Castles, Clocks, Cruising & Chilling

[Deno]

Castles, Clocks, Cruising & Chilling

1 Holiday, 8 taxi's, 9 flights, 10 countries, 30+ cities, 70 + Trains, Trams, Buses, Thousands of memories.

The holiday was to celebrate my wife retiring and ticked off quite a few bucket list items.
We live in Brisbane, but flew to Melbourne to start the holiday, so we could get a direct flight to Bangkok.

Overview - Countries visited in order Thailand, Jordan, England, Scotland, England, Netherlands
Then a River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary)
Then to Norway, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia

This trip was in 2023, but I know most of the information is relevant

PART 1
We flew Economy Bris - Melb on QF621. Stayed overnight at the PARKROYAL. Next day, an easy walk to the International Terminal to Board JQ29 to Bangkok.
We booked business class to Bangkok, but I was aware, it was more like Premium Economy, and it was.
The flight was on time and the service and food were acceptable.

BANGKOK - This was our first time in Bangkok, and we stayed 3 nights at Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit.
The Pullman was exceptional. Easy check in, very clean, with large rooms. We upgraded to a deluxe room with Drinks & Canapes, and it was worth every cent.
We visited the Reclining Buddha, Rooftop with Glass floor at King Power Mahanakhon, Soi Cowboy (colourful Avenue)
Rooftop bar with craft beers at Raddison Blu Plaza & Chatuchak Markets. We enjoyed all of them.

What we did NOT enjoy in Bangkok, was the horrendous traffic. We hired a driver for the day, and half the time was spent in traffic.
We caught the MRT a few times, and it was much easier.


Photos above - Reclining Buddha, Traffic in Bangkok, Royal Mile, Train arriving at Falkirk.

We checked out of Pullman Bangkok Grande and off to the airport to board our midnight flight RJ 183 Bangkok to Amman - London (RJ 111) in Business Class. Without a doubt, Royal Jordanian is the best business class product I have experienced. The staff were exceptional, the food was superb, and the Dreamliner did not disappoint.

Overnight at London in the Sofitel (Expensive) at Heathrow Airport
Off to Edinburgh on British Airways BA 1438 in economy (very expensive). If you have the time, the train takes just over 4 hours, and is a quarter of the price.
We arrived in Edinburgh, but due to the Fringe Festival & Tattoo, we stayed at Falkirk. For half the price of a hotel room in Edinburgh, we got a fully self-contained 2 bed apartment in Falkirk, 25 minutes away.

EDINBURGH, FALKIRK, GLASGOW & SURROUNDS
Falkirk is on the main train line and gave us easy access in all directions. We bought a 3-day rover pass which gave us unlimited trips for locations up to about 75km radius. Edinburg is only 25 minutes by train from Falkirk.
We used the rover pass to visit Glasgow, Stirling, Edinburgh (3 times), North Berwick, Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Queensferry, Bannockburn. The 3 day rover pass is fantastic value, but can't be used in peak hours. We were on holidays, so never moved before 9 am, and we always out sightseeing until after 6pm, so it did not cause an issue.

On the last day of our Rover Pass, we caught the train to Glasgow, spent the day there, and then picked up our hire car.
Due to the fringe festival, there was no car hire availability in Edinburgh. There is a great Mural trail in Glasgow. The Mural of Billy Connoly is on a wall of a huge building.


Photos above: - Murals in Glasgow and Ship Workers Sculpture. The Kelpies in Falkirk - Wife circled for size comparison

Our time in Scotland was spent at these locations: -
Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile Edinburgh, free walking tour of Edinburgh, Leith, North Berwick, Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Glasgow Mural Trail, Falkirk Wheel, The Kelpies, Stirling Castle, St Andrews town & Golf Course, Scenic drive from St Andrews back to Falkirk via Crail.


Photos above: - Lobsters cooked while you wait in Crail, Crail Harbour, Leith Harbour, Edinburgh Castle.
Scotland is stunning, and we only got a glimpse. I got to see St Andrews Golf Course, but I wish we had stayed there. It is a beautiful town.


