Hard to believe we are under 4 weeks from our next Tour !
I know its a “first world problem”, but cramming 2 tours within 8 months ain’t easy 😉 ! Jokes aside, I am probably under prepared with my preparation and planning for this trip to some extent, however Adrienne is sure to have it all under control. Anyway, here are a few details of what we have planned on this tour –
Gardens at the Keukenhof
More of the Keukenhof
Broadly, for this tour we have a few days of exploring before our cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest, and then about 10 days after the cruise to finish off the tour.
Here’s the plan –
Flying into Amsterdam early morning, we pick up a car and head off for a night in Bruges, in Belgium, and on the way visit the famous Keukenhof garden (the “Garden of Europe” – one of the world’s largest flower gardens) which, by sheer coincidence, should be at its prime display.
Clos Saint Georges
We then head into France (couldn’t go to Europe without a bit of military history !) for a night at Clos Saint Georges – a beautiful 18th century abbey – and the following day, for me, something I’ve been researching and planning for quite a while – however you will have to wait till then to hear more about that.
Then back through Belgium, its off to Maastricht, in the Netherlands, for a night and before making our way to Amsterdam to join up with the others and to start our cruise.
We will then cruise along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers over 14 nights, stopping at a number of ports as we go – such as Cologne, Nuremberg and Vienna – to our final destination, Budapest.
Lake reflection in the High Tatras
After farewelling our cruising buddies, from Budapest it’s back in a car as we head off on a big loop through Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. In the Czech Republic we have a night in Cesky Krumlov, then head to Prague for 2 nights. On to Poland we go for 3 nights in Krakow. From here we have a couple of day tours planned – the Wieliczka Salt Mine and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum.
Finally, on the way back to Budapest for our last couple of nights, we stop for a night in the High Tatras mountain area in Slovakia – the tallest range in the Carpathian Mountains which tower over most of Eastern Europe.
Adrienne has set it all out in quite a bit of detail if you would like to check it out here.
Should be some great experiences amongst that lot I’m sure ! It will be here before we know it !
Back to work until then ………..