From Prague to Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels and Athens

Hi everybody!

So it seems to have been a while since our last post so there will be a lot of updating to do!

We are currently in a very nice hotel in Athens, the Chic Hotel, and leaving for Santorini tomorrow at 7am on a ferry. We will be in Santorini for 3 days and then 3 days in Mykonos which will be very difficult indeed.

The past 8 days have been spent with Luce after her Contiki tour through Greece and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time together as we travelled through Prague (2 nights), Berlin (3 nights) and Amsterdam (3 nights) before a final trip together to Brussels where Luce stopped for an overnighter and we flew on to Athens.

I am going to let the photos do most of the talking here as I am nowhere near as eloquent as my lovely wife when it comes to writing (although when it comes to talking I can generally hold my own).

Prague

We picked Luce up at around 6.30pm from the Airport in Prague and despite having a GPS it took me the long way (through the bus lane) and we were promptly pulled over by the Police. The nice Police lady was kind enough to point us in the right direction and we were on our way only to get lost again trying to navigate through the rabbit warren that is Prague City around 30 minutes later. Surprise, surprise, we were pulled over again by another Police man who when he realised we were totally lost showed us on our map the way to go and eventually we made it to our hotel where our car slept for the next two nights.

After picking Luce up (and recovering from the driving ordeal) we went out for dinner at a place recommended to me by one of the guys from Uni, Ambiente Pasta Fresca, where they really do have pasta that is as good as it is in Italy.

Walking through Prague Old Town Square after dinner.

Church of Our Lady Before Tyn at Night and Day

Prague Astronomical Clock - Shows 24 hour time, Sun and Moon phases, zodiac and has animated figures.

Luce and I the next morning walking through Prague Old Town Square.

Luce being a tourist.

Me making friends with a statue.

Panorama of the Charles Bridge in Prague. This is early in the morning before the tourist rush which we walked through later on in the day.

Floss and I looking back toward Prague 1.

Luce and I looking toward Prague Castle Hill

Floss and Luce walking up the hill through St Wenceslas Vineyard.

View from the top of St Wenceslas Vineyard back over Prague.

Changing of the Guard at Prague Castle.

Me doing my best Superman impression (including high pants!) at the Prague Toy Museum which is the second largest toy museum in the world.

Our future kitchen (design courtesy of the Prague Toy Museum)

Sue (MIL) and Phil (FIL) should recognise this slightly larger version of the one they have at home. The general idea is you light the candles and the heat causes the fan blades to spin the decorations in the middle.

The 3 original Barbies from 1959.

St Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle

Luce outside St Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle


Berlin

We arrived in Berlin after a 5 hour train ride from Prague to rain which so far in this trip we were rather unaccustomed to. The show however must go on and we broke out the Kathmandu Jackets and braved the weather!

I think Floss likes SMEG fridges.

Our apartment in Berlin.

On the Berlin Metro heading out for the day.

Waiting for the Hop on Hop off Bus tour.

On the Bus!

First Stop - Neptune's Fountain

Reichstag - The house of German Parliament.

Berlin Hauptbahnhof - Berlin's Main Train Station which is HUGE. 5 floors including, S-Bahn, U-Bahn and Domestic and International Trains.

Berlin Victory Column

Willy! and Luce on the Bus.

I might have found a park with an awesome trampoline made of interlocking rubber.
Before anyone asks, no, I am not wearing my knee-brace and no, I did not hurt my knee doing this.
In fact, my knee has been doing surprisingly well and is holding up quite nicely!

Berlin Wall - East Side Gallery. After the wall was taken down sections remained where artists were invited to paint a message on it whether political or otherwise.

Brandenburg Gate

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Through the day we saw different street artists who were making massive bubbles and like all the kids we were equally mesmerised.



Amsterdam

We arrived in Amsterdam on a cold, rainy afternoon after a 6 hour train ride from Berlin set up shop and relaxed for the evening. We headed out early the next day for breakfast, the Van Gogh museum and a spot of shopping.

Bike.

Church.

Man on boat in canal.

On the second day we visited Anne Frank House which was one of the better museums I've been to. You get a good understanding of the situation in Amsterdam and are also able to walk through the entire building including the hidden rooms that the Frank family (& others) stayed in during the war before they were captured.

We all loved the boats and houses in Amsterdam. It really is a beautiful city.

On the tram. No further comment.

Luce's first Tattoo. Wonder what her dad will think.

Single lane tram tracks but the trams run in both directions. They actually run on two separate tracks depending on which way they are going which means the there is no need for switching etc as there is in Melbourne and other cities.

Cool design shop in Leidesplien

Another bike, this one I think wants to be a car.

Our street over the canal. Jacob van Lennepstraat.

Breakfast on day 2 after Anne Frank House at a wonderful little English Cafe called Greenwoods.

Best. Clog. Ever. We need to put it on a ski slope and use it as a toboggan though.

This car puts my old Sherpa to shame. There are a large amount of these put-putting around and I don't believe they could be more than a 0.5L engine and maybe a couple of gears. (Sherpa was 0.6L 3 speed manual)

Awesome tree swing idea with creepers that would eventually grow up the whole way.

Another cute canal.

Luce and I waiting for the train to Brussels.

We had an awesome time travelling around with Luce and were certainly sad to see her go in Brussels. Luce is heading off to Paris next before Thailand with Mark.

As mentioned we are currently in Athens but will keep that until the next update when we arrive in London Baby!

Hope all is well,

Aaron & Floss (& Luce)

Also, given the itinerary has changed a couple of times we found a website that shows where we are currently and we update it whenever we move http://bit.ly/MtF93Z