The End of the Road.

We finally arrived home uneventfully. We had a good flight home with Etihad and touched down Monday evening at 19.15 hours. We got through the customs procedures quickly and was on the taxi homeward bound by 8 o'clock.  Got in around 8.30 pm and  right glad to be done and dusted.

To all our readers both listed and unlisted, we hope that our travel reports were informative and a little entertaining and thank you for reading them.

and for the last time Neil and Lois

60 days ...... ALL DONE.

Its a Long Way To Tipperary

Well the time has come the walrus said to speak of many things..... and so my friends has the time to come back home to Oz.

Its been an incrediable experience and we have had many highs and a few lows. We have met some incredable people and some I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire. We have seen some wonderful sights, been ripped off by others, but we have never been bored by any. The Europe of my youth is but a memory and has changed so much that it was a lot like visiting a completely different place. The new countries that we visited Spain and Greece we found interesting, but we would only visit Spain again.

Britain was changed also but for the good I felt. Contrary to popular opinion we found London not overly expensive. The trains were all new and there is now an over ground rail system going to the new suburbs springing up in the redeveloped old abandoned industrial areas around the Thames river.

I write waiting for our plane to Abu Dhabi and we are both happy to be coming home and look forward to seeing Australia again.

See our happy Ma and Pa Kettle on the farm (Left) and Macmoud and Fatimah (right).

As you can see we run the risk of going feral, so home we come.




Neil and Lois

59 days or so

Egypt in a Daze

Last day in Egypt and last day of our trip today. No reports for most of the trip as internet access practicaly non existant and when available too expensive to use. Writing this up while tour attends the Cairo Museum as I have gastro and is too risky to do much. Hopefully this will abate so I can fly home with out too much trouble.

It has been quite hot 38 - 40 degrees for much of the last three days and has made the sightseeing dificult. I have never drank so much bottled water before as the water here is undrinkable for all but the locals.

What can I say, the Pyramids are great and impressive much more so than the photos suggest. Up close the fitting of the stones are such that a credit card can't be placed between the stones. They must have shone in the sun when the limestone covering was complete.

Also Lois got her wish and rode a camel. Looking shiek on her camel we see her ploughing her way through the desert sands. I also got some video of her getting onto her camel which is just a hoot, much laughter from all in sundry.

We have seen some impressive ruins and our Tour Guide Mohamad has been impressive in his knowledge. I guess having degrees in Egyptology certainly helps. It is just not the highlighted ruins that impresses you its the little known ones and Mohamad's explanations sheds light on the meanings of the hiroglyphics and the symbology of the sights.

Such things as the photo to the right. Ramases II seen in this photo is reputed to be the largest statue in existance. This man lived untill he was 97 and ruled for 67 years which must have been an unbelievable feat for those times. He has statues all over Egypt and one can't go anywhere without seeing him.

All in all it has been a whirlwind tour. We started at Cairo where we visited the Pyramids, Lois rode the Camel then held a baby lion where we stopped for a Egyptian BBQ before we caught our overnight train to Aswan. The train was something else and best described as an ordeal. The diner was plain disgusting, real railroad food and ineditable. The breakfast was passable.

Having arrived at Aswan we toured the High Dam and then joined our Boat "La Traviata". She was a nicely fitted out boat and for three nights we enjoyed quality service. It was airconditioned and had a "plunge" pool which both Lois and myself enjoyed immensely to the point I got a good tan. All of which was necessary as we stopped a lot to leave the boat and visit different sights.

On the second day we visited Abel Simbul. We caught a Egypt Air flight of 30 minutes duration and were bussed out to the sight. An expensive optional tour but worth every penny spent. I rate it as the best thing that we have seen on this tour. Basicaly it is two temples cut into the rock. One for Ramases II and one for his wife. The wife's temple is noticably smaller and not as ornate as one would expect but is unique in that it is the only one built for the wife of a King. This site had been moved due to the aswan dam as its original site was under water. In 1961 they moved it verticaly up the hill some distance where it would be safe from the rising waters and retored it to its original condition, a feat in itself.

Our most interresting visit was to a Nubian village where we enjoyed hot cinamin tea, toured the village and talked to the villagers. We left as darkness fell, which proved interesting as the small boat we were in had no lights. So we simply plied down the river in pitch darkness avoiding other boats and all the rocks!! We arrived safely and assumed that they had done this so often that the knew the river backwards.

Our general impression of Egypt was one of crushing poverty, generaly filthy with over crowding and traffic chaos. A coutry of the rich and poor and nothing in between. A country of the 21st century mixed with a country that has not changed much since the Kings. Most of the people that we saw still rode asses and donkeys in their daily work. Most still tilled the earth by hand. They have a law that says a building not finished does not pay tax, so most of their buildings are not finished to avoid the tax.

Whilst we have enjoyed our time here I think that we are glad that we are going home tommorow. I am sick of having to buy bottled water, avoiding anything made from the local water and despite all thes precautions I still took sick.

