Travel guide for Independent Europe tour (Italy, Austria, Holland & Brussels)

Europe Independently By Unnimaya

Looking for an itinerary to do independent Europe tour- here is our suggestion

Travel guide , Itinerary , Tips and Advice for Independent Europe travel

A. Introduction – Do you believe in traveling independently?

This blog is most suitable for travelers who would like to do an independent tour of Europe – to be more precise a tour of Italy, Austria, Amsterdam and Belgium. We are an Indian couple who covered these countries in 2005 summer after a fairly detailed research on the net.

True - you can a cover a lot more through conducted tours and their tight itineraries. Also you may be able to stay in better accommodation for the same expense since the tour companies usually are able to better negotiate bulk rates. We do not have anything against such tours and their efficiency.

But we are travelers who enjoy in researching our destinations, develop itineraries based on our interests and doing tours independently taking time to savour each destination. So if you share our interests in independent tours and not depend on tour companies and their schedules this blog will hopefully be of great help to you. However if you are the type who would rather depend on a scheduled tour this blog might be of some help to you in researching more about your destinations.

B. Cities covered by us

Rome, Naples, Pisa, Florence, Siena,Venice, Vienna, Salzburg, Amsterdam, Hague and Brussels in 24 days.We have given you our detailed day by day itinerary later on.

C. Planning an Itinerary for an independent Europe tour (of Italy, Austria, Holland and Belgium)

There is a lot of professional advise available on the net , but let us tell you how we did it after reading up a lot of it.

For starters you need to have a fairly accurate estimate of how many days you have and a general idea of what you want to see. First step would be to plan your route based on where you want to visit and your areas of interest.

To get a general idea of how to plan your route without backtracking and to cover the most with least traveling it would be a good idea to look at what the professionals’ i.e tour companies such as TCI or Raj or Thomas Cook etc do for the same time. Remember you cannot accomplish the same coverage, but then the idea of doing an independent tour is to savor your destinations slowly and spending more time on things that matters to you . But the itinerary offered by tour companies will be invaluable in planning your route and to a large extent the time required.

For Europe itinerary planning there are lots of good resources available on the net. One site that is particularly useful is www.goeurope.about.com . The site has a very useful interactive map and the link is

http://goeurope.about.com/cs/map1/l/bl_chooser_map.htm . This is an excellent site to start your research.

Once your route and destinations are decided, check out the airfares. When checking out airfares, some of issues to consider are:

Ÿ see whether an open jaw ticket would work out cheaper than a return ticket from the same destination.

Ÿ In most cases if you fly into one destination and fly out from another location the fares would be more. But you must also take into consideration how much it costs to reach back to your original destination from your last location.

Ÿ Europe has lot of low cost carriers and the train travel is also quite fast, punctual and relatively cheap. For Europe airfare comparison one of the best sites we found was www.kayak.com . (see also our Train and Internal flight booking section).

Ÿ The search for the best deal can also be complicated by the fact that not all destinations are covered by all the carriers, but remember most have ticket sharing agreements with other carriers.

Since almost 20 % of your total expenditure would be on air tickets, it is worthwhile to spend some time to research this thoroughly. For this the best options for travelers from Middle East and Indian subcontinent continues to be travel agents. However it would be worthwhile once you have decided the carrier and route, to check out the on line fares of the airline.

Once you have found the best deal and decided your first and last destinations, check out the days which the airline flies to your selected destinations. This would determine the exact number of days available for your tour.

Now do some general reading of your destinations. For itinerary planning best online resources we found were www.fodors.com and www.frommers.com . They have Suggested Itinerary sections for 1 day to 7 days and also Top 10 sights/ things to do for most destinations. List your must see /do sights/ activities and also include secondary sights /activities which you would like to do and approximately plan on days you would like to spend in each location. Always do your planning date wise and record also the time you would require to travel between locations. And for the Lonely planet fans – Lonely planet online information is pretty basic as compared to their guide books, but they do have a Thorn tree forum and Tips from travelers section which might be useful so we are giving the link here www.lonelyplanet.com .

For train travel between locations in Europe the most comprehensive site would easily be the German railway site www.bahn.de(use International Guests tab on the home page for English version). This planning is bound to take some time and you would have to make adjustments as you go along. But be patient - do not start booking until you have decided on how many days you would spend in each location and your itinerary is complete with the time required for local traveling between destinations.

If you are planning to travel in the peak tourist season, your itinerary planning should start at least 3-4 months before and your itinerary should be ready 2months before your travel date.

Out Itinerary (What we did) & Logic of our Itinerary (Reasons behind our plan)

Although one could theoretically fly to any destination to Europe from Middle East or Indian subcontinent, the main non stop destinations with fairly good frequencies are in UK, France, Germany, Holland, Austria and Italy. Since we were not planning to take kids and we wanted them to be with us for UK, France and Germany trip, we removed these from destination list. Italy was a definite on our list we were also keen on Amsterdam/

We then decided how many days we would spend in Italy. With the preliminary reading, we were able to decide on 3nights each in Rome, Florence, Venice and 2 nights in Naples. After adding the 12 nights in Italy to 3nights in Amsterdam we were left with about a week of our holiday to plan. Once we put the Italian destinations on the map the choices available to us without too much deviations and back tracking was Slovenia, Switzerland or Austria. We removed Slovenia from the list since we were unable to locate the consulate /embassy in UAE and because they were not on the Shengen countries which we could visit on a single visa. Since my wife was not too keen on cold weather, Switzerland also was a no- go. So we ended up with Austria allocating 3nights in Vienna and 2nights in either Salzburg or Innsbruck.

Then we went and checked out the airfares and found that flying to Rome was cheaper than flying to Amsterdam. However the open jaw tickets on the carrier which we used- Qatar Airways- was not cheaper and so we decided on flying to and back from Rome. This fixed our arrival and departure dates from Rome.

Mistake we did: Since our last destination was decided as Amsterdam, we then booked the flight ticket from Amsterdam to Rome by Virgin Express after doing a comparison of air fares.

But when we went back to day by day scheduling after booking Rome air tickets, we found that we had extra 2 nights due to the airline schedule. We decided to spend these extra nights in Brussels traveling to and from Amsterdam by train. However we found out later that since Virgin Express had a major hub in Brussels, Brussels- Rome tickets were much cheaper and we could have also saved Brussels- Amsterdam train fare on top of that.

Just to reiterate- do not do any booking till you have done the day by day scheduling of your tour.

D.Accommodation Booking:

One of the best hotel comparison sites we found was www.hotelscomparison.com (voted best by Sunday times). Another good one is www.kayak.com. There are lots of hotel comparison sites on the net but we found these to be the best. Do try our stepwise modus operandi for hotel accommodations given below and let us know the improvements for our future trips.

Plug in the dates and your destination in www.hotelscomparison.com web site. This will throw up a list of hotels and their prices in various consolidators or online website booking agencies. Make a list of hotels available within your budget range and your needs.

Next check up what kayak website throws up

Read up reviews of the short listed hotels. If the short listed hotel is available under www.venere.com go to their site (even if they are costlier) because they have a Reviews section with frank opinions of the users. Other good sites to review the short listed hotels are www.tripadvisor.com, and www.virtualtourist.com. Print out useful information on the hotel or make notes while making your research. For example we had read good reviews about a property, but for one complaint that the rooms facing the street were noisy. More than one reader had suggested to take a room on higher floor facing away from street- we were happy that we specified this during our booking otherwise there would have been a genuine problem as we found that some rooms were facing a bus depot with late departures and sizable crowds. When doing research, discount the reviews that give very good or very bad opinions- these may not reflect the general character of the property. Concentrate on recent reviews- the hotel may have been very good in 2004 or very bad in 2003 but that is of no concern to you now.

Once you have narrowed down your list, google the hotels you have selected. Concentrate on independent reviews, distances from the sights, proximity to public transport, distance from railway station, add ons like free breakfast /internet connections, flexi check out times, cloak rooms for left luggage etc.

Once you decide on the hotel , just double check the hotel website (again by googling the Hotel name) to confirm that they do not have a better deal (mostly the online accommodation agencies will give you a better deal- but then there is no harm in checking)

Go back to the online accommodation site that gives the best deal.

Tips for online bookings- Prefer sites which have secure websites for taking in credit card information (Verified by Visa, Thwarte etc)

Most sites do not require you to pay upfront and require only credit card information for securing the reservation. But mostly you would be charged 1 day rental for no-show or cancellation in last 48or 72hrs. Read the cancellation policy. For obvious reasons, prefer sites with no upfront payments and most favorable cancellation policies.

If you are checking in late or need a room that faces away from the street etc mention this at the booking stage itself.

1-2 weeks before your trip: If you manage to get the hotel website or contact email during your google search in the research phase, check out whether they have your reservation from the agency. If you complete your train bookings and find out that you need a late check in - let the property and the agency know before hand. Also get clear directions to the property from the hotel itself- most hotels help you out with this information. We were especially happy that we did this especially for hotels in destinations where we had a late check in.

The better hotel booking sites : Using the process mentioned above , we found that www.booking.com gave the best deals in most cases and www.venere.com in some cases. More details on the hotels we used under each destination.

E. Train and Internal flights booking:

Should you get rail passes or not? Not a very easy question to answer. Read up the information available in Rick Steves site www.ricksteves.com.