Part 2 - Drive & Train from Edinburgh to London to follow soon.

 

[Deno]

Castles, Clocks, Cruising & Chilling

1 Holiday, 8 taxi's, 9 flights, 10 countries, 30+ cities, 70 + Trains, Trams, Buses, Thousands of memories.

The holiday was to celebrate my wife retiring and ticked off quite a few bucket list items.
We live in Brisbane, but flew to Melbourne to start the holiday, so we could get a direct flight to Bangkok.

Overview - Countries visited in order Thailand, Jordan, England, Scotland, England, Netherlands
Then a River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary)
Then to Norway, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia

This trip was in 2023, but I know most of the information is relevant

PART 1
We flew Economy Bris - Melb on QF621. Stayed overnight at the PARKROYAL. Next day, an easy walk to the International Terminal to Board JQ29 to Bangkok.
We booked business class to Bangkok, but I was aware, it was more like Premium Economy, and it was.
The flight was on time and the service and food were acceptable.

BANGKOK - This was our first time in Bangkok, and we stayed 3 nights at Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit.
The Pullman was exceptional. Easy check in, very clean, with large rooms. We upgraded to a deluxe room with Drinks & Canapes, and it was worth every cent.
We visited the Reclining Buddha, Rooftop with Glass floor at King Power Mahanakhon, Soi Cowboy (colourful Avenue)
Rooftop bar with craft beers at Raddison Blu Plaza & Chatuchak Markets. We enjoyed all of them.

What we did NOT enjoy in Bangkok, was the horrendous traffic. We hired a driver for the day, and half the time was spent in traffic.
We caught the MRT a few times, and it was much easier.

View attachment 396750
Photos above - Reclining Buddha, Traffic in Bangkok, Royal Mile, Train arriving at Falkirk.

We checked out of Pullman Bangkok Grande and off to the airport to board our midnight flight RJ 183 Bangkok to Amman - London (RJ 111) in Business Class. Without a doubt, Royal Jordanian is the best business class product I have experienced. The staff were exceptional, the food was superb, and the Dreamliner did not disappoint.

Overnight at London in the Sofitel (Expensive) at Heathrow Airport
Off to Edinburgh on British Airways BA 1438 in economy (very expensive). If you have the time, the train takes just over 4 hours, and is a quarter of the price.
We arrived in Edinburgh, but due to the Fringe Festival & Tattoo, we stayed at Falkirk. For half the price of a hotel room in Edinburgh, we got a fully self-contained 2 bed apartment in Falkirk, 25 minutes away.

EDINBURGH, FALKIRK, GLASGOW & SURROUNDS
Falkirk is on the main train line and gave us easy access in all directions. We bought a 3-day rover pass which gave us unlimited trips for locations up to about 75km radius. Edinburg is only 25 minutes by train from Falkirk.
We used the rover pass to visit Glasgow, Stirling, Edinburgh (3 times), North Berwick, Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Queensferry, Bannockburn. The 3 day rover pass is fantastic value, but can't be used in peak hours. We were on holidays, so never moved before 9 am, and we always out sightseeing until after 6pm, so it did not cause an issue.

On the last day of our Rover Pass, we caught the train to Glasgow, spent the day there, and then picked up our hire car.
Due to the fringe festival, there was no car hire availability in Edinburgh. There is a great Mural trail in Glasgow. The Mural of Billy Connoly is on a wall of a huge building.

View attachment 396751
Photos above: - Murals in Glasgow and Ship Workers Sculpture. The Kelpies in Falkirk - Wife circled for size comparison

Our time in Scotland was spent at these locations: -
Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile Edinburgh, free walking tour of Edinburgh, Leith, North Berwick, Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Glasgow Mural Trail, Falkirk Wheel, The Kelpies, Stirling Castle, St Andrews town & Golf Course, Scenic drive from St Andrews back to Falkirk via Crail.

