here is my plan, just how close it is to reality time will tell!


15 August 2008

Qantas Flight to London
Departing 10:50pm from terminal 2, Tullararine Airport


16 August
Flight Arrives at Heathrow Airport (terminal 4)
1:30pm Local Time
Total flight time 23 Hours 40 minutes


17 August
Staying with Lucy at Botton Village


18 August
Return to London
Staying at Globetrotters Inn


19 August – 11 September
Top Deck Tour “Spirit of Europe”






19-20 August

London to Paris, France
Our Topdeck experience begins today! From London we travel to Paris where we embark on a "City Lights" tour. A free day the next day to explore Paris, before enjoying our Champagne picnic beside the Eiffel Tower. An optional River Seine cruise or cabaret show finishes the day. Bx1, Dx2

21-22 August

Paris to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
The village of Lauterbrunnen is in the heart of the stunning Swiss Alps. An optional adventure to the Jungfrau, Europe's highest rail station for some amazing views. Bx2, Lx2, Dx2

23-24 August

Lauterbrunnen to French Riviera/Monaco
Following Napolean's footsteps we make tracks to the French Riviera. Time here to spot celebrities as we stroll the promenades! Tonight we once again mingle with the stars at the casinos of Monaco. Bx2, Lx1, Dx1

25 August

French Riviera to Florence, Italy
First stop, the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we reach Florence and time to sample the delicious Tuscan cuisine. Bx1, Dx1

26-27 August

Florence to Rome, Italy / Vatican City
The city of Florence unveils its artistic treasures today before we cut loose on some of Europe's most fashionable shops. On to Rome and our fascinating walking tour. While here, a visit to the Vatican City including an option of exploring the Sistine Chapel. Then the day is free to explore Rome. Bx2, Dx1

28-29 August

Rome to Venice, Italy
The fair city of Verona, home of Romeo and Juliet, breaks our journey to Venice. Our walking tour allows us to see such sights as St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge. Our vaporetto ride is the perfect way to see the Grand Canal and of course there is the chance for an optional gondola ride. Bx2, Lx1, Dx2

30-31 August

Venice to Vienna, Austria
On to sylish Vienna. Famous for its Opera, coffee and apple strudel. The next day is ours to discover Vienna - the Opera House, St Stephen's Cathedral, and the Hofburg Palace are just some of the attractions. Bx2, Lx1, Dx1

1-2 September
Vienna to Budpapest, Hungary
To Bratislava and our walking tour, before heading to the twin cities of Buda and Pest. What an amazing city Budapest is! Where else can you watch chess played in an outdoor bath and explore an underground labyrinth which has its own fountain producing wine? Bx2, Dx1


3-4 September
Budapest to Krakow, Poland
We travel through Slovakia before arriving at Krakow. This city inspires all. Our visit includes the Jewish Quarter and the Palace of the Polish Kings. There's also the option to visit the salt mines dating back to the 13th century.Bx2, Lx1, Dx1


5-6 September
Krakow to Prague, Czech Republic
Firstly a sobering visit to the former Nazi concentration camps of Birkenau and Auschwitz. Then it's on to one of our favourite cities - Prague. Our walking tour amongst the cobblestone streets is enthralling. The next day is ours to explore Prague. Our hostel here is one of the newest in Europe.Bx2, Dx1


7-8 September
Prague to Berlin, Germany
The city of Dresden's history dates back 800 years and hence makes a fascinating break on our journey to Berlin. Once divided, this city is now regarded as one of the most happening places in Europe. The nightlife? Awesome! Bx2, Lx1, Dx1


9-10 September

Berlin to Amsterdam, Netherlands
From one happening city to another as we head to Amsterdam. Tonight a visit to the crazy Red Light District. Our bicycle tour is a great introduction to Amsterdam followed by our walking tour. Tonight a farewell dinner and optional canal cruise. Bx2, Lx1, Dx1


11 September
Amsterdam to London, England - End of Topdeck Tour
The Belgium city of Brugge is a great place to sample some of the 300 different varieties of beer and of course who can resist the chocolate? We arrive back in London this evening. Bx1


12-15 September
Stay in London with Lucy at Andrew & Nat’s Place


16 – 23 September
University of Leicester London Orientation


23 – 26 September
International Students’ Welcome Program


27 – 28 September
Catered Accommodation Commences


29 – 30 September
Registration


1 October – 12 December
Classes at University of Leicester.
Living at Beaumont Hall, Leicester.


14 December
Caitlin arrives at 1:30pm.
Check into the Royal National – Contiki Hotel.


15 December – 2 January
Contiki Tour “European Inspiration”




15 December

London to Amsterdam
Meet your Contiki Crew and see the White Cliffs of Dover before travelling through Belgium and into the Netherlands to Amsterdam. (D)

16 December

Amsterdam
Visit the cheese village of Edam on a bicycle tour of the Dutch countryside. Spend your free time wandering along the canals, shopping or visiting famous museums such as the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank's House. (B)

