befok!

This morning we are on the way to Hamburg. I plan to have a very big beer =
to celebrate!

We arrived in St. Goar late yesterday afternoon. They are famous for their =
beer steins and Steiff teddy bears (which are insanely expensive). They are =
on the bank of the beautiful Rhine river which we drove along.

At the end of dinner we were surprised with birthday cake. It was a =
combined effort for me and the other birthday boys and girls.

Some of the group went off for wine tasting while we caught a quick snooze. =
We met in the bar area again at 9pm for a fancy dress party. Originally it =
would have been held on NYE, but got postponed for obvious reasons. We went =
as vampires (the other three found the costumes while I was Schnapping). =
There were some cool costumes: ninja turtles, pirates, catwoman, a ninja, =
charlies’ angels. There was even a f-in’ drunk guy running around in a =
family guy boxer short (oh my eyes). We ended the evening with a few games =
of big two and a bottle of Baleys with Lindsy.

This morning it was back on the bus at the crack of dawn for a long drive =
to Berlin. It was an amazing sunrise which reminded me of Cape Town.

When we arrived in Lucerne on Sunday our tour manager, Kirsten, annouced =
some terrible news. The wind was too strong on Mt. Pilatus and the cable =
cars had been stopped so we would no longer be spending New Years Eve on =
the mountain

We went to see the Lion monument. It’s a huge skeeping Lion carved into a =
cliff overlooking a large pond.

We then walked over the Chapel brigde and went to look at some swiss =
watches and knives.

We then walked around and looked at some other shops and bought some more =
chocolate

Then it was back on the bus and off to the hotel 10min up the road at the =
base of Mt. Pilatus. We have had some crappy hotels, but I think this one =
was the worst so far. The whole room smelt musky. The bed was like a cot. =
The matress sunk in so you could bash your ankles on the wooden sides. The =
bathroom turned into a water feature after you showered. It was just such a =
let down. I then also discovered that the liqure I had bought was not the =
flavour I had ordered. Dinner, unsurprisingly, was nothing spectacular and =
I was feeling rather glum by the time we finished dinner.=20

Originally we would have celebrated NYE in the hotel on the mountain, but =
now alternative arrangements had to be made. They managed to arrange free =
entry into a club in Lucerne, but none of us felt like spending the evening =
in a smokey club.

After dinner the whole group met on the roof of the hotel for a surprise =
from Kirsten and Jonnie (the bus driver). They had arranged for some =
sparkling wine and gold schnaps. You mix half a shot of gold schnaps with =
the sparkling wine to turn it into a tasty drink. They also gave us glow =
sticks, which we used to take some cool pictures.

Kirsten donated the leftovers to us, so we had some sparkling wine ontop of =
the two beers and liqure. Lindsy decided at dinner time that she would join =
us for an evening of cards and drinks in our hotel room. After a few rounds =
of Uno and some drinks I was starting to feel better. We had some good =
laughs and lots of chocolate. So in the end it was a cool welcome to the =
new year.

It was raining on new years morning (Monday). We had the option of going to =
Mt. Titlis to see snow which was an hour by train, but the train trip and =
cable car to go up to the ski resort would have cost us about R750 each, so =
we opted for more card games and chocolate in the hotel with Lindsy. By =
late afternoon the rain had cleared so we took a walk up the base of Mt. =
Pilatus. It gave us a really nice view of the valley and surrounding =
mountains. As we walked down the sun was setting and all the church bells =
were ringing which set a really perfect scene. I got some nice pictures of =
the sky and mountains.

This morning we are on the way to the Rhine Valley and have just crossed =
back into Germany.

First stop after leaving Munich on Sunday was Vaduz. Lichtenstein is one of =
the smallest countries in the world. They fall under the protection of =
Switzerland.
=20
We tried to get our passports stamped (you can get it done for 2=E2=82=AC), =
but we could not find a place that was open

10min after getting on the bus we were in Switzerland where we stopped off =
in Lucerne. So we were in three countries in one day, pretty cool

Border crossings in Europe are a non-event. If the tour manager didn’t =
announce it you would never know you had crossed over. I was expecting huge =
road blocks and fences, but all I have seen are a few policemen stopping =
random people.

After check-in and dinner it was into town for a walkabout and beer. The =
others did not feel like going out so I hooked up with some crazy Aussies: =
Virginia (Regie), Robin, Anna and Sandy. There was also Lindsy from =
Canada.

