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TRAVEL BLOG AND ITINERARY
a travel blog
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This summer we had a great vacation touring all around central Europe. Though the name of the tour was European Discovery, but it was kind of a whirlwind tour around major European cities and attractions.
During summer school holidays Priya planned to visit her parents in Hamburg, Germany. And I also joined her to give some company and fulfill my personal dream of visiting continent of Europe. We got some good deal on tickets from Natas travel fair and flew by Emirates. Initially we didn’t book any package. I was trying to book the package after reaching Hamburg. But it was difficult to match the dates and due to peak session mostly everything was sold out. I spent quite some time planning my dream itinerary but it seemed quite difficult to achieve. Finally I bought a package from Contiki tours and enjoyed it thoroughly.
For 11 days together, we toured all over Western Europe and bonded with each other. We sampled and lived out each of the different country's culture . At the same time, we had a lot of fun being with each other .
Thanks to our tour manager Dave , he brought some life to our long road trips inside the coach with his history and geography lessons of each country and city, especially those told in a storybook fashion like the story of Romulus and how he established Rome.
We explored Western Europe in all its glory, from the serene canals in Amsterdam to the dazzling Eiffel Tower in Paris. This tour breezed through 8 fantastic countries , experiencing local traditions and customs in every country like a gondola ride in Venice or stroll along the Champs Eylsees.
http://www.flickr.com /photos/tanmoydas/
| Trip Itinerary (Travel Blog Entries) | |||
1 |
Hamburg | Jun 08 '06 | Day 1 : Hamburg , Germany ( The Garden City of Europe )
"Lake Alster and City of Hamburg" |
2 |
Hamburg | Jun 09 '06 | Day 2 : Hamburg City and Harbor Tour
"Harbor Tour , Speicherstadt and river Elbe" |
3 |
Amsterdam | Jun 10 '06 | Day 3 : Hamburg to Amsterdam
"Bikes , Canals and Night Life" |
4 |
Rhineland-Palatinate | Jun 11 '06 | Day 4: Amsterdam sightseeing then heading to Rhine Valley, Germany
"Beer Steins , Cuco Clock and Wine testing in WWII bunker" |
5 |
Munich | Jun 12 '06 | Day 5: Rhine Valley to Munich, Germany
"Marienplatz and Beer halls" |
6 |
Tyrol | Jun 13 '06 | Day 6: Munich to Tyrol, Austria
"Bavarian & Tyrolean Alps ... Incredible hotel and top notch service!" |
7 |
Venice | Jun 14 '06 | Day 7: Tyrol, Austria to Venice
"Venice is sinking ... take a Gondola ...." |
8 |
Rome | Jun 15 '06 | Day 8: Venice to Rome
"It's hard to say what you'll find most breathtaking about the eternal city - the arrogant opulence of the Vatican, the timelessness of the Forum, the top speed of a Fiat Bambino, the millions of cats in the Colosseum, trying to cross a major intersection, or the bill for your latte." |
9 |
Holy See (Vatican City) | Jun 16 '06 | Day 9: Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel , Colosseum and Roman ruins
"After Rome, your biggest wish is to come back Rome" |
10 |
Florence | Jun 17 '06 | Day 10: Rome to Florence (Birth place of the Renaissance)
"Duomo, Piazza della Signoria and Santa Croce" |
11 |
Vaduz | Jun 18 '06 | Day 11 : Mountains of Liechtenstein , on our way to Lucerne
"Mountains of Liechtenstein and Confoederatio Helvetica .(CH) ....." |
12 |
Lucerne | Jun 18 '06 | Day 11: Lucerne, Switzerland
"Dying Lion of Lucerne , Lake Cruise and Chapel Bridge" |
13 |
Paris | Jun 19 '06 | Day 12: Lucerne to Paris and Evening with Eiffel Tower
"A First-Person Guide to the City of Lights and Eiffel Tower" |
14 |
Paris | Jun 20 '06 | Day 13: Norte Dame and The City of Paris
"What a city! Paris oozes history and energy like no other place. Beautiful buildings and streets are in every view and people of every nationality bustly about." |
15 |
Brussels | Jun 21 '06 | Day 14: Paris to Hamburg
"Drive through Brussels, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bremen ..." |
16 |
Hamburg | Jun 22 '06 | Day 14 : Back in Hamburg .....
"It felt nice to be back at home after a long road trip ..." |
17 |
Berlin | Jun 22 '06 | Day 15: Berlin and Sachsenhausen
"Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and Third Reich Berlin: The Rise and Fall of Hitler's Capital ..." |
18 |
Hamburg | Jun 23 '06 | Day 16: Hamburg Miniature land and Planten un Blomen
"Miniature Wonderland and Planaten un Blomen" |
Comments or Questions for the Author
Travelzz says:
Thanks for your time Tanmoy. I appreciate it. A major question would be about the visas. I suppose a Schengen Visa plus a UK visa should do for the trip. I regularly travel to Germany for business and thus the Schengen shouldn't be an issue. I am planning to take my wife along on one of this trips and then go for a tour after the business requirement. How difficult is to get a tourist visa for UK/Schengen area for an Indian National? Any tips? Also, do you have a rough figure of how much the entire tour cost in INR? Thanks again, Tanmoy. Have a great day.
Tanmoy says:
Getting a tourist visa is not an issue, I got mine from Singapore, and administration is much better. I am not sure how efficiently embassies work in India. The thumb rule is they will ask for Travel insurance and itinerary. Go through their website see the documents required, as long as you have the documents prepared they don’t have a reason to deny you giving tourist VISA. Regarding tour operators you have lot of choice. Contiki is good but very fast spaced and have a age restriction (below 35 years) . You can try others as well e.g Cosmos, Trafalgar. The routes are almost same, but every tour operator has their own bells and whistles (optional itineraries , location of hotels , detours ) and they charge you accordingly . I was very tight on budget and time and also by travel calendar and desire exactly matched with Contiki European discover. It was quite hectic, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Travelingone says:
Hi Tanmoy, I am presntly in USA on a work permit and I am from India. I am planing fro May 2008 visit to Europe for 25 days. i woudl like to know about the procedures to obtain visa. I appreciate as much input from your end. Thank you
Travelzz says:
Hello Tanmoy, Hope you are well. I am planning for this as well and am also from India. Would like to hear something about it in detail if you have the time. Thanks Tanmoy. :-)