Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Holland. Friday/Sunday 20/22-October-2023.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

We only had a short stay in Amsterdam due to the high cost of accommodation and the variable pricing of the overnight ferry to Newcastle which was much cheaper on the Sunday night compared to the following the week. The weather was very changeable with some heavy rain showers however we still managed to fit in a lot in a couple of days before heading back to the UK, tired and happy.

We had a fast and uneventful train journey from Cologne and very wet trek out to our hotel, the Radisson Hotel & Suites Amsterdam South. We thought that a hotel in a business park, presumably catering to business travellers, would have good transport links but it turned out to be quite a trek from the nearest tram stop. We arrived drenched to the skin! As we were out in the boondocks it was much simpler to eat in the hotel that night which had a decent enough restaurant.

The next morning, Saturday aka #parkrunday, we headed of to the lovely Amsterdamse Bos. Luckily it stopped raining for a bit. A third of the participants were tourists from all over the world. Two laps of a lovely flat course around a scenic park with a friendly bunch of volunteers and participants.

We were amused by the cheese they use for collecting the parkrun tokens!

After a post run shower back at the hotel we headed off into the city centre for some normal touristing. We managed about a 2 hour tour of the Rijksmuseum taking in the highlights before our eyeballs were full.

Then it was time for a couple of local beers and shelter from the rain. Mary, the beer hound strikes again! She researched and found a craft ale bar: the Beer Temple, only a short walk away. A lively place with a huge selection of beers from all around the world as witnessed by the extensive chalk boards.

On Sunday we walked south along the side of the river Amstel with a planned turn round point of a coffee shop only to discover we were too early and it was not yet open. We decided to walk on a bit further and serendipitously found ourselves in the fascinating, historic village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. The Kerkburg bridge (1649) is a historic monument. The building with the red roof behind is Bakkerij Out which is dated 1897 but bread has been baked on this site for more than 400 years.

The town is also home to the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands, the Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel.  Another historic monument is the Roman Catholic cross basilica in neo-Gothic style built in 1867.

We then went back for our coffee at Café De Vrije Handel (17th century) which is one of the oldest establishments in the area. The courthouse, the seat of the government of Ouder-Amstel, used to stand here until a new courthouse was built in 1656 on the other side of the road. The inn also used to serve as a weighing house for cheese, pigs, grain and vegetables.

We saw a lot of herons along the sides of the canals and rivers.

As you might expect in we saw several windmills along the river. Grey weather at first but then the sun came out.

Nearby we came across a statue to Rembrandt who drew many sketches of the area.

Heading back to into town we had booked lunch at Klein Kalfje a charming restaurant next to the river. We then completed the walk back to the hotel to collect our luggage and head off to the ferry port.

We boarded the DFDS Princess of Norway around 5:30pm for an overnight crossing to Newcastle. After we'd settled into our cabin we went for a wander round the ship. Sadly the duty free didn't sell Jonge Jeneva - a variety of gin almost impossible to find in the UK. We originally booked for a buffet meal but discovered there was a proper classy restaurant on board so paid for the upgrade - proper linen tablecloths and waiter service. Afterwards we sat in the lounge with a beer and listened to a band performing a whole range of impressively authentic sounding cover versions.

Sunrise as we approached Newcastle the next morning.

The three week rail trip was a fantastic experience. Mary is already planning the next one!

Next stop: home for a Thirtieth wedding anniversary meal.

Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Cologne

Cologne, Germany. Wednesday/Friday 18/20-October-2023.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

Now heading back to the UK we had a couple of days in Cologne with plenty of time to look around. 

We stayed in a home exchange apartment which was "small but perfectly formed". It was in a lively area with bars and restaurants, and close to the metro for easy access into the centre. 

That evening we dined at the nearby, cosy and excellent Weinstube Morio near the apartment as recommended by our host. It was fully booked but the helpful staff squeezed us in at the end of a shared table until space for eating came free thanks to a no-show.

Next day the first stop was Cologne Cathedral. It boasts many superlatives including the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world.