Remember that you have to consider that for Eurostar /ICE/Thalys services you need to get reservations and pay supplementary charges. So the exercise of working out whether you will save or lose with rail passes can be quite complicated. To be frank we did not work this through, but instead took on the face value what most travelers and experts advised in general terms. A process map to determine whether you need to consider Rail passes would be a good travel tool- if anyone comes across such a tool do let us know. Maybe we will develop one when we have dug deeper into the Rail passes. Here is the general advise from our experience and limited research we did on Rail passes (remember this is general advise and if you really want to be sure on whether you can save money with rail passes do detailed research)

How many countries are you covering and how many days are you spending? In general if you are not covering more than 5 countries lying far apart and spending under 3 weeks mostly you would not need a Rail pass. Consider rail passes only if you have lot of long distance traveling (more than 5hrs) between destinations or if you are doing a whistle stop tour covering a lot of destinations in a short duration.

What we did: Since the only destinations we were covering were Italy, Austria, Amsterdam and Brussels and the real long distance traveling involved was from Austria to Amsterdam we did not get the Eurail pass. We did point to point internet booking which is explained in more detail in below.

Italy Train Bookings: The website for Italy train bookings is www.trenitalia.com and the English version link is http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html . Although you can get your reservations from the ticket vending machines , doing online reservations is a better option in summer peak season at least for longer distances and where you want to use Eurostars or ICEs (Intercity Express) or Intercity (IC) trains which need compulsory reservations. You need to do a simple one time registration and fix a user id and password (this can be done also while making the first booking). For National journeys, use the ticket less or Self service option and print out your tickets using PNR at the ticket vending machines in Stations. For International journeys, you would have to queue to pick up your ticket from the station counter using the print out of the on line reservation. You can review the bookings made by visiting Customers Area on the webpage. Do remember to validate your tickets in the ticket stamping machines on the platforms - otherwise you could get fined heavily.

For short distance traveling in Italy, Diretto trains with some stops will give you substantial savings. Rest assured that these trains do the journey in almost the same time.

Other Train Bookings: The best site to visit would easily be the German railway site www.bahn.de. Here also you need to do a one time registration. In this site for International journeys, you can get the tickets delivered to you by post (we tried this successfully and the tickets did get delivered in the promised duration)

ThalysBookings: Thalys (operating super fast trains) has superb round trip fares which go on sale only a week before. These tickets are sold out very fast. Therefore if you are planning to travel a Thalys route, do your booking exactly on the date they go on sale.

Internal flights,

For internal flights use fare comparison sites to research best deals. Europe has a lot of low cost carriers and lot of cheap deals on short distance flights between popular tourist destinations. If you are not too keen on train travel, use the following sites for fare comparison- www.kayak.com, www.skyscanner.net, www.cheapflights.com, www.travelsupermarket.com, www.expedia.com, www.kelkoo.com. There are a lot more comparison sites available on the net - but when using these sites you have to be aware that some results would be manipulated to show the sponsors and paying clients - so to find the cheapest deal do a quick scroll of all the results for the search and also do multiple site checking.

F. Visa and Health Insurance:

Shengen visa allows you to visit more than one European country that are covered under the agreement. For latest information on which countries are part of the Shengen visa and the relevant rules and regulations visit the following links http://www.myvisaadviser.co.uk/about_visas_schengen_visa.htm and http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/international/current_students/immigration/schengen.pdf . In general you should apply in the consulate of the country you are entering and exiting or where you are spending most part of your tour. In our case since this was Italy we applied in the Italian consulate in Abu Dhabi.

Generally, you would have to submit the itinerary with proof of hotel bookings, return ticket bookings with proof, letter from your employer, proof of sufficient funds (bank statements/credit card copies) etc. For exact documentation required for applying for the visa, visit the consulate website or phone the enquiry. For Italian consulate in Abu Dhabi, the details are available under this link (the form can also be downloaded in this site) www.italian-embassy.org.ae . The visa cost is 35 E and takes about a week to process.

Most of the European countries would require some form of Health insurance for processing the visa. Even if there is no compulsion, it is strongly recommended to have health insurance coverage for the duration of your trip- you never know when you need it.

For the travelers from UAE, the more popular options available are from Alico and Norwich Union. We used the Norwich Union because they offered a policy which covers lost luggage .The cost for 30days insurance for Norwich Union Hoilday multi coverinsurance through Gray Mc Kenzie Travel Agents (Abu dhabi -6774444) covering Personal Accident (250,000$ ), Medical and associated expenses (1000,000 $) , Personal baggage and money(5000$), Delayed Baggage(275$) , Passport loss (500$), Cancellation charges(2500$), Holiday curtailment(5000$),Interruption of Travel services (1000$) , Personal liability (1000,000$) and Terrorism extension (100,000$) costs 230dhspp ( 52E)

G. Communication Issues

Language help:

While traveling in Italy, Austria, Holland or Belgium we never came across a situation where we it was essential to use the local language- in most cases you can manage with English .However it always helps to speak the basics of local language and you would definitely get some appreciation from locals if you greet them and thank them in their language. There is a lot of help available in the net on this too- but we found these sites to be useful and sufficient for the trip www.smartphrase.com,

You do not need to carry all the information available- instead you could use cut and paste functions to create your own language pages (maximum 2 sheets with information on both sides of the sheets)

Telephone:

We used our UAE mobile connection to make all our calls after topping up our Wasel pre paid connection with about 150dhs. However we used up all our phone credit and had to make a call in Amsterdam airport using a credit card phone. Our advice-do not do this- it is a real rip off and costed us about 150dhs just for 1 call to India lasting less than 3minutes.

In general, if you are not planning to make too many calls we would advise you to use your home service connection particularly if you are traveling from Middle East.

H. What to pack

Lots of suggestions are available on the net from seasoned travelers. Our only advice is not to carry more than 1 bag per person and the bag should have wheels. We did the 3 weeks tour with 2 cabin luggage size bags and one small hold all which could be attached to the main luggage. One of the sensible advices we have read and which we always apply is to cut out about 50% from your initial packing.

Other bookings and research: These are covered under each destination.

Note: All the prices, timings and information contained in this travelogue is for 2005 summer and is provided to give a general idea. For updates on this information please visit individual websites. We have not received any sponsorship from any of the vendors mentioned in this travelogue - the recommendations wherever they are made reflect our opinion and should be used without any legal implications on us. We have made our best attempt to make this travelogue factually correct, but cannot guarantee that the information contained here is 100% correct or complete.

I. Our detailed Europe Trip Planner- Itinerary, Travel Advice, Tips and Travel guide

1. Rome- How to cover the sights in 3 days:

Important Nos: Medical 112/113; Visa 80821001; Indian Embassy-064884642-45(cons.wing@indianembassy.it); UAE Embasssy -06-36306100(uaeroma@tin.it)

1.1 Getting from Rome Airport to City

We arrived in Rome early morning on July 24^th which happened to be a Sunday. The faster option (not the cheapest) to get to the city from Rome is the train. The direction to the train station is clearly indicated. Leonardo Express is the non stop service from Rome Fumincino airport to Termini Station which operates every 30mnts from 0637 to 2337 at 7minutes past every hour and half hour (Fare 9.5E. The return service also operates 30mnts from 0552 to 2252 at 8 minutes before every hour and half hour. Treinitalia brochure says that the service is even guaranteed in case of a strike – we do not know how frequent the strikes are or whether this service operates during strikes.

Important Tips on Rome Airport transfer: If you arrive outside the normal operating hours of Trenitalia counters in the Airport station or on Sunday or Holiday the only way to get the tickets is using the ticket vending machine. This can be quite tricky since the only language available is Italian. You may be able to operate the machine guessing what the prompt means but one thing you should know is that when the prompt asks you to choose 1^st or 2^nd class you need to choose 1^st class if you are traveling by Leonardo Express to town since this is a full 1^st class train.

A cheaper way of getting into Rome particularly if you are on Metro B route and if you do not need to get to Termini is to take Regional Railway service operating from airport every 15minutes and get down at Rome Ostiense or Rome Tiburtina Stations . The fare is only 5E.

Before you get into the trains, validate the tickets in the yellow vending machines- not all of them operate and you might have to try a couple before you get this done.

1.2 Accommodation in Rome:

If you are not too particular about staying in the city and do not mind using Public transport, Hotel Zone in the quiet residential Monte Mario area (www.zonehotel.com /(+39) 0635404111) is a good choice (45E with breakfast for a double room through www.bookings.net .

In peak summer season, if you arrive before 1300hrs you may have to wait till your room gets vacated, cleaned and ready- this is the case with most hotels until and unless you specify and get a early check in.

If you choose to stay in Hotel Zone, here is how you get to the hotel from airport. Take the Regional train, get down at Ostiense station, take train to Viterbo /Cesano/ Braciciamo direction and get down at Balduini Station (5stops). Exit the station, walk left and on Via Perreira keep walking straight to the hotel.

(Note: Via here means road or street)

The Hotel also offer free shuttle service to the Piazza Cavour city centre every hour. You need to make advance booking, the capacity of the bus is only 8 passengers and the service terminates at 1830hrs.

Bus no 990 from Piazza Cavour serves this route . Or from Balduina station you can take any train in Rome direction going to Ostiense (Metro B)/ Ottaviano (S.Pietro)-Metro A/ Transtevere and get down at Valle Aurelia (Metro A). Wherever you are – get to these stations and you should be able to get to Balduini Station and walk down to the hotel.