View attachment 396752
Photos above: - Lobsters cooked while you wait in Crail, Crail Harbour, Leith Harbour, Edinburgh Castle.
Scotland is stunning, and we only got a glimpse. I got to see St Andrews Golf Course, but I wish we had stayed there. It is a beautiful town.


Part 2 - Drive & Train from Edinburgh to London to follow soon.

We drove from Edinburgh to York, via Lockerbie, Lanercost & Barnard Castle.
From York we caught the train to Doncaster & London
Barnard Castle 1 night - York 5 nights - Doncaster 1 night, London 3 nights
From York we caught the train to Doncaster & London

Our first stop on the drive was at Lockerbie to visit the memorial. Then onto Lanercost to see Hadrian's Wall.
On our way to Hadrian's Wall, we fluked coming across the stunning Lanercost Priory, which is being restored.
Overnight at The 3 Horseshoes Hotel in Barnard Castle. A beautiful little town, with friendly locals. We ended up playing trivia at the pub, which was a laugh. The pub has been renovated, great rooms, and breakfast included the next day.

The next day we drove to York and stayed at The Riverside for 5 nights. The Riverside was a fully self-contained apartment with full kitchen. Made the stay so much better.
York is a walled city, with most of the wall still in place. We walked most of the wall, which has coffee shops and a bar in certain locations.

Some attractions in York we visited :- The Shambles Markets, Clifford Tower, National Railway Museum (amazing), The York Dungeon, York Minister (Cathedral) and various quaint little pubs.
We also did day trips to surrounding areas. I would definitely recommend a stay in York.


Phots above - Lockerbie Memorial, Hadrian's Wall, Lanercost Priory & Barnard Castle town.

We departed York and headed for a 1 night stay Doncaster via train. Our stop in Doncaster was just to experience a day at the races. The view we got from a room at the Hilton Hotel, that overlooked the Racecourse was spectacular.


Photos above Railway Museum, Pub in York, the view from our room of Doncaster Racecourse, Some clock in London, lol.

The next day onto London for 3 days via a 1 hour 40 minute train ride. We stayed opposite Kings Cross Station for an easy departure for our London to Amsterdam train trip.
London needs no introduction, but one place I recommend is the Old Bank Of England on Fleet street, which has been converted into a pub. It is beautiful building inside, and has lots of banking memorabilia throughout the pub.

After London it was off to Amsterdam via a very comfortable 4 hour train ride. I find Amsterdam a city full or action, fun and a good vibe (Maybe the weed they all smoke, lol)

We boarded our ship a few days later, for our River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest.

Part 3 River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest to follow soon.

 

[ellen10]

Sounds like a wonderful happy retirement trip.
I am enjoying following along with your journey and photos.

 

[Deno]

Part 3 - River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest (Grand European Tour)

We did this cruise with Viking, and every step of the way was exceptional. The food was superb, staff were fun, and very knowledgeable. You will never go thirsty or hungry. By day 2, the bar staff knew our names, and drink of choice, and the level of service never dropped.
The Ship was 10 yo, but it did not show its age.
If you are thinking about doing this cruise, I just say book it as soon as you can. It is not cheap, but worth every cent we paid.

Our Itinerary was:- Amsterdam, Kinderdjik, Cologne, Koblenz, Miltenberg, Wuzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Regensberg, Passau, Melk, Krems, Vienna, Budapest. At 12 of the locations there is a free walking tour with a guide. We joined the walking tour in every location, and most of the guides were great. Twice we found the guide was not to our liking, so we just went off exploring on our own.
There are also other tours which cost extra. We paid extra and did a tour to a winery in Austria. It was ok, but thought it was overpriced.

It was lovely going to bed, and you wake up in a new town to explore. This type of cruising is very relaxing. You unpack once in 15 days, so it is super easy.
Some days you are sailing past wineries on steep slopes in Germany, and then past castles and heritage listed sites. The sunsets on the Danube, as you sit down to dinner were breathtaking.





