Mum Trip Tips & Ideas
Here you go Mum & Nev, I hope these quick notes will help with your European Vacation. I’ll update a few suggestions for your England, Wales & Scotland trip soon.
*If you have a few suggestions for the below cities please post them by clicking on the COMMENTS button at the bottom of this article* cheers.
London (England) • St Paul’s Cathedral: – tube: St Paul’s • Buckingham Palace: tour (Aug-Oct) & changing of the guard (Apr-July) – tube: Green Park • Tate Modern: - tube: St Paul’s then cross Millennium Bridge • Westminster Abbey: allow min 2hours – tube: • Big Ben: - tube: Westminster • Piccadilly Circus: where the big bright flashy signs are, this is the theatre district (Soho) buy ticket on day of performance for discount (great evening out), stop into the Walkabout Bar (136 Shaftsbury Avenue) for a quick Aussie beer or two - tube: Piccadilly Circus
If you have time: • Oxford: an hour by bus west of London, tour on the local double-decker bus is very informative, walk around this very historic university town • Cambridge: 87km north of London, Kings College + Cathedral, it’s no Venice but he Punting organized by students is fun.
Amsterdam (The Netherlands) • Heinekin museum: this is a must, need I say more. • Van Gogh Museum: another must see if you like his works. • Ann Frank House: most famous canal house, quite interesting if you know a little about her history (WWII), go early to avoid queues • Red light district: if you think Kings Cross is interesting then this will blow your mind, take night stroll along OZ Voorburgwal & OZ Achterburgwal canals. I wouldn’t advise taking pictures.
Lake Lucerne (Switzerland) Only traveled through here to get to Interlaken, absolutely gorgeous country side be sure to have plenty of film and note the fantastic architecture of the house • Jungfraujoch: Highest point in Europe, catch the train to Interlaken Ost and the journey is 2.5hrs each way ( ‘good morning ticket’ is the cheapest if you take the 6:30am train) ask you guide for more detailed season information
Salzburg (Austria) Easily one of my favourites cities I’ve experienced, people are friendly, landscapes are stunning, markets are small but interesting (try the pretzels & press the belly of the yodeling bears for a laugh). • Festung Hohensalzburg: it’s the big castle 15min walk up the hill or you can take the train but it’s a rip off I advise you to spend the money on the audio guided tour which will give you access to more parts of the castle • Sound of Music: setting of this famous film, tours of all the spots are available • Geburtshous museum: this is Mozarts birthplace (address: Geburtshous) interesting but I it’s not my sort of thing If you have time: • Schloss Hellbrunn: incredible trick water fountains & water powered figures, catch bus no 55 from Salzburg Hauptbauhnhof
Vienna (Austria) Architecture here is jaw-dropping, there are several Palaces you can see Hofburg Palace, Belvedere Palaces (boring), highly recommend Schönbrunn Palace (it’s on your tour) • Concerts: they’ll be people dressed like Mozart touting overpriced concert tickets all over the city, there are various concerts you can go and see from Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven etc • • Crossfields Australian Pub: dinner idea - stop in for a bit of kangaroo and a VB (address: Maysedergasse 5) • Heurgen: Keep you eye out for green wreaths hanging over the doors, these are wine taverns that sell new wine produced on the premises- go in for tasting.
Venice (Italia) Luckily you’ll have a tour guide on the first day because this place can be a little confusing to the inexperienced traveler, my advice is to follow the crowd & the little signs on the lane corners • Gondola rides: this is a must but note it’s more expensive after 8pm, you really shouldn’t but FYI it’s also cheaper if you share the ride, some people you can haggle the price but they’re all nearly the same. • Islands: Murano – home of world famous Venetian glass, don’t bother with the others • Piazza & Basilica di San Marco: Piazza San Marco is a huge square dominated by thousands of pigeons (guarantee a dropping on you). If you are in Venice when it’s crowded, it’s hard to predict which will be more annoying: the pigeons or the throngs of tourists in the square. On one side of the square you will find the Basilica San Marco, built in 832 and replaced in 978 and again in 1094. There is an elaborate mosaic on the exterior building (left side) called the Translation of the Body of St. Mark to the Basilica. (The church was built to house St. Mark’s body.) As you enter (or exit) the Piazza, notice the tall columns featuring a lion of St. Mark and a beast of St. Thomas. They used to execute people here, and it’s bad luck to walk in between the columns.
Barcelona (Spain) Fantastic city with many things to do and see, food here is particularly good (try everything), go for a stroll around the waterfront all the way to the old Olympic site, take the tour bus around the city which drops you off at the main attractions • La Ramblas: This street is full of markets but BE VERY CAREFUL as there are plenty of pick pockets & bag snatchers here • La Pedrera Apartment block: designed by Gaudi this is a must see (address: No 92 Passeig de Gracia) • Parc Guell: more Gaudi artistic landscapes • La Sagrada Familia: stunning church designed by Gaudi again , note this is not finished but still worth a look If you have time: • Barcelona Zoo: only albino Gorilla in the world and other animals you may never see downunder.
Paris (France) I’m not a huge fan of the French but I’ll let you form your own opinion • Louvre Museum: allow min 6 hours (it will fly by) • Eiffel Tower: do this at sunset • Notre Dame: stunning Cathedral, note the gargoyles.
Have a great time, wish I was going with you.
It’s taken three years for me to convert my travel photo negatives onto a CD but I’m nearly finished. I’ve loaded some of them into my Flickr account, click on the following link to view my 
Pete roughing it in the field, the Aussie way…. with a Fosters.
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