1.3 Public Transport –Rome:

The tickets are common to bus and metro system and quite cheap. The tickets- B.I.T valid for one Metro ride or 75mnts on all buses/B.I.G. daily ticket 4E /B.I.T 3day tourist ticket 11E/or C.I.S. weekly ticket 16E (these tickets are valid for unlimited bus and metro rides except to the Airport)- can be purchased from Tabacchis (groceries/cigarette shops) or ticket vending machines Remember to validate the tickets at the stations or inside the buses each time you use a new ticket or the fines can be heavy (51E).

If you are going to use the public transport heavily, use the 1/3/7 day ticket because you can roam freely without validating each time.

1.4 Suggested 3 day Itinerary to cover Must see sights of Rome :

1^st DAY: Since we arrived early morning and could not check in till 1300hrs we left our luggage in Hotel and went to Spanish Steps (Spagna –Metro A or 70 from Piazza Cavour) and walked around covering Trevi Fountain, Piazza De Pietra, Pantheon, Piazza S Luigi Del Francisi and Piazza Navona (our personal favorite). Do not worry about getting lost – just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. Get a free map from one of the tourist information points – they are probably only one you need.

After having a nap in the afternoon we went again to Spanish Steps in the evening. This time we went up the Steps, went left. There are good views from this elevation as you walk towards Zoo (Villa Borghese is also on this way). Spend some time at Pincio –the view point over Piazza Del Popolo and descend to this Piazza and make your way to Piazza Navona via Di Ripetta viewing the impressive ceiling paints of Mauoleo Di Agusto.

2^nd DAY: Start as early as possible and dedicate the full day to Vatican (Ottaviano-Metro A/ Cipro-Metro A closer to Vatican Museum) 990 from Hotel Zone) http://www.stuardtclarkesrome.com/vatmap.htm

The Vatican museum opens at 0845 (admission 12E) but the Q can be more than 2kms long. But do not worry – the Q moves fast although you have to be careful while in Q (my shoulder bag was almost rifled- beware of gypsy dressed ladies with kids). No advance reservations are possible although tour groups have a separate Q.

The Vatican Museum is huge (over 4.5 miles corridors) and you have the options of taking color coded tours and routes which range from 1.5hrs to 5hrs. If you use the audio tour it takes longer. A guided tour will ensure that you do not miss anything important. What we did was to take the longest route and spend time on what we found interesting finishing the tour in about 3.5hrs.

The museum has a self service cafeteria with reasonable prices.

Must do sights of Vatican Museum: Sistine Chapel (Michaelangelo –Creation of Adam& The Last judgment) – you might be better off with a binoculars to see the roof paintings & at the exit of the museum go downstairs by the magnificent Spiral stairway (good photo opportunities)

Piazza San Pietro and St Peters Basilica (http://stpetersbasilica.org )

Must do sights of St Peters Basilica : Inside the St Peters Basilica (0700-1900 hrs /1800hrs in winter) , do take the lift (7E) or 323 steps (4E) and get the impressive sight of the Basilica from the gallery inside the dome where the lifts end (it is really worth the money and the wait in Q) . Go on to the Cupola (height 435ft) for a birds eye view of Rome.

The inside of the Basilica is also impressive and huge as befitting the largest church spread out over 6 acres (a detailed floor plan is available in www.stuardtclarkesrome.com ). You can also visit Papal graves (including John Paul II) in the Grottoes underneath.

If you manage to get advance reservations do the Pre-Constantin Necropolis (City of Dead) and St Peters tomb tour which comes highly recommended.

3^rd DAY: Colosseum (just outside Colosseo Metro B). Entry 10E. It is essential to get the Audio Guide (4E) if you need to understand and enjoy Colosseum. After roaming around Colosseum, go up the Palatine Hill (Colosseum ticket is valid) and enjoy the view of Forum from here. Walk through the Forum, and exit above at Capitoline Museum (if you are heavily into arts the entry fee for museum is 7.8E).

Before hitting Colosseum area it is also worthwhile to purchase Rome Past and Present : With Reconstructions of Ancient Monuments from one of the souvenir shops to understand how these areas looked like in the Imperial Roman Era

Go to Termini area (170 from Capitoline Museum) and roam around inside the shopping area inside the Station and outside Station.

If you have the time, get on a tram and have a drive around to get a feel of the outskirts of the city.

1.5 On line Resources for Rome- Our recommendations:

The best and most detailed one is www.stuardtclarkesrome.com (print and carry the Metro map). There a lot of good links- the only downside is that you may get a little overwhelmed by the details.

Other good Rome resources are www.enjoyrome.com , www.romebuddy.com,

1.6 Shopping and Eating :

We are not very much into shopping but here are some recommendations:

Purchases: Burtolucci Toy shop via Dei Pastini (in the Spanish Steps area close to Piazza De Pietra) for just enjoying wooden toys and knick knacks, Drug Conad Supermarket in Termini

Eating out in Rome is fun – you get excellent pizzas and ice creams everywhere you go. Here are some of the places we tried

Copperi next to Balduini Station if you staying in Hotel Zone, Pizza shop as you walk from Spagna Metro station to Spanish steps, Café Moka in Termini

2.Naples in 2 days:

Important Nos : Medical -112/113Indian Consulate -081 643519

You do not need to book in advance for Naples train journey from Rome. There are numerous options available – the cheaper option being non AC Diretto trains (fare 10.12E) which does the journey in 2.5 hrs although it stops in all important stations en route.

2.1 Public Transport in Naples

1 journey on the bus or train costs 1E. 1 day ticket -3E (better option- but not always available in Tabachhis – so get it from vending machines or shops in station). The metro train tickets are not valid on Circumvensia trains to Pompeii (2.3E valid for 140mnts)

2.2 Accommodation in Naples

We stayed at Hotel Europeo, Via Mezzo canone 109/c, Naples-081-5522212- not recommending this hotel for summer. (55E per night without breakfast through www.bookings.net )

If you have booked in Hotel Europeo here is how you get there- take R2 bus from outside Station, get down at University stop and take the street next to University (full of bookshops) and keep a careful look out on the left side as the hotel is set inside. You need to announce at the gate and they open the gate and building door. They have a very small lift which can be operated by 10cents- I really wanted to see this antique lift and that is why we booked this hotel in the first place.

2.3 Eating out in Naples

We can recommend the Naples Station cafeteria for good food which is reasonably priced especially the breakfast. Also numerous restaurants near Chapel Square.

2.4 Sights of Naples in 2 days- Itinerary for Naples Sightseeing

4^th day (1st day of Naples): Naples does not feel like Europe – the chaos and dirt reminds you of subcontinent. Although one could say that there is no reason to visit Naples and you can do the nearby Pompeii as a day trip from Rome, we would still argue that it is better to stay in Naples and see this energetic and chaotic sea side town of Italy even if you are not making the usual trips out to islands.

We visited Castle Nuovo (5E) with beautiful views of the sea (must see- Dungeons with glass top) and roamed around in Metro (2 Lines graffiti in stations done artistically), took funicular and in general wandered.

In the evening (must do), went to Galleria Umberto (very impressive glass domed building near Castle Nuovo) and the Chapel (Duomo) with its square is beautiful and it is worth splashing on a sit in dinner overlooking these sights.

5^th day (2^nd day of Naples): Start early to Pompeii by Circumvensia trains to Sorrento and get down at Pompeii Scavi (Villa De Mistris(takes approx 30mnts) . Walk to Porta Marina entrance get 10E tickets; invest definitely in an Audio guide (6.5E) and the free map. Pompeii is mind blowing by any standards if you do some reading up (see Online resources) before visit and use your imagination.

Must sees include (the numbers given are audio guide reference numbers)

30- Villa Misteri, 17- Casa Del Fauno, 15- Terme Del Foro, 40- Term Stabione, 36- Casa Dei Vetti, 37- Casa Della Caccia Antica.

Expect to spend at least 4hrs and carry water. The restaurant inside the Pompeii area is expensive relatively but is good enough for a quick bite and beer.

From Pompeii you can do Mt Vesuvius Crater by booking at the Information center in Station (15E-not sure whether this includes crater ticket of 6.5E)- this is the best option and it is better to do the booking before going into Pompeii to ensure you get the tickets for the time of your choice. (The last bus is at 1535)

If you do it by train- get down at Ercolano Station (1.3E) and take a shuttle bus (7.6) or take a shared taxi (10E return) and pay additional for crater ticket (6.5E). The taxi ride takes about 20mnts each way and the summit climb/descent an hour.

The views along the climb to Mt Vesuvius are fantastic and although you do not see any lava and gushing steam at the summit, this trip is worthwhile because you get to see a live volcano.

2.5 Online resources for Naples, Pompei- Our recommendations

www.napoli.com – for Naples information

http://ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/pompeiwalk.htm (or www.ricksteves.com and search for Pompei)- for a detailed pompei walk guide

http://www.kampanien.biz/pompei.htm also makes good reading

And Fodors mini-guide to Pompei are 3 essential reads for Pompeii.

3. Pisa in a Day

6^th Day (Pisa) :

From Naples to Pisa we traveled by IC 530 (Intercity Plus) departing Naples 0736 and arriving Pisa 12.57. We had done Internet booking and printed out the tickets using the Ticket vending machine in Station. The route takes you via Roma Termini and so you could also make this journey by changing at Rome. However if you want to avoid changing at Rome and take a route other than through Florence this particular train is a good choice. (Costs 35.45 per person including mandatory reservations for Second class AC seating in 3-3 configuration in coupe)

In Pisa, it is suggested to leave your luggage in Station Locker room and walk down to Tower (about 30mnts of easy walk). The walk crossing the river itself is quite interesting. There are lots of souvenirs shops outside the tower which is a good time pass for shopping and of course people watching.

