We drove to Salzburg, Austria's fourth largest city and capital of the Federal State of Salzburg. The Old Town, with its world-famous Baroque architecture, is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps. It's also the birthplace of my favorite composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for parts of the classic film, The Sound of Music . We walked along the Salzach River to see the beautiful Schloss Mirabell (Mirabell Castle), built by an Archbishop for his

We signed up for an after-dinner Tyrolean show, so right after our meal, our bus took us to Gasthaus Sandwirt am Inn owned by the Gundolf Family. They have been providing folk entertainment to Innsbruck visitors since 1967. Dinner was over by the time we arrived (the inn offers dinner and show packages but we bought tickets only for the show). At the performance hall, the chairs were already arranged to face the stage. We were served apple cider drinks and beer before and dur

We finally reached Innsbruck, but I was still awestruck from our spectacular Alpine drive where Mother Nature just hit me with her beauty. Innsbruck is the capital of the Federal State of Tyrol in western Austria. It is dubbed as the “largest ski resort in the Alps” and has twice hosted the Winter Olympic Games. It's such a charming city. We drove around the city for a bit before stopping at the Wilten Basilica (Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of the Four P

As we approached Tyrol, in the heart of the Austrian Alps, I felt like yodeling. We were headed to Innsbruck and our long drive was right smack in the Alpine region. When I was growing up in the Philippines, there was this instant milk product called “Alpine Milk” that was introduced in the market to compete with the more popular “Birch Tree Dutch Milk.” I have memories of my mom forcing me to drink "Birch Tree" milk every, single night before bedtime and I used to dread the

After a hearty German breakfast, we skirted the Northern Black Forest and headed for the rolling Bavarian Alps. We stopped at the small town of Hohenschwangau near the foot of the renowned Hohenschwangau Castle and King Ludwig’s fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle. My husband was truly excited. He has had a fascination for Bavarian castles since childhood. In fact, his most treasured puzzle posters, meticulously assembled, glued together, and professionally framed, were those of

We reached Heidelberg in the mid-afternoon. It is a charming city located in the region where the Odenwald mountain range opens up towards the plains of the Rhine Valley. The cityscape is made up of many attractive Baroque-style red-roofed structures which line the banks around the winding Neckar River. Much of central Heidelberg is dominated by its imposing castle ruins known locally as the Schloss , nestled 300 feet above the city. It is a combination of several buildings s

From Cologne, we drove through the former West German capital of Bonn to the scenic Rhine Gorge, the section of the Rhine River between Koblenz and Bingen. It is also known as “The Romantic Rhine” because this area is characterized by chains of quaint villages and small towns, steep valley sides that have been terraced for vineyards (the Rhine is known for its selection of quality wines, most notable the Riesling and Pinot Noir varieties), stark cliffs, ancient churches, old

We crossed the German border to Cologne, the largest city in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on both sides of the Rhine River and is a major cultural centre of Rhineland. We went there to visit the famous Cologne Cathedral, the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. It is said to be Germany’s most visited landmark. The cathedral is the oldest Gothic church in Northern Europe, has the second tallest spires, and the largest façade of any c

We stayed in Rembrandtplein while in Amsterdam. This neighbourhood was named after the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn, who owned a house nearby in the 15th century. We were told that the Rembrantplein Square is the focal point of nightlight there, courtesy of the many cafes, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs around it. It is the ultimate party place...a far cry from what it used to be in the Middle Ages - a humble dairy market for farmers. At the centre of the square is a

We had a short bus tour to see the highlights of Amsterdam. But the best way to really appreciate the beauty of the city is to take a canal cruise, which we did right after. With more than 100 kilometers of canals, about 90 islands, and a thousand and a half bridges, Amsterdam rivals Venice, but has its own charm. The canals, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city and are lined with historic buildings. We glided under the ma

We arrived in Amsterdam in the afternoon. After checking into our hotel and freshening up, we all assembled at the lobby for a welcome reception at a nearby restaurant. There were new people that joined us – those from South Africa who did not obtain their British visas and were advised to just fly directly to the Netherlands. Our Tour Director told us we were going to be treated to a rijsttafel dinner at Indrapura, a very elegant Indonesian restaurant in the Rembrandtplein

Halfway through our sailing across the English Channel from Dover, we spotted the shores of France. The entire crossing was only going to take one and a half hours. At 31 standard miles or 27 nautical miles, this route is the shortest sailing from England to France. From our vantage point, we could see the white cliffs of England on one side and the golden beaches of France on the other side. Beside us were clippers and other ferries flying either the English or French flags.

We met our official Tour Director and regular tour mates at the hotel lobby that morning. Majority were from Australia, two couples were from New Zealand, a family from the United States, and a solo traveler from Canada. Aboard the bus, our Tour Director told us that it was just our temporary transportation. It would take us from London to Dover, but after we cross the English Channel to France, we would transfer to our regular tour bus - a more luxurious model with a nicer w

Our first full day on London was jam-packed with activities. We started with a half-day city tour on a bus booked through a local tour company. After breakfast, we were picked up at the hotel lobby and off we went to have a panoramic drive around the main districts of London, starting with Parliament Square. We made a quick stop at the Westminster Abbey, but managed to only peek in because a private wedding was supposed to start in a few minutes. We just bought souvenirs at t

I was glad that our nearly-three-week exploration of Western Europe would start in London. Among all European cities, London topped my "to visit" list. As a young child, I remember spending a lot of time in the school library reading every book available on Medieval and Tudor England. So, you can imagine how excited I was to finally go there. I touched down in London a little before noon. Since my husband’s flight from Tel Aviv was not scheduled to arrive till that night, I m