Neil and Lois
58 Days

King Tut and Queen Nefratiti

Just a quick post to say that we have arrived safely here in Egypt. Left London over 2 hours late after a hairy mad dash through London traffic to make our time before departure. Then sat and waited for over two hours because of a defectice plane. Arrived at 3am and got to bed about 4am. Rose this morning about 7.30 after 3 hours sleep. It was 23 degrees at 4am so expect a hot old time in many ways.

Neil and Lois

Pussycat Pussycat where have you been.... to London to London to see the Queen.

We have finally reached London and finished our European tour today.
Since our last post we have travelled from Vienna back to London.

Saturday saw us travelling to Hittler's Eagle nest. The trip up was to say the least hair raising and the trip down bloody suicidal, well almost. But the photos were well worth the laundry issue.
Given to Hitler by Borman and the Nazi Party the road up and the House was completed in 12 months in 1938. Though Hitler had his house in the area he apparently didn't enjoy the heights and only visited on 14 occasions.

The eagle nest can only be entered via an elevator located underneath the house bored through the rock. But views such as the photo left is what is the reward.

We stayed at a little place called Iggls (Pronounced Iggles) which I believed was the gem of the tour. It was a little hotel located in a small village and the ambiance of the place was really overwhelming.

Sunday we travelled all day to reach Lucerne late in the day. We stopped for an hour at Innsbruck before heading to Lucern. Stopped at a family Hotel which was rather like staying at a favourite Aunt, who had bad habits. Rooms old but clean. Meals average but sufficient. The problem was that at the bar, prices were charged that not only changed from drink to drink, but seemingly at the whim of the bar person. Lois ordered a drink that another lady had ordered that was 5 Swiss franks and was charged 6 franks. When question the bar person merely shrugged her shoulders.

Monday we spent in Lucerne and walked around the old town before we went to a Swiss folk meal. Meal was brilliant and entertainment great

I even got blow my own trumpet, ER Alpine Horn.

Tuesday we went from Lucerne to Mannheim via Rhine Falls and HHeidelberg. We took a Rhine Cruise which was very nice and showed a few of the Castles that dominate this stretch of the river.

Wednesday we travelled onto Amsterdam which was a long day travelling in the Bus and the rain had started by the time we had arrived in the town. We did do a channel cruise and thankfully the rain stayed away. Then onto a nice restaurant where we had a great meal before returning to the hotel.

Today we left Holland and returned to London after crossing the channel thus ending our 30 day tour of Europe.

There were a lot of Highlights and a few low lights. My best was Spain and the worst was the Greek cruise which if I had my time again I wouldn't do, rather staying in Athens for the three days.

Neil and Lois

(Lot count of number of days)

A few of My Favourite Things...Strudel, Beer and Vienna.

A full day in Vienna, what bliss. Today we toured the Summer Palace, saw the Winter Palace and treked through the Hapsburgs Crypts, just for something different.

Seen right is the Summer Palce of the Hapsburg Dynasty who ruled Austria for 600 years. They ended after the loss in WWI in 1918. We toured the private apartments which were spectacular though no photography was allowed. The Gardens are bigger than Monaco and coverred a huge area although only half are now open for inspection. The other half is an army barracks now.

The gardens are spectacular and we were in luck as they are ripping up the flowers for winter this weekend. You could walk for over 30 minutes and still not reach the end of them. All flowers were bright and the colours vibrant, simply impressive.

After touring the Summer Palace we headed on to a City tour which showed us pretty much what Vienna had to offer.


We then  toured the Crypts of the Hapsburg Dynasty, which though morbid did indeed shed light on just how big and influencial that the Hapsburgs were in their day. Saw the Casket of Franz Josef, his brother Maximillian of Mexican Fame and many others. There are over 145 hapsburgs buried there including the last of the Emporers, his wife and one of his children. They are expecting his other children to elect to be buried in the family crypt which is interesting considerring that the family abicated at the end of WWI. One son is 97 and the other just slightly younger, the older son regularily visits his old home and ofcourse the graves of his Father and Mother.

We were then let loose on the city and shopped and ate and looked around the city. Here we can be seen at the Mozart memorial. Its really interesting in that they have planted a giant Treble cleff in front of the Monument.

Also while we walked we saw this guy plying his trade.... where's Kate when you want her.

Tonight we are off to a Austrian Dinner and tommorow we head to Innsbrook for 1 day.

Neil and Lois

41 Days

The Hills are Alive...... With The Sounds of Snoring.

Today we left Venice behind us and motored and motored and motored on to Vienna. It was just a driving day and boring as with most sleeping during the drive. Stopped twice for food and toilet stop and arrived at Vienna at about 4pm.

Can't upload any photos due to crap free internet service by austrian Hotel which is deliberately blocking any upload capability.

Neil and Lois

40 days.