Q for Leaning tower can be quite long and it makes sense to book your visit online for an extra 2E. You can choose your time of tour and exchange the online voucher from ticket office inside the Opera Museum. No bags are allowed in the tower and have to be left at Cloak room before the visit. You get to spend about 30mnts and although prices are steep, the views and the fact that you are on top of a World wonder constructed between 1173 and 1360 more than makes up for it. (17E for online booking www.opapisa.it ). The staircase of approx 300steps takes you up the 60m high tower which has 5.5deg inclination towards the south. There are some interesting cathedrals with fantastic facades providing good photo opportunities near the Tower.

Local trains to Florence from Pisa runs every hour (5.10E) and we checked into our Hotel in Florence late on 6^th day.

4. Florence in 2 days:

Important Nos: Emergency -112/ Police 113

4.1 Accommodation in Florence :

We can recommend Hotel Erina, Via Fume No 17, 50123- Firenze 055-288294 (60 E per night for double room with breakfast www.venere.com ) is close to the Rly station. However make sure while reserving and checking in that you get a room away from the street facing Duomo because the late night departures at the bus company in the street can be quite a disturbance. More information from info@hotelerina.it

4.2 Public Transport in Florence: Although Florence has an efficient bus system operated by ATAF (www.ataf.net) you would rarely need to use the bus since Florence is a compact city meant to be strolled in. And the bus tickets are expensive -1E for 1hr tkt and 4.5 E for a day ticket.

4.3Eating out in Florence: There are a lot of choices available in Santa Maria Novella Station area. In fact the big eatery inside the station is one of the best we found among the station eateries.

4.4 Sights to see in Florence in 2 days- Itinerary for Must do sights of Florence & Siena

7^th day (1^st day in Florence )- We started at Uffizi (www.uffizi.firenze.it) which is the first systematic organized exhibit in the world. It is called Uffizi because the building originally contained the offices of the magistrates of Medici Government.

Online booking is recommended at an extra cost of 3E but when we turned up the Q was not long.(www.weekendafirenze.com). Uffizi has a lot of Renaissance paintings featuring well known and top artists (Raphael, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Michaelangelo to name a few) in 45 rooms and if you are not doing a conducted tour it is better to do some reading up so that you do not miss the important exhibits. A good listing of top 20 exhibits in Ufizi is available in the telegraph article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2003/11/15/etuffizi15.xml . Our personal favorite was Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Abraham Mignon’s Natura Morta in Rembrandts room. To see all the exhibits and loiter in front of what you like at a slow pace, you need about 3hrs.

From Uffizi walk down to Cathedral Duomo and the nearby Campanile. The Duomo is impressive from outside. Although entrance is free, the Qs are long and so we gave Duomo a skip. For a birds eye view of Florence , go up the Campanile (6E) in a lift (414 steps) . Do not miss the walk over Ponte Vicchio (the covered bridge over river Arno) and the excellent window shopping. - Lots of water color paintings, gold shops and upmarket leather goods on this bridge. Visit Palazzo Pitti and if you are still good for another museum visit the Palace Museum. Then walk back to Santa Maria Novella church near the station. The entrance fee of 2.5 E is worth –the stained glass works and paintings inside the church are excellent. Do not miss the Masasachios fresco Trinity in this church which was one of the first works to use the mathematical rules for employing perspective in painting for the first time.

After finishing Santa Maria Novella church take Bus 12 or 13 to Piazza Michaelangelo and get down at the last stop to enjoy views of Florence and Tuscany country side. If you want to see Michaelangelos’ David you need to visit Galleria Academicia . If you are into Gothic and Renaissance sculpture do not miss Museo Nazionale Del Bargello and Museo Dell Opera.

Florence is a walking city – Fodors online mini guides give details of 3 walks you could do. Our itinerary above also covers a lot of ground and sights and can be done in a day. Before setting out it is better to get a good free map of Florence in the tourist office near Santa Maria Novella church.

8^th Day (2^nd day in Florence) – Siena

Siena is good for a short break from Firenze(as Florence is called). But there are plenty of choices available although with more difficult access using Public transport. The highly recommended Tuscany towns include Lucca, Arezzo, Cortona , Montepuclino (lofty and peaceful) , Montalcino (famous for wine),San Gimignano (called medieval Manhattan for its numerous towers and connected to Florence by hourly buses), Sovana, Pienza, Sant Antimo (very highly recommended for its beauty) . One of the better online resources for preliminary research on Tuscany country side is http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/tuscany. If you really want to enjoy Tuscany country side , you should stay in one of the farm houses for at least a week . Try out http://www.ferein.toscana.de which is a farm run by a couple – we met the lady of the house in the train to Vienna.

The express bus service between Florence and Siena (frequency every half an hour) takes 1hr 15mnts to complete the journey and costs 6.50 E for return. Note the departure time for the last bus and make sure to reach the station on time.

After getting out at the bus station walk towards Piazza del Campo (or Campo). This is a beautiful sloping amphitheatre of a square line with café tables/ shops and good for people watching and generally lazing around. A combined ticket of 7E gives you access to Museo Civico (frescoes) and Torre Del Mangia (Tower Civico) in the Campo. The climb up the tower is supposedly not for people with poor head for heights and using narrow stairs with the final climb up a nerve wracking ladder and so we skipped it. But the view is advertised as breathtaking. Combination tickets for other attractions in Siena such as Duomo, Museo Dell Opera Metropolitana etc are available in the ticket offices in Campo. We did not visit any ticketed attractions in Siena and instead chose to relax and wander in the beautiful (but steep) streets soaking in atmosphere. We were also lucky to watch an energetic parade /procession while at Campo with nattily dressed men &boys marching to band music. Most of the shops were closed being a Sunday.

Another interesting walk is to Fortessa Medizee which has good views, shady trees and jazz sessions by practicing students. While on our way back from Fortessa we chanced upon a square dedicated to Mother Teresa.

Eating Out in Siena: For eating a good, reasonably priced lunch we can recommend Cavallino Bianco which is close to Campo. This eatery has a toilet upstairs (which is a real penny saver since you have to pay 0.8E for toilet in Campo and 0.5 E for toilet in Station).

Shopping in Siena: A wax work shop (can’t give you the way there) near Campo is quite interesting and gives free demo of the trade as well as reasonably priced souvenirs. There is also a Cooperative supermarket which sells local produces where you can get some good reasonably priced wines and local food.

5.Venice in 3 days

Important nos : Police 113/ Tourist toll free 800355920/ Railway stn- 41785570

From Florence we traveled to Venice by Eurostar Train 9462 starting from Florence at 0839hrs and arriving Venice Santa Lucia Station at 1128 hrs. (26.60 E per passenger in 2^nd class –resevation mandatory).

Venice is probably the most visited places in Europe. With the high density of tourists this destination attracts, it is expensive. And there is lot of hype and conflicting opinions about Venice. We were a bit skeptical, but by the time we left we had succumbed to that something special and romantic that this place has to offer for its visitors. So our advice is- forget all that criticism and the expenses, indulge in at least 3 days in this magical place.

5.1 Accommodation in Venice: Accommodation in Venice close to the tourist attractions is very expensive. If you do not mind staying outside Venice centre, a reasonable place in a good locality well connected by public transport is Hotel Reiter (info@hotelreiter.com) where we stayed (65E per night for double room including breakfast through www.bookings.net ).

Hotel Reiter is in Lido (about 10 mnts from St Marks square and 30mnts from rly station Ferrovia vaporetto station ) and is connected 24hrs by boat service. If you choose to stay in Hotel Reiter, here is how you get there from Railway station: Catch boat No 51 going to right from Station and get off at Lido. Once you get off from boat in Lido station, you will be on main square S.M.Elisabeth. In the middle of square there is a very large street Grand Viale S.M. Elisabeth. Hotel Reiter is about 10mnts walk on the left side of this street. The hotel also has free internet facilities but the connections can be tricky and the computers are slow and old.

5.2 Public Transport in Venice : An extensive vaporetto (water bus) service connects Venice and outlying islands such as Lido, Burano, Murano. Details can be obtained from the operator Actv website www.actv.it . Special travel cards are available allowing unlimited travel in water bus lines – these are good value buys if you are staying in Lido and using public transport extensively. We took a 3 day pass with a 72hr validity from the first stamping for 22E from Vaporetto ticket offices just outside Venice Railway station. A good vaporetto route map is available in http://www.venice-rentals.com/info/routes.html under Water bus routes.

There are also Venice Cards (Blue and Orange depending on number of days) which clubs the unlimited public transport with free entrance to public toilets and discounted entries to some of museums. If you are staying less than a week and if you are not intending to do too many museums these cards are not good buys since the discounts offered are modest. However if you are interested further details can be obtained from www.venicecard.com

5.3 Online resources for Venice: Lots of information is available on Venice and its tourist attractions. Some of the better ones are given here:

www.basilicasanmarco.it – for information on St Marks Basilica

www.museiciviciveneziani.it for information on Doges Palace

www.veniceforvisitors.com by Durant Imboden is a good independent site giving detailed information (also access from www.europeforvisitors.com/venice )

www.venice.world-guides.com, www.veniceword.com, www.venicecitytourist.com, www.slowtrav.com/italy , www.visitvenice.co.uk are some other good sites for information.

