Lapland for the Polar Night, + Austria and France

[offshore171]

New year's day arrives and we're on a TGV to Paris.

The train is really moving.


This gets us to Paris Gare de l'est in about 2 hours. It's non stop all the way from Strasbourg.

Here of course pretty much everyone has to transfer to the Metro to get to their final destination.

A big tip here is to use the app and download metro tickets on your phone. Then just tap your phone at the turnstiles.

There were ridiculous queues of people 20-30 deep at the physical ticket machines. They were snaked back so far that it was actually difficult for people to walk past them to get to the platforms. Wild.

We boarded the metro and rode a few stops to Pont Neuf.

 

[offshore171]

We didn't have any specific plans in Paris. It was just a short visit because this is where I was able to find award seats for the trip home:
CDG - HEL - SIN stopover SYD

The French National Library is worth a visit

 

[offshore171]

The weather was cold but extremely clear. Probably the clearest sky I have ever seen in a major city in Western Europe.

This made for some spectacular sights outside the Louvre.