If you have ANY questions about the river cruise, just send me a message.

After the river cruise we stayed in Budapest for an additional 3 nights. We loved Budapest, and are thinking about returning there next year.

We then flew to Helsinki to board AY141 to Bangkok. The business lounge at Helsinki was very good. Another exceptional business class product on the Finnair A350 flight to Bangkok.



Overnight in the Novotel at Bangkok airport. A good hotel with a full 24 hour check in / check out system. If you check in at 9.00pm, you had until 9.00pm the next day to check out.

Our last stop was at The Mulia in Nusa Dua Bali to basically do nothing and recharge our batteries after travelling for over 45 days. The Mulia was superb, with 4 restaurants, 5 pools and all the usual options available with a big resort. We had a package deal which included breakfast & dinner. Th seafood was next level, and I never got tired of eating mud crab for dinner each night

Dinner each night


Drinks by the pool and Ocean in Bali


We used an Esim for our phones, that covered all of Europe & Asia. Never had a problem with connection or speed.

We caught JQ 58 back to Brisbane in Business Class, to finish our amazing trip.

The planning has already started for our Alaska trip in 2025

 

[love_the_life]

Sounds like you had a great trip.

You were lucky with the river cruise - there were all sorts of problems with flooding for the Viking Christmas markets cruises and lots of passengers were poorly treated. From what I have heard Viking are great when things go well but the pits when there are problems.

 

[Pushka]

We have friends on Viking Ve, AMS to Budapest right now.

Alaska is simply wonderful.

 

[Deno]

Sounds like you had a great trip.

You were lucky with the river cruise - there were all sorts of problems with flooding for the Viking Christmas markets cruises and lots of passengers were poorly treated. From what I have heard Viking are great when things go well but the pits when there are problems.

There was torrential rain in Passau, and the Danube broke it’s banks when we were on our cruise. We had to change ships, but Viking staff worked hard to make sure the transition was as smooth as possible. I guess it comes down to the staff on each ship. We were on Viking Skadi.

 

[Pushka]

There was torrential rain in Passau, and the Danube broke it’s banks when we were on our cruise. We had to change ships, but Viking staff worked hard to make sure the transition was as smooth as possible. I guess it comes down to the staff on each ship. We were on Viking Skadi.

Yes, we experienced the floods at Christmas time but our ship swap after two days went to a ship that never moved the rest of the trip. The crews onboard both spent the week moving luggage on and off multiple times. Tiring for them. For us the Viking communications was the issue as they refused to tell us that we would not be cruising the rest of the week, even though ports were advised by the Rhine River ports authorities of a weeks closure (as we found out later) We did notice a difference between the crew, particularly and weirdly, the Captains of each vessel. In just 7 days we had three! Something was happening behind the scenes. The CD however was brilliant and as you know they stay with the group, and the only reason likely the passengers didn't mutiny

 

[Deno]

Yes, we experienced the floods at Christmas time but our ship swap after two days went to a ship that never moved the rest of the trip. The crews onboard both spent the week moving luggage on and off multiple times. Tiring for them. For us the Viking communications was the issue as they refused to tell us that we would not be cruising the rest of the week, even though ports were advised by the Rhine River ports authorities of a weeks closure (as we found out later) We did notice a difference between the crew, particularly and weirdly, the Captains of each vessel. In just 7 days we had three! Something was happening behind the scenes. The CD however was brilliant and as you know they stay with the group, and the only reason likely the passengers didn't mutiny

That is a shame, you never moved again, and the 3 captains. Sounds like a lot of things could have been done better.