5.4 Suggested 3 day Itinerary to cover Must see sights of Venice :

1st day in Venice: After checking into the hotel and taking short nap after lunch, we ventured out in the evening to Rialto bridge to do the Ghost and Legends walk tour (20E per person. Tour starts at 2030hrs and lasts for about 1.5hrs). This tour can be booked through the hotel or directly 041-5208616/2778432 Mobile 3400502444 www.tours-italy.com . Another highly recommended Walking tours company is Walks inside Venice – the details from www.walksinsidevenice.com )

Rialto bridge and the area around is interesting and particularly good for window shopping and souvenir hunting. Until 19^th century, this graceful arch bridge was the only bridge across Grand canal. The present structure was finished in 1592 to replace the wooden version of the bridge built in 1444. One shop in this area we can recommend (at least for beautiful wine bottles) is to be found when you go to the left as you get down from the bridge ( lots of travelers tales posted on its window)

If you do not mind the walking, Ghost tour which starts at the Realto bridge and finishes near to St Marco is an interesting 1.5-2 hr tour. You will get the Venice at night experience and see some interesting locations and hear interesting tales.

After finishing the Ghost tour, we had dinner in one of the numerous waterfront cafes in St Marks square which was teeming with tourists from all over the world.

10^th day (2^nd day in Venice): Most part of the next day was spend in Piazza San Marco (St Marks Square) which is undoubtedly the most popular tourist destination in Venice

Vaporetto stops for Piazza Marco: San Zaccaria, Vallaresso (Harrys bar immortalized by Hemingway is a few steps inland of this stop) and San Marco Giardineti

Piazza San Marco , dubbed as the finest drawing room in Europe by Napolean has a constant carnival atmosphere with visitors, pigeons and constant traffic of waiters serving clients of the numerous cafes lining the square. If possible make it to the Piazza early in the morning before the tourist hordes arrive and watch the sun rise while the Venetians clean and get the square ready for the visitors. We never made it so early, but people who have done it describe it as a worthwhile experience.

In Piazza San Marco, we visited the 325 ft tall Campanile (Bell Tower) before the Q gets really long (6E per person). The present structure was built in 1912 as an exact replica of its predecessor which collapsed unexpectedly on the morning of July 14 1902. The view from the top is beautiful particularly on a clear day and worth the money. While in Piazza, take some time to admire the columns of San Marco (featuring a bronze lion with wings) and San Teodoro(with the statue of St Teodoro who was Venitians patron saint before San Marco) -

Next we visited Basilica San Marco. The Q can be long, but a good way to avoid is to pre book on line at the ALATA site (www.alata.it/eng/booking/sanmarco.asp). Print the booking sheet and show it to the staff manning the entrance at the time range chosen and specified in the booking and you can be in without wasting your time in Q. The visit itself takes 10-15 minutes and follows a specified route. Guided tours to understand the biblical and theological messages contained within the 43,055 square feet of cathedrals mosaics are available by pre booking (041-2702421 –see details in Basilica site under Online resources above)

This opulent Basilica with five plump domes founded in 9^th century to preserve Venice’s patron Saint Marks corpse was Doges (Venetian rulers) private chapel. The remains of St Marks, filched from Alexandria, Egypt by Doge’s agents were supposedly hidden in a barrel under layers of pickled pork to sneak them past the Muslim guards. This escapade is depicted in the 13^th century mosaic above the door farthest left to the front entrance, one of the earliest mosaics on the heavily decorated façade; look closely to see the church as it appeared at that time. A 976 fire destroyed most of the original church and was rebuilt and reopened in 1094. Other important sights include the four bronzed horses that prance and snort over the doorway- these are copies of sculptures that victorious Venetians brought in from Constantinople in 1204 after the fourth crusade, Pala D’ Oro (1.5 E entrance per person) – a dazzling gilt silver screen encrusted with 1927 precious gems and 255 enameled panels, Tesoro (Treasury 2E per person), Galleria and Museo Di San Marco (3E per person) which gives the best overview of Basilica interior and panoramic view of the square.

Next we visited Doges Palace and did the Secret Itinerary tour: We recommend this tour highly for getting you access to restricted quarters and hidden passage ways, prison and torture chambers, Bridge of Sighs (Pontei Dei Sospiri – the name was invented in 19^th century and popularized by Lord Byron the belief that bridges name was inspired by sighs of condemned prisoners as they were led through it ) and also for giving an insight into the world of Venetian policies over the centuries. You can also hear the story of notorious lover Casanovas escape and see the cell from which he made the escape (On line booking for 11E pp at www.tickitaly.com . The printed order has to be exchanged for the ticket 30mnts before the reserved time at the Palace entrance). There are lots of paintings inside the Palace – particularly worth mentioning is Tintorettos 23ft x75 ft painting Paradiso in the Great Council Hall which is said to be worlds largest oil painting; Three Graces, Bacchus and Adriane in the room where ambassadors waited to be received; Triumph of Venice in Senate chamber. Note that the picture of Marin Falier who was convicted of treason and beheaded in 1355 is obliterated in the depiction of 76 Doges encircling Great Council Hall.

Keep aside at least 3-4hrs to do a sedate tour of the vast palace. A free entrance to Museo Correr in Piazza San Marco is included in the ticket for Doges Palace (www.venetia.it/m_correr_eng.htm ). After spending more than 3 hrs in Doges Palace we were in no mood to do another museum right away and so decided to give it a skip till later in the evening. However we could not make it before the museum closed.

After lunch and a nap in the afternoon, we did the Grand Canal Tour taking No1 vaporetto from Lido and riding it all the way to the last stop P Roma. Irrespective of whether you recognize the sights along the way this boat trip is breathtakingly beautiful and a must do. (a description of sights available in the link www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=venice.htm) .

Once you reach the last stop P Roma, we suggest you take No 82 via Tronchetto to see another part of the Venetian canal system and get down at San Zattare. This is a good place to see the sun set. We spend some time just sitting and soaking in the atmosphere. There are lots of waterfront cafes and restaurants to while away your time in this area. From Zattare we walked down to Academia Bridge doing some window shopping along the way. If you are interested in paintings you can visit Gallerie Dell Academia (Ent 6.5 open till 1915hrs) and Peggy Guggenheim Gallery www.guggenheim-venice.it)

11^th day (3^rd Day in Venice): We visited Murano famous for its glass making (Vaporetto 18 from Lido or from F Nove stop on 41/42 route). There are a lot of souvenir shops which sell standard knick knacks but there are also genuinely beautiful and unique works of art that you can buy. If not for anything, the visit is worthwhile for its sights and quaint atmosphere. The important sights in Murano include Museo Vetrario(Glass Museum Entrance 4E per person ) and nearby Basilica Dei Santi Maria e Donato. We did not visit these attractions – however we spend some time watching a free demonstration of making a typical Murano Souvenir in a glass maker furnace.

The day we did this trip it was cloudy and it did rain heavily which made the trip back in the windy and choppy weather a bit of an adventure in the open seas.

After returning from Murano , we explored Lido by going around in one of the buses. By the time we finished going around, we were agreeing to each other that Lido is a place good enough to settle for a retired life- that is how the magic of Venice gets to you despite the costs and tourist hordes.

12^th Day (4^th Day in Venice): Our train to Vienna was in the afternoon, so we made a quick visit to Burano famous for its lace making. The trip from Lido takes about an hour one way and we could not spend too much time in the island which we regretted. We highly recommend this trip to view the cheerfully painted colorful houses lining the canal in this quaint and quiet village. The lace here is not exactly cheap, but you can get a bargain as compared to Venice.

One of the boutiques we visited and purchased in was Martina (info@martina-lace.com and in www.martina-lace.com )

Gondola trips in Venice: Will cost you upwards of 50E per person for 20-30minutes and upwards of 100E for twilight and night romantic trips. You can bring the cost down by sharing with other tourists (upto 6 can be accommodated in a gondola) and by bargaining. Or take it from Santa Maria Formosa or another square that does not get much tourist traffic. Another way is to catch a Traghetto which is a gondola that will carry you across the canal for a small fee (about 0.5E) – there are only 3 bridges across the canal , but seven places where you can catch a Traghetto .

We did not do the gondola trip because of the costs and because my wife did not fancy a ride in the heavy traffic of Canal which does make the water and the ride initially choppy.

6. VIENNA in 2 Days

Important Nos: Emergency 112 Police 113 Ambulance 144 Train 05 1717 Visa Card 0800200288 and when prompted enter 8008928134 Indian Embassy 00 431 5058666 indemb@eoivien.vienna.at/visapassport@indianembassy.at UAE embassy 00431 3681455-56

The trip from Venice to Vienna was done in EC 30 train starting at 1447 and arriving at 2144hrs (70E pp in 2^nd class by internet booking at Trenitalia site. However remember that the cross border tickets cannot be printed at the machine and requires to be exchanged in Q at Venice). There are no border formalities and the train passes through some wonderful and picturesque Austrian country side.

There are 2 main train stations- West bahnhof (handles trains to Salzburg and also from France, Germany, Switzerland etc) and Sudan bahnhof (handles trains from Italy, Hungary ,Slovenia and Croatia)

6.1 Accommodation in Vienna: We stayed at Hotel Geblergasse (59 E per night excluding breakfast through www.bookings.netwww.geblergasse.com Breakfasts @ 3 E pp ). The rooms are on the tinier side, but sufficient. The hotel provides free internet facilities which were reasonably good and much better than the Hotel Reiter in Venice. If you are checking in late, do get the detailed information on how to reach the hotel by public transport system by writing to hotel directly- we found this particularly useful on our first trip to the hotel at night. Do write to the hotel and they will give you detailed directions.