This is its impressive entrance.

The day was cloudy and overcast so it was a bit dark inside and very gothic.

We spent some time inside the cathedral helped by a great little pamphlet (available inside for €1) which explained the history of the cathedral and details of the altars, windows, statues, etc.

Touristing makes you thirsty. These beers at Nippeser Gaffel Stube may only be 200ml but they will just keep coming if you don't say no! Each time they mark your beermat and at the end you pay the tally.

We followed a great audio tour which told us about the Romans in Cologne and guided us around the remains. For some time the river at Cologne marked the north-eastern boundary of the Roman Empire. Work is underway to open more of the remains to the public. On this walk we also saw a number of interesting old buildings like this one.

The new and the old in the Alter Markt which in Roman times was a branch of the Rhine, now filled in and built over.

Not a great photo but this is a part of the Roman city wall, currently undergoing preservation.

We liked this unfiltered version of the beer at Gaffel am Dom bier keller, which we found thanks to advice from the Interrailing group.

On our last night we hadn't booked anywhere to eat but managed to get a table at an Italian restaurant called Bisù, again recommended by our hostess, where we had enjoyed Italian tapas style meal, lots of little plates. 

Now heading for our last stop: Amsterdam.

Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Karlsruhe and Freiburg

Karlsruhe, Germany. Monday/Wednesday 16/18-October-2023. 

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

Confession - I was a muppet, again! We were on the train from Salzburg to Karlsruhe (change in Munich) when it stopped at Rosenheim and the police boarded to check passports. I looked in my man bag: no passport! F**k. A panicked call back to our hosts in Salzburg revealed that it was still there. 

Whilst Mary continued her journey I jumped off the train at Rosenheim and took the next train back to Salzburg, taxied to the accommodation, grabbed my passport, back in the taxi to the station for the next available train. Made it back to Munich but the connecting direct train from Munich to Karlsruhe was cancelled so I had to make an extra change in Stuttgart finally arriving in Karlsruhe four hours late. Just in time to join Mary for supper at Erste Fracht Braugasthaus directly opposite the station. Traditional bier keller food and atmosphere - just what was need after a long day travelling.

One very small, silver lining is that all the extra train journeys cost nothing as they were all on the same day!

Originally the plan was to head to Freiburg to spend a couple of days there and be poised for maximising the trip along the Rhine to Cologne. However the German railways do not have the best reputation for reliability much to my surprise. So rather than risk missed connections we deliberately stopped in Karlsruhe - just as well given my passport muppetry!

We spent the day wandering around the town and, as we first came across in Warsaw, spotted street signs advertising the establishments' wares.

More craft beers! Supper and tasty beers in a microbrewery, VogelBraeu, Karlsruhe.

After a couple of nights in Karlsruhe we took the train to Freiburg and had a few hours to look around before boarding the train north again.

Lots of interesting buildings in Freiburg including this very fancy church.

This typeface is Fraktur aka German Gothic is still seen on some street signs. This typeface has an interesting history - first popular in Nazi Germany as a true German script but then subsequently prohibited.

One of the sights in town in the lovely St. Martin's Gate, Freiburg, shame about the McDonalds.

Thanks to advice from the Man in Seat Sixty One, we booked seats in the EC8 panoramic coach on the old Rhine route and on the best side of the train for the views. It is a bit difficult to capture the landscape through the windows and cloudy skies however the views were lovely.

It was especially scenic north of Mainz with the lots of cute villages, imposing castles and steep vineyards.

The main purpose to this leg had been to start heading homeward using the Rhine route. Our time in Freiburg was too short so we plan to revisit for a longer stay and a chance to explore it properly. 

Next stop: Cologne!

Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Salzburg

Salzburg, Austria. Thursday/Monday 12/16-October-2023.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

The fifth stage of the Grand Tour: Salzburg. The route from Chur took us via Germany, changing trains in Munich. We (i.e. Mary) failed to make reservations and, despite having first class passes, ended up travelling between Munich and Salzburg on the floor between the carriages! To be fair this was one of the few problems we had and were only going via Munich because of engineering works. We learned our lesson and then made reservations where we could.

