Where we are going in Europe 2015

This weekend marks 4 months till we leave for Europe for our travels in 2015

Here is a run down of our itinerary .

• Day 1 Melbourne to Singapore 
• Day 2 Singapore to Helsinki Finland to Warsaw Poland to Krakow Poland
• Day 3 Krakow Poland to Istebna Poland
• Day 4-9 Istebna Poland (staying with friends)

  

  Istebna Poland

• Day 10 Istebna Poland to Vienna Austria
• Day 11-13 Vienna Austria
• Day 14 day trip from Vienna Austria to Bratislava Slovakia
• Day 15 Vienna Austria to Rome Italy
• Day 16-20 Rome Italy
• Day 21 Rome Italy to Manchester England (via Düsseldorf)
• Day 22-28 St Helens England and Towyn Wales (staying with friends)
• Day 29 Wales to London England
• Day 30-32 London England
• Day 33 London England to Paris France

  

  Vienna Austria

• Day 34-36 Paris France
• Day 37 Paris France to Freiburg Germany (via Strasbourg France)
• Day 38-44 Freiburg Germany ( staying with friends)
• Day 45 Freiburg to Basel Switzerland
• Day 46 Basel Switzerland to Porto Portugal
• Day 47-48 Porto Portugal
• Day 49 Porto Portugal to Lisbon Portugal
• Day 50-53 Lisbon Portugal
• Day 54 Lisbon Portugal to Barcelona Spain
• Day 55-58 Barcelona Spain
• Day 59 Barcelona Spain to Helsinki Finland
• Day 60 Helsinki Finland to Singapore
• Day 61 Singapore to Melbourne

In some upcoming posts i will provide some information on sites and places we will be seeing

Freiburg Germany

Kids and Oktoberfest

Most people assume that Oktoberfest is just for adults.

Don't get me wrong the beer tents are awesome. I certainly suggest trying some beer while you are there.

Our daughter willow celebrated her 8th birthday at Oktoberfest 2013.

Oktoberfest is the world's largest funfair held every in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. To the local Bavarians, it is  simply called the "Wiesn", after the  name of the fairgrounds (Theresienwiese) where it is held. The history of the festival dates back to the early 1800's when it was first held to celebrate a royal Bavarian wedding.

Oktoberfest is also one of the biggest carnivals in the world. You will find everything from giant Ferris wheels , haunted houses, carousels, giant slides, fun houses to extreme roller coasters. Food is another highlight. You will find gaint sausages, fruit skewers dipped in chocolate, gaint bread pretzels and your normal carnival fair like fairy floss.We had lunch at the Paulaner beer tent on the outside seats Pork knuckle, chicken, potato salad and giant pretzles. It was also a chance for me sneak in a lite stein of beer as one does at Oktoberfest Spetzi is a soft drink that is a mix of cola and orange lemonade the kids loved it. Its made by the Paulaner brewery of Munich and only available in Germany mostly. Brand new carnival rides are debuted at oktobetfest every year. Its very family friendly and kids are most welcome. Kids are even welcome in the beer tents.

Our children Willow and Marley had an absolute ball at Oktoberfest the carnival takes up 75% of the whole area that Oktoberfest is held at. Personally daylight hours are the time to take the kids. In the night hours you may encounter many people who have been drinking all day since the beer tents open before lunch, and the atmosphere may not be as family friendly. There is a large police presence at festival to keep all in check and we never witnessed anything that would have detered us from taking the children.

Like all shows, carnivals and fairs things don't come cheap as a family we spent around €200 on rides and food. There is no admission fee so even if your budget does not stretch far its still a must if your in Munich. It filled in five hours of our day. My daughter Willow still tells everyone with the biggest smile on her face how she spent her 8th birthday at Oktoberfest and it was "the best day ever". Willow had previously been to Oktoberfest as a ten month old in 2006  and happily tells everyone she has been to Oktoberfest twice, something alot of people will never do.

The Birthday girl.

Budapest

Willow and i Budapest Hungary 2006

The Post Cafe Parisian Life

On the corner of Boulevard Rochechouart and Rue de Steinkerque lies the Post Cafe in the Montmartre district of Paris. Walk out of the Anvers merto station and it's right there . Millions of people walk past The Post annually heading up Rue de Steinkerque to the famous white church of Sacre Cour. 

The Post is nothing flash to look at, just another cafe in a busy tourist district of Paris selling coffee, beer and food.The walls are filled with art deco posters of Paris. People flood out of the metro station. Nearby tourists stand around looking at their maps, Parisians rushing to work.

The Post became my local watering hole when we spent a week in Paris. Even though it is in a tourist centre the front bar is typically packed with Paris locals.  After our first full day in Paris Bec and the girls where tired and wanted to go to sleep. I ventured out looking for somewhere to grab a beer, people watch and take in the feel of Paris. 

I strolled up Boulevard de Rochechourt getting a feel for the neighbourhood or should I say re familiarising myself with Montmartre, as we had stayed here in 2006. Montmartre is busy area very much alive with life and happening with people from early in the morning too late at night.  I was  looking for somewhere to have a drink. I settled on The Post because there were people everywhere walking past which makes it a good place to watch the people and they had Heineken on tap! (A win for me). Rue de Steinkerque which runs up beside the Post Cafe  is pedestrian only and is full of tacky souvenir shops and shop fronts selling bagets and croissants . I took my seat at the front bar and ordered myself a pint of Amsterdam's finest lager 'Heineken".