6.2 Public Transport in Vienna: Easily Viennas’ public transport system was the best among the places we visited. U bahn (consisting of five underground lines U 1, 2, 3, 4, 6) trams(S bahn) and buses cover all areas of the city and its outskirts. A good colored network route map is available in the free Vienna City Map & Museums publication available in stations, hotels and tourist attractions. Or you can down load it from http://homepage.univie.ac.at/horst.prillinger/metro/m/largemap-tram.html .

A 24 hour ticket valid on all routes will cost 5E pp. Or you could purchase a 72 hour Vienna card for 17E giving unlimited access to public transport and get reduced admission rates for leading attractions and tours (online at www.europeancitycards.com ). If you are staying 72hrs in Vienna and intending to see the major attractions this is a good buy as the discounts will make up for the cost of the card.

A good way to orient in the city is to take Tram 1 and 2 which goes clock wise and anti clock wise around the Inner ring of city and covers most of the attractions.

6.3 Online resources for Vienna: Some of the better on line resources for Vienna are www.vienna.info , www.aboutvienna.org , www.viennacitytourist.comwww.alltravelaustria.comwww.wien.info/welcome.html

6.4 Suggested 2 day Itinerary to cover Must see sights of Vienna

13^th day (1^st day in Vienna): First we did the Grand tour of Schonbrunn palace (U4 – Schloss Schonbrunn or Heitzring Tram 10,58, Bus 10 A) . There are more choices in tours including combined entries to Hofburg palaces (Sisi Ticket). The bookings can be done by net http://www.schoenbrunn.at or emailing to resevierung@schoenbrunn.at . The reservation needs to be exchanged for tickets at the Group ticket office situated in the gift shop at the main entrance.

There are many sights in the 1441 room Schonbrunn palace built between 1696 and 1712 and the Grand tour covers 40 rooms – state rooms and private apartments of imperial couple and 18^th century interiors from the time of Maria Teresa who conceived the palace as seen today- costs 14E pp (12.7 E pp for Vienna card holders) . If you intend to visit Hofburg palace also a good value would be Sisi ticket at 19.90E (17E for Vienna card holders). Do spend some time in the palace grounds and gardens and soaking in the peace and beauty of the place. You would need about 2-3 hrs to admire the grandeur of the palace and soak in the peace and beauty of palace grounds in a leisurely pace.

Our next stop was Hofburg Palace (U3 Herrengasse or U Museumsquartier) – www.hofburg-wien.at . Combined entry for Hofburg Kaiserappartments, Sisi Museum and Silver collection costs 8.90E pp. The Hofburg palace is the home of Austrias’ rulers since 13^th century and is a huge complex of buildings. It is suggested that the visit concentrates on Imperial apartments (highlights include Sissys’ dressing and exercise rooms where she worked hard to preserve her figure and ankle length hair- she has been compared to Princess Diana because of her beauty, her estrangement from her husband and her tragic death at the hands of an Italian anarchist) , Lipizzaner museum ( if you are a horse lover – 5E pp for museum only and 14.50Epp for combined museum and training session- we did not do this), Hofburg treasury (8E pp for watching the best jewels in the continent and nail from crucifix brought to Vienna at the time of crusades–we did not do this). We also did a quick tour of the Sisi Museum and Silver collection (really impressive) which is included in Imperial apartment’s ticket.

If you can take more art the highly acclaimed Kunsthistoriches Museum at Maria Theresian Plaza is across Hofburg palace ( 9E pp [we did not do this] includes Pieter Brueghels Childrens game, Hunters in snow/ Van Dykes Venus in Forge of Vulcan /Reubens Self Portrait& Women with Cape etc). Also Museums Quartier (www.mqw.at a complex comprising several museums – we did not do this) is in this area.

From Hofburg palace we went to St Stephens Cathedral (U1&U3 –Stephensplatz Bus 1A,2A,3A) is the town centre and lively place with lots of cafes, shops and restaurants. The admission to the impressive Cathedral is free. Within the Cathedral you can climb the 343 step South Tower or take an elevator ride for a view of Vienna (we did not do this) or do a tour of catacombs ( we recommend this highly if you have stomach for historical horror stories – 100hr-1130hrs and 1330hrs-1630hrs 4E pp the tour takes approx 30mnts).

While in Stephensplatz area do try spending time in one of the street side cafes people watching, ice creams at Zanoni & Zanoni check out Nord See outlet for sea food and do some window shopping.

In the night you could go for a concert or opera (tickets upwards of 35E pp- we did not do this – you could book online through www.viennaconcerts.com or numerous other online ticketing agencies which can be located by googling . The updates of which concert is playing where is also available in flyers at hotel receptions)

14^th day (2^nd day in Vienna) : First we headed to Belvedere Palace (www.belvedere.at 7E pp Belvederegass stop on Tram D from Karlsplaz U1,2,4) which is a complex of two imposing palaces separated by an impressive garden housing famous painting collections. The major attractions in Upper Belvedere in Galleries 19 & 20 are Gustav Klimts Judith, The Kiss, Adam and Eve/ Schieles’ Death and Girl, The Artists family. The Lower Palace houses Austrian Museum of Baroque art. The Gold Salon in Lower Belvedere is one of the most beautiful rooms in the palace complex.

From Lower Belvedere exit take Tram 71 to Schwedenplatz station and take tram going in N direction and get off stop PeterHaupsnell Hertzgasse stop to visit Hundertwasser village ( www.hundertwasser-village.com) which is a different modern apartment complex created by painter. We liked it and recommend it as a worth see place. We then went to check out the Flea Market outside Kettenbruckengasse (U4) for a different experience. By the time we reached there most of the market was closed , but it is worth a visit to see the poor side of Vienna. Also we recommend checking out Naschmarkt the citys major open air market for its smells, sounds and atmosphere (includes shops from the sub-continent & middle-east)

The other choices for sight seeing available are Prater Amusement park, Donau Island (Danube island also known as Copa Kagrana) – an island with lots of eateries where an admission free summer festival Doanauinselfest billed as the largest outdoor party of Europe conducted in June www.donauinselfest.at – Gasometer – a huge shopping mall in Simmering .

Night we took a tram ride (Tram 38) to Grinzig and join tour groups who frequent the area for its eateries. Typical Austrian food can be had here in beautiful , quaint restaurants . We had our dinner in Grinzingerbrau (www.grinzingerbraeu.at) restaurant and recommend this small place for its good food and wine. Expect to spend about 30E for two with wine. Do try Gespritzter which is half wine and half soda while in Vienna. Also try to visit typical Viennese wine cellars called Heurige while in Grinzig.

7. Salzburg

From Vienna West bahnhof station we took the local express train to Salzburg. The tickets can be purchased from counters or ticket vending machines and costs 30.85E pp in 2^nd class IC trains. The frequency is half hourly and journey takes about 3hrs 15mnts. Do keep your eyes open to soak in the beauty of the country side while traveling.

7.1Accomodation in Salzburg: We stayed at Kolpinghaus Hotel ( www.kolpinghaus-salzburg.at 70E per night inclusive of breakfast through www.booking.net ) and can recommend this hotel to people who do not mind using the public transport for the short ride out of the main town. The hotel is in a quiet , beautiful locality and is basically a hostel converting to a hotel during summer hols- big clean rooms offering good value for money.

If you choose to stay in this hotel here is how you get there- take Bus No 6 going in Itzling west from outside Hauptbahnhof Railway station (important to confirm the direction since we made the mistake of boarding the bus going in opposite direction when we did the first trip) exit at second stop Erzherzog Eugen Strasse and walk in direction of bus past residential complexes to reach a stadium where the hotel is located. The journey from railway station takes about 10mnts.

7.2 Public Transport in Salzburg: An efficient bus transport system covers all the attractions in Salzburg. (www.stadtbus.at ). 24 hr ticket is available at 3.4E is a good value buy. Detailed maps are available in tourist offices, hotel receptions. If you are not intending to visit too many museums the 24hr Salzburg card at 22E is not worthwhile.(www.europeancitycards.com )

7.3 Online resources for Salzburg: Some of the better online resources are www.salzburg.info , http://starbulletin.com/2002/06/02/travel/story1.html, http://www2.salzburg.info , www.salzburg-sightseeing.com, www.slowtrav.com

7.4 Suggested 2 day Itinerary to cover Must see sights of Salzburg

15^th day 1^st day in Salzburg: After lunch we checked out Mirabelle gardens ,cross the bridge over Salzach river and spend some time browsing and window shopping in the temporary stalls selling souvenirs and knick knacks,on the side of the river, then wandered in the main shopping streets of Getriedegasse taking in University Platz, Alter market . Do visit the famous Easter Egg store –it is really a must see. Salzburg is a small picture post card town with quaint beautiful streets and one should take time to just wander and try out Austrian cafes (Café Tomaselli in Alter Markt is one of oldest since 1852) and Austrian specialties such as Sacher- Torte and Salzburger Mozartkugeln , Salzburg nucker etc.

16^th day -2^nd day in Salzburg: A must see is Fortress Hohensalzburg founded in 1077 (www.salzburg-burgen.com ). We walked up and made our way back in Funicular (9.8 including 2way Funicular. 8.4E- walking tour with audio guide and entry to State room, Rainier Museum, Marionette museum). Take time to watch the splendid views from the Reckturm look out . Aim to spend 4-5hrs. Also check out the shop at the exit of funicular station.