Lindsy and I did some window shopping while the others headed towards the =
beer. Almost all the cities we have visited have pedestrian sections lined =
with shops that stay open till 7 sometimes 8pm. We went into Saturn. They =
have 3 floors of electronic devices! They have isles where you can play =
with all the latest phones, PDA’s, GPS’s and MP3 players. It’s a Geek =
paradise

We ran into some idiots who thought it was funny to throw a huge cracker =
under my feet. It pissed me off, but I left it at that.

We then headed towards the H=C3=B6fbrau Haus were we hooked up with the =
Aussies. They were sharing a table with a young German couple and a old =
lady they dubbed Nanna. It turns out she is a regular and visits every =
second night. She even has a special VIP card. We ordered the 1l mug. It =
went down like a homesick mole! The German couple had a bottle of a vodka =
based drink which got passed my way, tasty. After lots of prosting we =
climed into the second round. We sat next to the oompa band. Once in a =
while they would hit a croud pleaser and everyone would break out in =
song.

There were some Asian tourists who wandered in, cameras clicking away, so I =
beconed the one over to hand me the camera to take a picture of her. She =
was quite excited about it so I passed her my beer which really delighted =
her. She was laughing after checking the picture

There were some men with funny hats walking around. The girls flagged them =
stole their hats and took pictures of themselves wearing the loot.

What a great night of fun.

Best wishes for the new year!

We just passed Monsee the town where the bulk of the sound of music was =
filmed. Definatly not a highlight on my itenary, but it seemed to be a big =
deal for some. I am now being subjected to the soundtrack aaargh.

Also we just ate Motzarts balls (a chocolate marzipan thingy). Tasty but =
sweet.

Next stop Munich.

The music has stopped.

They showed us a documentary about the camp and then we could walk through =
it. The barracks had verry little furniture other than the bunk beds. We =
walked through the gas chamber and the crematorium. It was all rather =
eerie, especially with the morning mist still hanging over =
everything.

I’ve seen quite a bit of footage from the concentration camps before, but =
being able to walk through the actual camp puts things into a bit more =
perspective. The fact that it is now winter means the entire camp and =
surrounds are covered in snow. Most people didn’t have much more than a =
thin cotton shirt and pants to wear all year round. Winter must have been =
terrible.

Mauthausen is also notorious for its quarry were people had to carry out =
the chunks of rock. Often someone would slip and humans and rocks would =
tumble down the stairs. They also executed a number of people by pushing =
them into the quarry.

This also happend to be our first opportunity to play in the snow, but no =
one was really in the mood given our location.

After checking into our hotel on Thursday we walked over to the shopping =
centre. It makes Canal Walk look like a 7/11. We only shopped at the Spar =
(which was huge). We bought some odds and ends and of course loads of =
chocolate (yum). Lindt slabs are R15! I also got my hands on some =
Landj=C3=A4gers, which I have been craving for a while.

We had dinner and then went for a swim in the heated pool at the hotel. It =
was really nice. They put quite a bit of effort turning it into a little =
tropical oasis. The roof has a piramid shaped skylight and the the rest is =
covered in little lights to make it look like stars.

On the way to the drop off point on Friday I saw a Segway store. It would =
have been cool to try one out.

We did a quick walking tour through the centre of Vienna. The city is laid =
out very well and has a solid public transport system. I really like that =
in the countries we have visited so far you can buy a single ticket which =
will allow you to use any of the public transport facilities for a day. =

The walking tour finished at St. Stephens Cathedral so we went in and took =
a look around. The Habsburgs (who were the early rulers of Austria) have =
their hearts buried here. Their bodies are buried in the =
Kaisersgruft.

We then walked to the Belvedere Museum and saw Klimts’ “The Kiss”. On the =
way there we saw the monument the Austrians built for the Russians so they =
would leave them alone after running their country for 10 years after the =
second world war.

Next stop was the Leopold Museum to see some more of the Klimt collection. =
There was also a large collection from Egon Schiele. I like his work.

We then climed back on the bus to visit Schonbrun Palace, which was the =
summer house of the Habsburgs. It is huge, back in the day it would =
accomodate 1500 live in residents!

We the drove to the Schnaps Museum for a talk and some tasting. Turns out =
things like Archers isn’t real Schnaps. It must be 100% distilled, without =
flavourent (the flavour must come from the fruit). They also make a mean =
Absinth and some really nice cream liquers. I bought a cream liquer for new =
years eve. The guide who is the son of the owner was an excellent host and =
knew all about Witblits and Mampoer (which they would call Schnaps).

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner and more swimming in the pool. =

Today we are on the way to Munich and will be stopping at a world war 2 =
concentration camp enroute called Mauthausen.

I almost forgot to mention that when urinals at our first stop in Austria =
flush, they play the sounds of chirping birds. How bizarre is that?.