[Europe Trip] On flowers

I truly enjoyed strolling in the parks and beaches while feasting on the wonderful scenery and the pretty flowers. Picture tells a thousand words.

[Europe Trip] On Lodging

Prior to departure, we made reservations to 7 hotels/hostels/B&Bs in London, Amsterdam, Munich, Venice, Rome, Nice and Paris. Luckily we didn't have any problems with the reservations, as in there was no case of overbooking or anything. Probably it was due to the off-peak season too. Reservation was made either via online form or through emails.

The sources of the targetted accomodations were the travel guide books and search engine. Three main things that we normally checked were the price, the location and the review. If the price was within our budget and there's room available, we would then check its location using google earth just to find out if it's not in some remote areas. the closer the place was to the city centre and train station, the better it was. and it would be a plus if good reviews were given.

According to the trip's budget, most rooms that we stayed at were with shared toilet. 2 of them were hostels with bunk beds although they're private rooms for two. We did not have any problem with that as it helped to save quite a significant amount, anyway we stayed there just for a few nights, all of the time tired after the long day.

Hostels were good, as they include breakfast as well in the price. They usually provide lockers as well as internet for rent. I think the reputable hostels that have chains in other countries are reliable. We stayed in Stay OK hostel Amsterdam and Euro Youth Hostel in Munich. We're really satisfied with the condition.

B&B are normally asking for higher rate compared to hostel, but they're still cheaper than hotel. And there's a privacy issue to as it means sharing a house with a stranger.

For hotels, the worst room that we had was in London. It is small with little space for movement and to put our bags and stuff. It fit one queen-size bed, one tv mounted on the wall, a sink, a cupboard and a small table. But for the pristine location (although it seemed that no one knows where the street was) near King's Cross-St.Pancras station and the breakfast for that price, we could not complain.

For even cheaper alternatives, of course there is the option for staying at friends' place or the newly known couch surfing project. I don't really like staying with friends for fear of disturbing them, unless I'm close enough. Couch surfing looks promising, too bad I only found this out after I return.

[Europe Trip] On visiting Munich and Füssen

Left Amsterdam Centraal station at 8.32pm on a night train sleepers carriage. The room was super small and compact, measuring about 1.5 x 2 metres. It fitted 2 bunk beds, a wash basin with mirror, a ladder, a folded table and some space to put our bags. But they had quite a big toilet with shower too.

Early in the morning we were woken up by a central alarm. Soon afterwards, breakfast was distributed in boxes - coffee/tea, butter croissant, baguette with butter and jam. Managed to gulp down our food and packed our stuff just before the train reached Munchen HBF at 7.20am.

We walked to our next hostel, somewhere along the street opposite the train station. Left our backpacks there and immediately went out for a walk. Munich was freezing cold in the morning. Too bad we didn't have termometer with us, I believed it was below 10 degrees celcius.

Walked around HBF area while waiting for a train to Füssen. The public spaces in Munich was filled with big flower pots with various beautiful flowers. Here and there we could find fresh fruit sellers, they normally sold strawberries and asparagus. I loved the strawberries, they're fresh, ripe and tasted great.

Train to Füssen departed on 8.52am. Somehow it didn't occur to us that we could use our Eurail pass for this journey. And we didn't know that the day pass sold separately (Bayern card) was much cheaper than the normal train ticket too. We bought train ticket for Munich-Füssen trip on a machine. When inspected, the conductor gave us a strange look. I was thinking, oh no, we'll get fined! But he said 'no good, no good'.. then he gave us a brochure about the Bayern card which costs half as expensive as the ticket we bought. Wah! And then afterwards we realized that we could have used our Eurail pass with no extra costs! *bang heads against the wall*

Journey to Füssen took 2 hours. Upon arrival we took bus that connects the train station to the village. From there we bought tickets to the Neuschwanstein castle. We gave Hohenschwangau castle a miss too, as what other tourists normally did, as we didn't think we'd have enough time. Furthermore, a castle was normally better to be admired from outside, although the inside could be no less admirable.

From the ticket office we had 3 options to reach the castle: by bus, by horse carriage or on foot. We took the bus up to Marienbrucke (Mary's bridge). The bridge was built for her as a birthday gift from the Bavaria King, as she enjoyed hiking but couldn't cross to the other end without a bridge. From the bridge, the spectacular view of Neuschwanstein castle and its surrounding areas could be captured and admired. It was indeed magnificent! No wonder that the castle is the most photographed building in Germany, inspired and appeared in lots of fairytale movies.

From Marienbrucke it was another 15 min on foot to the castle's entrance. When ticket was bought, a time slot was allocated, at which visitor can enter the castle. In the entrance, digital display announced the serial number which allowed only certain group of tourists to enter at each specific time.

The castle itself was incomplete, so the tour was quite fast as it was conducted only in the completed rooms: the living room, bedroom, throne hall, singers' hall. My favorite part was the grotto, it looked so real with water and small garden inside. Too bad phototaking was not allowed. The singers' hall was still used upto now for performances. Our tour guide said that it carried voices so well they can be heard throughout the castle. One of the tourists took the advice and tried singing Amazing Grace, haha..

All in all I was really impressed, it's an amazing castle with beautiful paintings and detailed carvings, complete with stunning view of the alps, lakes, pine trees, waterfalls and the neighbouring Hohenschwangau castle.

But it has a tragic story. King Ludwig II who built the castle only stayed there for half a year before he was declared insane and found dead together with his psychiatrist. The exact circumstances were still a mystery. Then the castle was taken over by Americans during World War II. The family sold a lot of its valuables, which explained the "empty" look.

Satisfied with our phototakings, we then had lunch at a restaurant in the castle vicinity. Ordered sausages and mashed potato. Took train back to Munich in the afternoon and went out for a walk. Visited Karlsplatz, Frauenkirche (Cathedral of our Blessed Lady), Marienplatz and Viktualienmarkt.

The architecture of the buildings that surrounded Marienplatz gave the place a grand look during the day, but a scary and gloomy look at night. We had dinner at Viktualienmarkt. Everyone there was drinking beer by the litre. I couldn't believe how big their mugs were.. they're HUGE! I couldn't imagine how busy the city would be during Octoberfest.

Three words for Munich: safe, pretty.. and what else? beery? hehe..