After lunch we went to visit Bad Durrnberg Salt mine at Hallein http://www.salzwelten.at/cont/salzwelten/en_salzwelten_gruppen_salzburg.aspx. A good savings against the conducted tour price of 43E can be made by taking the all in one Salz Erlebnis ticket which can be purchased at the railway station. The 20.9 ticket (including railway ticket to Hallein, bus ticket to Salt mine, entrance to salt mine and Celtic museum in Hallein) also saves the hassle of standing in Qs at the salt mine. The train trip to Hallein takes 45mnts and a train is available every 40mnts. For a first hand experience of a mine this is a must do trip.

In the evening we took long tram ride 1 to Euro park taking in the residential areas of Salzburg and spend time at the huge shopping complex with good supermarkets.

Other sights and tours you could do in Salzburg include (we did not do any of these) –

Sound of Music tour (if you are the movie fan)- 35E pp -4 hrs

Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves – set an elevation of 1640mtr which are largest accessible ice caves in the world. Needs total 3-4 hrs

Eagles Nest and Berchtesgaden-48E pp- which is a meeting place for Hitler and his diplomatic guests set inside a mountain.

Stiegls Brauwelt –The world of beer www.brauwelt.at -9E

And in town includes

Residenz- magnificient medieval Bishops residence, Salzburg cathedral,

Mirabelle palace,St. Peters cemetery ,

Mozarts Geburtshaus (Birthplace of Mozart) and Mozarts residence (www.mozarteum.at)

Hellbrunn palace (famous for its mischievous water fountains www.hellbrunn.at ),

Salzburg zoo (www.salzburg-zoo.at )

8. AMSTERDAM

Important Nos: Emergencies -112 Indian Embassy -0031703469771/0031704274812

UAE Embassy-00313681455-56 Visa Card Lost 0800-022-3110

17^th day – Train trip to Amsterdam The best and quickest connection (11hrs) from Salzburg to Amsterdam with least number of changes which we could find after a long research was used to make this journey. We took IC2390 from Salzburg to Frankfurt (0753 -1341) and ICE 124 (1500-1855) . Including reservation cost for 2^nd class seating this journey cost us 134.8 E pp by booking online at Die bahn site www.bahn.de and receiving tickets by post. The journey in the bullet train style ICE train from Frankfurt was particularly impressive since we managed seats just behind driver cabin.

Frankfurt railway station is also quite impressive and the transit time passed swiftly.

8.1Accommodation in Amsterdam: We stayed at Lucky Travellers Fantasia hotel – this is a converted canal house. We stayed at the top most attic and if you do not mind the climbs and the small rooms, you cannot beat this hotel for its sheer atmosphere , central location and price which is cheap as compared to the expensive hotels of Amsterdam (www.luckytravellers.com 90E per night including break fast and free coffee/tea maker ). However hotel charges extra for card payments – so better pay in cash.

If you choose to stay in this hotel, take Tram 9 from outside Rly station and get off at 5^th stop Waterlooplein . Walk to right in direction of river and without crossing river go to left. The hotel is at the second canal on your left.

8.2 Public Transport in Amsterdam : The city has an extensive tram, bus and metro network operated by GVB www.gvb.nl You can get a detailed map at the GVB office just outside the Railway station on the canal side.

24hr, 48hr and 72 hr Amsterdam cards are available for 33, 43,53 E respectively. You would have to do a detailed breakdown of costs to find out whether the Pass is worthwhile (www.iamsterdamcard.com )

We purchased a 48hr ticket for 10E pp and thereafter used individual trip tickets. 24hr tickets are available at 6.3 E and 72 hr tickets at 13E.

If you are a bike enthusiast, this is the place to do it. The city has bike tracks and bike signals – but you need to be really careful and an expert to avoid any accidents. Also while crossing streets; you need to look out for bikes in addition to trams, cars and buses. (bike rentals from www.macbike.nl 8.5E for 24hrs 6.5Epp for 2 days)

For short distance travel, better use ticket vending machines to avoid the surcharge they charge for purchasing the ticket at window.

8.3 Online resources for Amsterdam : www.noord-holland.com , www.goholland.comwww.visitholland.comwww.visitamsterdam.comwww.amsterdamhotspots.nlwww.hollandmuseums.nlwww.go-amsterdam.comwww.specialbite.nl (for eating inf) www.amsterdamanything.nl , www.amsterdam.infowww.amsterdam-holland-travel.comwww.holland.comwww.thebestofholland.nlwww.yellowpages.nl

You can pick up a lot of free information and maps at the hotel and GVB office – and there would be no need to spend money on the map offered at tourist office at 2E. There is a good tourist office (VVV office) with helpful guides and helpful brochures and information – however it is crowded most of the time. You can also buy long distance train tickets in this office and avoid Qs at the counter. They even help you in deciding whether you need to buy an Amsterdam card by comparing costs if you give them the details of what you intend to do and see.

8.4 Suggested 3day Itinerary to cover Must see sights of Amsterdam & Hague

17^th day -1^st day in Amsterdam: Since we reached late we did not do anything much other than checking in and going out for dinner in a small Mexican restaurant in Waterlooplein .

18^th day 2^nd day in Amsterdam: First we visited the Van Gogh Museum (www.vangoghmuseum.nl 13.50Epp including Audio guide 3.5 E Trams 2,3,5,12 – Van Baerlestraat stop and 16,24- Museumplein stop ) which houses largest collection of works by the artist –more than 200 paintings , 500 drawings and 700 letters as well as his collection of Japanese prints along with works of contemporary artists. We were also fortunate to visit the museum when the highly acclaimed temporary exhibition “Vangogh as Draughstman- The Masterpieces” was going on (2/7/2005 to 18/9/2005). There is also a good shop in the museum where you can buy copies of his works. The museum will take about 3-4hrs to cover.

Although Rijksmuseum is also nearby we did not want to go to both the museums together and we decided to do Heineken Experience (a walkable distance. Trams 16,24 Heinikenplein stop 10E pp www.heinekenexperience.com ) which is basically a brewery tour with 3 free glasses of Heineken and a free gift included. If you have not seen a beer brewery, this is a good attraction particularly with the freebies. This brewery in Amsterdam was in operation from 1867 to 1988 when the production was shifted to Zoeterwoude. The tour takes about 2hrs.

On the same street as Heineken, there is a good supermarket Albert Crypstaat. We bought some wine, beer and eats and had a cool lunch sitting on a park bench in a nearby garden facing the canal after the brewery visit.

Night we went out and had dinner in one of the numerous grill houses in Waterlooplein area.

19^th day 3^rd day in Amsterdam: First we started off with Rijksmuseum (www.rijksmuseum.nl 13E pp including Audio guide 4E Trams2,5 Hobbemastraat stop Trams 6,7,10 Spiegelgracht stop Trams 3,12,16- Museumplein stop Tram 24 Stadhouderskade stop) where masterpieces by Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Frans Hals and Vermeer are exhibited in beautiful Philips wing (the museum is currently under renovation till 2008). We liked the exhibits here more- some of the lesser known stills like Peter Classez “Still life with Turkey pie”, Verbroth satins “Gallant Conversation” and of course “Night watch” by Rembrandt -all impressed us. The tour takes about 3-4 hrs

After having a quick bite in Museumplein, we took the canal boat tour originating in front of Heineken(8E pp). Although a very touristy thing to do , we would still recommend that you do this 1hr tour, since it gives you a good view of gabled Golden age Amsterdam houses.

Next we went to Bloenmarkt (flower market) at Singel (Trams 1,2,5 Koningsplein stop, Tram 4,9,14,16,24,25 Muntplein stop) and admired the wooden tulips in the shops and buying some souvenirs.

Also we went in search of antique market (Antiekcentrum De Looeir) in Elandsgracht– however it was closed by the time we made it to the place. There is also a good flea market in Waterlooplein close to the hotel where we stayed. ( again closes at 1700hrs and we did not see it)

Night we came to the station area and had dinner and enjoyed the crowds and the street revelry.

20^th day 4^th day in Amsterdam: Morning we started to Hague to see Madurodam, the miniature village. (12Epp www.madurodam.nl )The train journey to Hague costs 17.40pp and takes about 45mnts-lots of connections are available. Outside the station take Tram 9 (return tkt to Madurodam costs 2.2E pp). We definitely recommend doing this trip particularly if you have kids with you. It takes about 2-2.5hrs to see all the attractions at a leisurely pace. You can also do this as a day trip excursion with tour companies at 28E pp (tours departing Amsterdam at 1430hrs and takes 5hrs approx)

Returning back to Amsterdam, we went to De Zaanse schans windmill village which combines variety of wind mills and green timbered houses and clog maker shops. We took train to Zaandam , just 12minutes outside Amsterdam (4.1Epp) and a bus to the windmill village area (2E pp return). We visited the wind mill closest to the bus stop - De Bleeke Dood which is the highest mill in Zaan district and in operation since 1656. (visit windmill society homepage www.zaansemolen.nl for more details) . Crossing over the bridge with a section that can be lifted for the canal traffic, you can visit the wind mill village. Although touristy this is still a must see for its clog making/cheese making demonstrations and souvenir shops. You can do the visits in about 3hrs time. This tour can also be done as part of a full day city tour which would cost 38E pp.