17 December

Amsterdam to Berlin
This morning we head east and continue to Berlin, the cultural capital of Germany. You'll have your first glimpse of the Berlin Wall and time to sample the great nightlife of this vibrant city. (B,D)

18 December

Berlin
A full day of sight-seeing including the remains of the Berlin Wall, the Russian War Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate. An opportunity to visit the "Checkpoint Charlie" museum. Tonight, why not head for town, mix with the locals and try some traditional fare? (B)

19 December

Berlin to Prague
Drive south through Germany and stop for lunch in Dresden. We head into the Czech Republic for two nights in Prague, the golden city built on Seven Hills across the River Vltava. (B,D)

20 December

Prague
This morning's sightseeing tour includes Hradcany Castle, the Cathedral of St. Vitus and Wenceslas Square. Free time to explore - maybe visit the Jewish Quarter or the old town square. (B)

21 December

Prague to Munich
We skip back to Germany and Bavaria's lively capital Munich - home to the Oktoberfest. Enjoy some of the sights and sounds of the city and perhaps experience the atmosphere of a local beerhall. (B)

22 December

Munich
A relaxing day where you can explore the shops and museums or join us on a bike ride around the famous sights. (B,D)

23 December

Munich to Venice
Today we travel south through Austria and the astonishing beauty of the Brenner Pass to cross the border into Italy. Tonight we stay on the mainland of Venice. (B,D)

24 December

Venice
A short boat ride takes us into the historical centre of Venice to see St Mark's Square, the Bridge of Sighs and the Doges' Palace. Ample time to wander the bustling streets, see the skill required to create local crafts such as Venetian glass and fine lace and visit one of the many amazing museums. Why not treat yourself to a gondola ride and evening meal with your fellow travellers as a perfect end to your Venetian experience? (B)

25 December

Venice to Rome
Past medieval hillside villages and through the Apennine Mountains, we travel south to the fabled Seven Hills of Rome. Do as the Romans do and stroll past the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Later be delighted by your first glimpse of the Colosseum on our sightseeing tour. (B)

26 December

Rome
Ancient and modern Rome await your discovery. Why not take a guided tour of the Imperial Forum and walk in the footsteps of Gladiators? In your free time explore the Vatican City and Sistine Chapel, snap up Italian fashions or just watch the world go by with a gelato (or two). (B,D)

27 December

Rome to Florence
Today we travel north and visit Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower. This evening your first chance to walk the streets of Renaissance Florence. (B,D)

28 December

Florence
The day includes a walking tour of the Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo and Santa Croce, and a chance to shop for leather, gold and silver. In your free time maybe visit one of the city's many museums or galleries and this evening enjoy the colourful Florentine nightlife. (B)

29 December

Florence to Swiss Alps
A spectacular drive today as we pass Lake Como before crossing the Swiss border. A short stop in the lakeside town of Lucerne, well known for its abundance of Swiss watches, Swiss Army knives and chocolate stores before arriving into Engelberg, nestled in the Swiss Alps. (B,D)

30 December

Swiss Alps
A chance for a different perspective of the Alps today as a revolving cable car journey offers breath-taking panoramic views before reaching the summit of Mt. Titlis. Cross a glacier, play in the snow or simply marvel at the scenery. You have free time in Engelberg this afternoon, and tonight enjoy the nightlife in this popular resort town. (B)

31 December

Swiss Alps to Paris
Through Burgundy, past Dijon's vineyards, to Paris for your first glimpse of this beautiful city. (B,D)

1 January

Paris
Visit a French perfume house and then take the opportunity to visit some of the most celebrated icons of Europe. The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Nôtre Dame, Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées all await your arrival! Tonight, why not complete your Parisian experience with a French meal and a famous cabaret? (B)

2 January

Paris to London
Today we drive past World War I battlefields on the way to our cross-channel ferry back to England. Time to swap addresses and say goodbye as we arrive early evening in London. (B)

3 – 5 January

Not too sure yet…

6 January

Finnair Flight to Helsinki
Departing Heathrow Airport at 10:20am (local time) from terminal 3
Arriving Helsinki airport at 3:15 (Local time)
Total flight time 2 hrs 55 mins

Finnair Flight to Tokyo

Departing Helsinki Airport at 5:20 (local time) from terminal 2

7 January

Arriving Narita Airport (Tokyo) at 10am (local time)

Total flight time 9 hrs 40 mins

10 January

Qantas Flight to Sydney

Departing Narita Airport at 8:00pm (local time) from terminal 2

11 January

Arrive Sydney Airport at 7:55am (local time)
Total flight time 9hrs 55mins

Qantas Flight to Melbourne
Departing Sydney Airport at 9:30am (local time) from terminal 3
Arriving Melbourne Airport at 11:00am (local time) at terminal 1.Total flight time 1hr 30min

THE END!