Things are done a bit different in this part of the world when paying at times. You order your drink and put your euro's on the bar. They give you a little saucer to put your money in. You just let your money sit there which I found a very strange way of doing things. I was a tad concerned someone would grab it and take off with my money. So when you order the next beer they will either take the money straight away and if they are busy they will come back and just take the money out of the saucer later. I guess its an honour system each way as you could just get up and leave yourself. After a while i found this system quiet refreshing compared to Australia where we take the money because we don't trust people to pay. It is a throw back to a more older way of life where people trust each other to do the right thing. I would leave my money and cigarettes on the bar wander outside for smoke come back in without worrying if someone would steal it. I don't think you could do that in the city in Australia.

I frequented the Post for 5 nights for beers and football, each night getting to know the staff and some regular locals who frequented the Post. Bec, the kids and I even had dinner their a few nights. The wait staff where friendly, especially to the kids. Marley wanted plain rice only and by only we mean only....not even some garnish! The waiter delivered it to her saying 'this is the best rice in Paris and it is just for you!'. Marley did confirm to the waiter after she had finished that it was definitely the best rice! The kalua/tia maria cocktail was a stand out for sure.
 By the end of my time there I was on good footing with the staff who would greet me with 'Hello The Australian is back' as I walked in. I struck up many a conversation with them regarding Australia, football (soccer), beer and travelling, the manager especially who was shouting me a couple of free beers an evening. Another regular at the post an African French man would great me with "here again Australia are we" good to see you and would shake my hand . we had many great chats a bout life in Paris and his story. It was a great place to watch Parisian life go by weather it be locals or tourists

Dont let people tell you the French are rude or unfriendly sure some may be but some of us Aussies are too take it on your own Merritt and decide. I for one cant wait to get back to Paris in June 2015. We are staying just up the road from 'The Post" and i cant wait to go back. 'The Post' will once again be my local for a few days.

Mark
Post Cafe Website

to travel or not to travel - accommodation

We are independent travellers, Bec the kids and I.

 By this i mean i spend hours planning our trips on the computer, researching checking prices waiting patiently for the right price. i start my planning and price checking at least 8 months in advance with outlook of booking it 6 months out from the trip. In this day and age travel agents are a thing of the past, much like spacious airline seats lol.

One of the most import aspects of your planning is to work out your budget or what you can afford to spent on a holiday and how you want to allocate those funds.

I We tend to want to have more money to spend on activities and day to day tourist activities than i do on accommodation.You don't need a pool or a bar in your hotel. As a family we need the accommodation to be safe and convenient. By convenient i mean near the middle of the city near public transport restaurants, supermarkets and shops shops but by no means luxurious.

 Public transport is a big one for me and one of the first things i look at in relation to the accommodation. By staying in close proximity to public transport ideally a metro station makes travelling with the city easier and more convenient when transferring from the airport. Most Cities have an rail connection from the airport ( Melbourne is the odd city out).

I believe that if your spending too much time in your hotel room your not making the most of your time travelling.

On our previous trips we have tended to stay mainly in hotels but on our upcoming trip we have mainly booked apartments which when you look into it are mostly cheaper than hotels.

The big plus of the apartment especially if you have children is that there is cooking facilities and a fridge where you can cook and buy food to store which can be a big saver for you on your costs of eating which are a huge cost when holidaying

 A huge challenge is finding accommodation that will let 4 of us stay in the same room. Booking two rooms is just not economical or an option , this makes the apartment a better option. Prices vary widely depending on countries in Europe. I try to average around $100 a night. In cities such as London and Paris this is not possible by any means for 4 people. In Paris you would be looking $180 minimum and that would be a 1 to 2 star establishment.

 Websites that i have booked through often have ratings from previous people who have stayed in the apartment/hotel. These are well worth reading but take a lot of it with a grain of salt because some people whine for the sake of it about things that are not a huge problem.

In the next post i will talk about some of the sites i use to book accommodation

Mark

• photo's are Riga Apartments in Riga in Latvia 

Beer O'Clock in Munich

Bec and Willow Hofbrau Haus Munich Germany 2006

To travel or not to travel - airfares part 1

Much like my approach to accommodation my approach to flying is the same, don't pay over the top just because you are familiar with the name Qantas, Emirates or Singapore.


I have friends who only fly certain airlines. That is their decision but in the end the money is better spent on the ground experiencing something new in a new country.

We have flown to Europe on 4 different Airlines Garuda Indonesia, Emirates, KLM and Finnair and I can tell you they all deliver the same product.  A seat to sleep in and food and drink to consume on the way.

If you do decide to go to a Travel Agent to book your international flight, don't think that they are giving you the best price available. They are only giving you the prices for the major airlines that show up on her system.

I have a travel agent in Western Australia who works for Flight Centre that I bounce prices off at times to check out if they are competitive. When I researched our upcoming trip I took the price that I had found to her. As Flight Centre have to beat an advertised price I got it cheaper again.

What days you fly can also be a big factor in pricing, so be flexible if you can and give yourself a weeks worth of days where you could fly out and fly home. If you are researching prices yourself put in a range of days for departure over a week and check the difference.

Also where you are flying into and out of (if you are visiting multiple destinations) can also save you money. For the trip we are going on in May we are flying back to Australia out of Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona was not my first choice as our departure city, London was. When I priced these tickets out of Barcelona they where about $500 cheaper than flying out of London. Spain's airport tax and departure taxes are much lower than England's hence a way cheaper price. Always have multiple plans and lots of options of where you can fly home from as it can really save you dollars. We had intended to go Barcelona anyway but originally planned for the middle of our upcoming trip not at the end.

Always keep searching! Flight prices change daily and be ready jump and buy when the price is right. DON'T WAIT TOO LONG! He who snoozes looses. When we went to Europe in 2013 we payed around $6600 for tickets when they came up. This time for $5900 I bought straight away and when I checked that flight again a few days later that price was gone. SO GET IN QUICK!!

mark