 

[ellen10]

There was torrential rain in Passau, and the Danube broke it’s banks when we were on our cruise. We had to change ships,

When were you there? We were in Passau on the 1st May, beautiful weather. I think the Danube was quite full, but no flooding issues. We were heading north

 

[Deno]

When were you there? We were in Passau on the 1st May, beautiful weather. I think the Danube was quite full, but no flooding issues. We were heading north

We were there in September 2023

 

[ellen10]

We were there in September 2023

Oh ok, sorry. We were fortunate with only one morning of drizzle all trip.
We went the opposite way to you Budapest to Amsterdam. Loved our trip and agree Budapest is great, we would like to go back.

I really enjoyed reading your trip report.

 

[VPS]

We drove from Edinburgh to York, via Lockerbie, Lanercost & Barnard Castle.
From York we caught the train to Doncaster & London
Barnard Castle 1 night - York 5 nights - Doncaster 1 night, London 3 nights
From York we caught the train to Doncaster & London

Our first stop on the drive was at Lockerbie to visit the memorial. Then onto Lanercost to see Hadrian's Wall.
On our way to Hadrian's Wall, we fluked coming across the stunning Lanercost Priory, which is being restored.
Overnight at The 3 Horseshoes Hotel in Barnard Castle. A beautiful little town, with friendly locals. We ended up playing trivia at the pub, which was a laugh. The pub has been renovated, great rooms, and breakfast included the next day.

The next day we drove to York and stayed at The Riverside for 5 nights. The Riverside was a fully self-contained apartment with full kitchen. Made the stay so much better.
York is a walled city, with most of the wall still in place. We walked most of the wall, which has coffee shops and a bar in certain locations.

Some attractions in York we visited :- The Shambles Markets, Clifford Tower, National Railway Museum (amazing), The York Dungeon, York Minister (Cathedral) and various quaint little pubs.
We also did day trips to surrounding areas. I would definitely recommend a stay in York.

View attachment 396887
Phots above - Lockerbie Memorial, Hadrian's Wall, Lanercost Priory & Barnard Castle town.

We departed York and headed for a 1 night stay Doncaster via train. Our stop in Doncaster was just to experience a day at the races. The view we got from a room at the Hilton Hotel, that overlooked the Racecourse was spectacular.

View attachment 396888
Photos above Railway Museum, Pub in York, the view from our room of Doncaster Racecourse, Some clock in London, lol.

The next day onto London for 3 days via a 1 hour 40 minute train ride. We stayed opposite Kings Cross Station for an easy departure for our London to Amsterdam train trip.
London needs no introduction, but one place I recommend is the Old Bank Of England on Fleet street, which has been converted into a pub. It is beautiful building inside, and has lots of banking memorabilia throughout the pub.

After London it was off to Amsterdam via a very comfortable 4 hour train ride. I find Amsterdam a city full or action, fun and a good vibe (Maybe the weed they all smoke, lol)

We boarded our ship a few days later, for our River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest.

Part 3 River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest to follow soon.

I discovered Lanercost Priory by accident when I was driving around in April and was very impressed with it. There are some tea rooms just near there and I had one of the best scones I have ever had. Agree with the Old bank of England pub too. Great spot

 

[Deno]

I discovered Lanercost Priory by accident when I was driving around in April and was very impressed with it. There are some tea rooms just near there and I had one of the best scones I have ever had. Agree with the Old bank of England pub too. Great spot

We went to that same tea room and had scones too. Agree, they were very good @VPS

 

[Deno]

Oh ok, sorry. We were fortunate with only one morning of drizzle all trip.
We went the opposite way to you Budapest to Amsterdam. Loved our trip and agree Budapest is great, we would like to go back.

I really enjoyed reading your trip report.

Thank you @ellen10

 

[Deno]

We have friends on Viking Ve, AMS to Budapest right now.

Alaska is simply wonderful.

We went to Alaska in 2019, and loved it so much we are going back @Pushka

 

[Pushka]

We went to Alaska in 2019, and loved it so much we are going back @Pushka

On Viking? We went to Alaska in 2019 too. Orion.

 

[Deno]

On Viking? We went to Alaska in 2019 too. Orion.

We did Royal Caribbean - Seward to Vancouver