Finally at night 2000hrs we did Dark Amsterdam Walking tour ( 2hrs 17E pp from The Best of Holland Excursions near Central Station on Tram 16,24,25 direction) . This visit to Red light district is a definite must do. You could do this yourself but the advantage of going with a group and getting details of the trade and localities is worth the extra money you pay for the Walking tour. The guides are knowledgeable and ready to answer any question you may have –ours was a second generation Dutch lady from Indian subcontinent. If you choose to do this yourself you could take Tram 4,9,14,16,24,25 get down at Dam stop and pass behind Hotel Krasnpolsky – or even walk down from station.

Eating out in Amsterdam is not a problem- do try Dutch gin Jenver.

Other highly recommended activities which we could not squeeze in include

Anne Frank museum, Albert Cuyp market (big open air market), popping a Herring (did not have the guts), dining out on Rijsttafel (Indonesian rice table – thought we could do it in Indonesia), smoking cannabis in coffee shop (for next time)

9.BRUSSELS

Important Nos: Emergencies 101 Police 100 24hr Tourist Assistance (English) 3494949 Visa Card Lost 0800-1-8397 Indian Embassy 00 32 2 6409140/6451850 UAE Embassy 640600

21^st day Trip to Brussels There are frequent connections to do the 3hr journey to Brussels. (32.6E pp full fare. There are good discounted fares available for return fares on Thalys trains which gets sold out fast as soon as they are offered week before the journey date) . Brussels has 3 railway stations- Brussel Noord in the city outskirts, Brussel Centraal and Brussel Zuid/Midi which serves the Thalys and Eurostar trains.

We regretted not having booked the return tickets from Amsterdaam since we spend a considerable time Qing at the Centraal station for purchasing return ticket from Brussels to Schipol airport (30.6Epp). We could not find any ticket vending machines in the station.

9.1Accomodation in Brussels : We stayed at the central Hotel Chantecler on Rue De La Grande (44.5E per night including breakfast from www.bookings.net ) which is highly recommended as good value for money. If you choose to stay in this hotel –here is how to get there. From Centraal Station take Tram 18,52,56,81,82 going in Zuid station direction and get down at Bourse station. The hotel is close to the tram station.

9.2 Public Transport in Brussels : There is good network of Metro, tram and bus system. (www.stib.bewww.stib.irisnet.bewww.mivb.be ) A single ticket valid for one hour costs 1.4E. A better buy is a Jump card for 3.8E valid for 3 days.

9.3 Online resources for Brussels : www.trabel.comwww.alltravelbelgium.comwww.visitbelgium.comwww.beer2005.be

9.4 Suggested 2day Itinerary to cover Must see sights of Brussels

21^st day First day in Brussels: First we went to The Sablon Square which has an antique market on Saturdays till 1800 hrs. This is a good place to visit for browsing and window shopping. There are also lots of cafes in the square – one of the more famous ones being Wittamer (a pastry shop).

Then we went to see the St Hubert Gallery -an up market beautiful covered shopping mall with the famous Neuhaus shop renowned for Belgium Pralines.

At night we went to see the music and light showin Grand place (1 shows of approx 15mnts each between 2130hrs and 2315hrs depending on sunset time)- do not miss this . The square is unbelievably beautiful at night and has a special charm.

All these attractions are in the same area and can be done on foot. We also had the added advantage that our hotel was within walking distance and so could go for a rest and shower in between.

22^nd day: 2^nd day in Brussels: We started off the day again at Grand Place (Grote Markt) which is aptly described as the most beautiful square in Europe (by Victor Hugo). The beauty of this place cannot be described and it is very difficult to walk off from this square containing impressive baroque and gothic buildings most of which are 17^th century replacements of buildings bombed on Aug 13^th 1695 . We also did a conducted tour of Hotel De Ville (Town hall dating from early 15^th century 3Epp Sundays 1045, 1215 and Tuesday and Wed 1515) which we highly recommend for the insights into the history of Brussels. While in this area you can also visit the City Museum housed in the magnificent neo Gothic building (Kings house) opposite the town hall for an insight into the story of Brussels- how it grew from a tiny village to becoming capital of Europe.

After Grand place we went to see famous Mannekin Pis.(www.manneken-pis.com ) Measuring just 30cm this little bronze boy has been pride and joy of Brussels for centuries (the present bronze version is from 1619. First carved in stone in mid 14^th century) and is a national symbol . Nobody actually knows why the Mannekin pis is there and there is lot of mythology surrounding him. The directions to this famous attraction at the corner of Stoofstraat/rue De L’ Etuve and Elkstraat/Rue Du Chene is well sign posted. If the Mannekin Pis receives an new costume he will be peeing beer instead of water on that day.

We also visited the Brussels King Palace which only opens to public for about 6weeks in summer starting July 21^st- so do make it if you are there during this time. The throne room, Blue room, Louis XVI music salon, Mirror room and Goya room are all impressive and breathtaking.

Another trip worth taking is to Atomium (it is a 102 mtr tall steel and aluminium structure meant to be symbol of atom concept magnified 165 billion times – however the attraction was closed till end 2005 for renovation-originally built in 1958 for World Fair). We made the trip just to watch it from outside. (www.atomium.be Heysel stop on Metro 1A) .While in the area you can also visit Mini Europe (we did not see it)

At night we dined on the famous Mussels (Mussels in Brussels) in one of the restaurants in Beenhouswesstraat /Rue Des Bouchers area- a must do. This street close to the St Hubert Gallery is to be seen to be believed. And drink as much variety of Belgian Beer as possible and pig out on excellent Belgian chocolates. (read about it more http://www.visitbelgium.com/beer.htmwww.belgiumchocolates.be and visit the Belgium Beer museum/shop in Grand Place area.

24^th Day Travel back to Rome

Our trip back to Abudhabi started in the morning with the train journey to Schipol airport. Since we were flying out from Schipol to Rome we did not go to Amsterdam Central. Schipol airport is a busy hub and it is easy to spend time here just roaming around in the Shopping area or people watching in the cafes or restaurants. In fact, if you are not averse to airports we would recommend that you spend some time in this airport just for the atmosphere and for watching the wide variety of people that pass through.

From Schipol we flew to Rome by Virgin Express. Rome airport is very quiet and dull as compared to Schipol . However we found a cosy place to sit and relax to pass our time. Our trip to Doha and onwards to Abudhabi was uneventful and we reached Abudhabi the next day afternoon.

J. Costs and Money Matters:

Total spend =2322 in cash (C) + 1896 thru Credit card Cr+1115 Cr for Air ticket (A)+104 E for insurance+25E for Telephone Calls = 5462E (24,320dhs)

On transport we spend 2354E including air ticketand insurance (447C+ 688Cr+1115A+104 for insurance) =43%

For accommodation we spend 1496 E (450 C+1046 Cr) =28%

On Food we spend 850 E C= 16%

On admissions we spend 550 E (388C + 162Cr) =10%

On purchases we spend 187E C= 3%

For Air ticket and Insurance price conversion from Dhs to Euro and for giving the total Dhs value a conversion factor of 1 E= 4.45 dhs which we got in UAE Money Exchanges while purchasing Euros was used

Payment for expenses incurred in cash are indicated in C and payments made through Credit card are indicated in Cr

For Credit card payments the bank used a conversion rate of 1E=4.61dhs. Because of the unfavorable conversion factor used on credit card transactions we lost about 300dhs. But most of the credit card payments were used for making on line bookings (unavoidable) and for making payments for accommodation (to a certain extent avoidable taking the riskier option of carrying cash for payments). Our advice is to use Credit cards only for doing online purchases and accommodation payments. Savings that can be made by paying for accommodation in cash should be weighed against the risk of carrying larger amounts of cash.

For cash we used a combination of carrying dollars and travelers cheques (which we had and not purchased for the trip) and using Global ATM cards. There is not too much difference in carrying Dollar Travellers Cheques and Dollar notes, although notes give you a slightly better rate. The commission charged on Travellers cheque is more and it is more difficult to change (more documentation and proof of identity and fewer establishments changing traveler’s cheques). All considered, our advice is to stick to Cash notes and not to bother with Travellers cheques except for a small amount for emergencies (say equivalent to 250E). One more thing we would like to share is to avoid the American Express exchange in Mozart Platz , Salzburg because of their higher commission charges.

For Dollar conversion, we found that in Italy the banks give a better rate than exchanges.Try the Banco Popolare outside Santa Lucia Railway station in Venice –although they charge more on Commission their rates are better and the net paid out is more. Exchanges in Europe generally charge 5% commission. The least we found in Commission and charges was in GMK Travelex in Amsterdam Station (3%) Osterreichische Verkehrskreditbank, Vienna (3.5%). In general we would advise that if you are not from a country transacting in Dollars, it does not make much sense in converting your local currency into dollars and then again converting to Euros in Europe because you will be paying conversion charges twice. However with the current conversion rates, if you have dollars with you already, do carry them as they give you a better deal than before.

We also used Global ATM Visa Card to withdraw money once. Including the 15 dhs they charged for the transaction, the conversion rate worked out to be 1E=4.65 Dhs which is almost on par with the Credit card rates.

To conclude, the best way (for at least the travelers from Middle East ) is to carry as many Euro as possible from your home country and for balance requirements use a combination of Credit card payments and ATM withdrawals.

For conversion of Dhs to Rs you could use the factor 1Dh =12.35 Indian Rs or directly use the Euro-Rs Conversion rate. In 2005 for doing the above tour it would have costed you 3.00 Lacs Indian Rs for 2 persons.