Confession - I was a muppet! We had a change at St. Margrethen in Switzerland. We detrained and had a 20 minute wait for the train to Munich. As we settled into our seats Mary asked, "Where's the food bag?" I had only gone and left the Co-op shopping bag containing our lunch and other stuff on the platform! I could bear the loss of lunch and a couple of thermos flasks but unfortunately I had popped my iPad in there as well.

The conductor was helpful and communicated the loss so we hoped station staff could be able pick it up but too late. FindMy app showed the bag stationary for a while then on the move along the rail route, then off at a later station to some random location. I initiated a remote delete so hopefully, at least, the thief will derive no benefit. Despite the lack of a receipt for the iPad, our travel insurance company were very good at covering the loss (minus depreciation).

We stayed in an interesting 15th century converted mill house courtesy of Home Exchange; it had a stream that ran literally under the house. It was in a quiet neighbourhood away from the centre but wth great transport links. Thanks to a tip-off from someone in the Interrailling for the older crowd FaceBook group we purchased a 72 hour Salzburg card which you can load onto your phone. We made great use of it on Salzburg's many bus lines to get out to our accommodation, into the centre, around town and back.

The first evening we decided to eat local in the nearby Gnigler Stub’n. Not as posh as the reviews imply, it was a basic locals pub that did bar food. I had schnitzel and chips and Mary wurst and chips. Very tasty, traditional food and generous portions. Just what you need to relax after a long day travelling.

Next day we went into town for a wander and get our bearings. The tourist trade majors on the twin pillars of Mozart and Sound of Music but the city is more than a two trick pony with beautiful architecture and many fascinating old buildings.

Inside, this one looked like it still had the original pharmacy fittings.

All the churches we visited were opulent.

After a hard days' touristing we needed refreshment, sampling the local produce in a couple of local brew pubs with a proper bierkeller atmosphere.

Tasty weissbiers.

Then after supper it was off to another bierkeller to sample more beers of course.

The next day we downloaded a walking tour app and went of a self guided route around town.

This tour included some really quirky graveyards.

A complete famile set of gravestones from the 1700's.

We took the funicular up to the fortress which is visible from everywhere ...

... and from there you can see everything.

There were shopping streets including the Salzburg equivalent of Bond Street, full of designer outlets.

As we saw in Warsaw, shops often have signs illustrating their wares.

Salzburg's most famous son, Mozart. Unsurprisingly he cropped up everywhere. Mozart tea towel anyone?

We spent some time in Mozart's birthplace and a very interesting museum and learnt a lot. Not just the about man himself, but also his musical family and Salzburg society of the day.

Saturday is parkrunday so off we went to Hellbrunn parkrun, held in the lovely park around Hellbrunn castle, lovely and flat, 2.5 laps with brilliant views. More tourist than locals. The Run Director explained that the locals prefer to run up the mountains you can just see in the background behind the trees. Each to their own.

As always at parkrun, a great bunch of volunteers including Mary as Schlussbegleitung (Tailwalker).

Mary also earned a volunteer credit for post-event tidy up.

In Salzburg we had piece of serendipity. On the Sunday in search of culture, from a number of possibilities, we chose a concert by a young Latin American orchestra, Orquesta Iberacademy Medellín. The orchestra was fantastic: young, energetic and very talented. This concert was part of a short series called Latino Mozart. The whole programme was amazing but the Adagio from the Concerto de Aranjuez was one of the most beautiful pieces we have ever heard. 

Sunday evening on the recommendation of someone in the Interrailing group we went to Austria's largest beer tavern in the Augustiner Bräu Mülln. Drinking our way around Europe, one craft beer at a time!

We loved Salzburg with its history, tall elegant buildings, imposing fortress,  parkrun, and music and beer heritage. 

Next stop: Karlsruhe and Freiburg.