UK and Europe 4 month sojourn!

[jase05]

Stunning photos. Prague really is one of the most photogenic cities on the planet. Every corner you turn is another amazing panorama. Looks like the weather was great too. Our last visit was in the midst of a heatwave and a few of the walks took quite a bit out of me

 

[Scash]

Stunning photos. Prague really is one of the most photogenic cities on the planet. Every corner you turn is another amazing panorama. Looks like the weather was great too. Our last visit was in the midst of a heatwave and a few of the walks took quite a bit out of me

The weather was perfect. A bit chilly in the morning but beautiful days.

 

[Scash]

Sadly our time in Prague has come to an end and we then headed to Berlin by train. It was a nice relaxing trip apart from an older couple who got on in Dresden and tried to tell us that we were in their seats even though the tickets they kept showing us were for different seats numbers. Eventually a German speaking passenger gently pointed them in the right direction .

A visit to the dining car for honey cake and coffee and some beautiful views. Forgot to take photos of the cake but it was delicious .

 

[Scash]

Arrived in Berlin and did a bit of a recce and found a Bud Spencer museum of all things! Possibly the younger ones on AFF might need to google who he is.



Also found this place not far from our hotel so thought we best pop in for a drink



The Cube building across the river.

 

[Lat34]

Did you get to see the sound and light show in Zagreb. Sounds produced by the movement of water and the sea wall. Solar power collected during the day and powers the light show after dark. And a really nice sunset thrown in as well.

Disappointingly no as we weren’t aware of this. We should have done some more research!

Think that might be the sea organ and light show at Zadar on the coast north of Split. Lovely place, like so much of Croatia

Sea Organ

A musical instrument played by the sea.

www.atlasobscura.com

Definitely no sea wall in Zagreb

ps loving your trip report @Scash - we had intended to do train travel from Zagreb across to France pre-Covid. Hoping to cover at least part of your journey July next year after Norway & Iceland In the meantime, adding lots of notes and references to your TR in our planning sheet!!

 

[Lat34]

Sadly our time in Prague has come to an end and we then headed to Berlin by train. It was a nice relaxing trip apart from an older couple who got on in Dresden and tried to tell us that we were in their seats even though the tickets they kept showing us were for different seats numbers. Eventually a German speaking passenger gently pointed them in the right direction .

A visit to the dining car for honey cake and coffee and some beautiful views. Forgot to take photos of the cake but it was delicious .

View attachment 345474

Loved Prague so much - my last overseas visit before C19 descended.

Anyway moving on and with regard to train travel, this site is an excellent resource for Europe and beyond if you havent come across it yet - The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide

 

[OZDUCK]

Sadly our time in Prague has come to an end and we then headed to Berlin by train. It was a nice relaxing trip apart from an older couple who got on in Dresden and tried to tell us that we were in their seats even though the tickets they kept showing us were for different seats numbers. Eventually a German speaking passenger gently pointed them in the right direction .

A visit to the dining car for honey cake and coffee and some beautiful views. Forgot to take photos of the cake but it was delicious .

View attachment 345474View attachment 345475View attachment 345476View attachment 345477View attachment 345478View attachment 345479

I see you managed to get seats on the 'right' side of the train for the river views - including the Bastei Bridge. We didn't but our train was so empty, last August, that there was plenty of spare seats. The riverside part of that trip is certainly very scenic.

 

[Scash]

Think that might be the sea organ and light show at Zadar on the coast north of Split. Lovely place, like so much of Croatia

Sea Organ

A musical instrument played by the sea.

www.atlasobscura.com

Definitely no sea wall in Zagreb

ps loving your trip report @Scash - we had intended to do train travel from Zagreb across to France pre-Covid. Hoping to cover at least part of your journey July next year after Norway & Iceland In the meantime, adding lots of notes and references to your TR in our planning sheet!!

Thank you @Lat34 and good luck with the planning.

 

[Scash]

Loved Prague so much - my last overseas visit before C19 descended.

Anyway moving on and with regard to train travel, this site is an excellent resource for Europe and beyond if you havent come across it yet - The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide

Prague and Salzburg are my favourites so far . I have been using Seat61 and find the information invaluable. I have even emailed him with questions and pretty much get immediate replies.

Train travel has gotten so much more expensive since we were in Europe in 2018 and the trains we’ve been on are always full. I remember last time almost having carriages to ourselves. If I can give you one tip that is to always reserve seats even though it costs extra. We did this for all our trips but still had people in our seats sometimes and having to get them to move!

 

[Scash]

I see you managed to get seats on the 'right' side of the train for the river views - including the Bastei Bridge. We didn't but our train was so empty, last August, that there was plenty of spare seats. The riverside part of that trip is certainly very scenic.

Yes we did get seats on the “right” side but really by accident. We were on the other side and the train was full but we headed to the restaurant car for something to eat and got table on that side! Our experience so far with all the trains we’ve caught is that the are mostly full. last time we were in Europe in 2018 we’d almost have a carriage to ourselves.

 

[Scash]

We did a free walking tour of Berlin today which was quite different to others we have done. Given that Berlin was pretty much destroyed in WW2 there are no real historical buildings as in other parts of Europe. Instead it was more about the events around Hitler gaining power and leading to WW2 and then the divisions caused by the split of Berlin between the Allies and Russia and the East Berliners going from naz_ control to Russian control with much the same control of the people.

We didn’t cover a lot of miles and started at the Brandenburg Gate, then to a memorial for the millions of people murdered by the naz_s, the spot where Hitlers bunker is/was, and then the Topography of Terror which is the former site of the Gestapo and SS headquarters. Hitlers bunker has been sealed off and is now a car park with the only indication of its former use being a sign. The German people in general do not want any memorial or significance attached to this spot given it’s dark past and do not want it to be shrine to any right wing extremists.

This was a truly amazing and moving tour and the guide was so honest and passionate about the history.

Reischtag Building (Parliament Building)



Brandenburg Gate



War Memorial



Car park over Hitlers Bunker. If you zoom in on the sign you can read info about it.

 

[Scash]

Checkpoint Charlie. This is a replica and not in the original spot. This was the American manned check point and ironically there is now a KFC on one side and McDonalds on the other !



Part of the original wall.

 

[MARTINE]

Fabulous
The TR just keeps getting better!
If you can please post East Side Gallery and the famous ‘kiss’. One of my favorites

 

[Gredgy69]

Actually doing the Eagles Nest tour.

I was only looking at this exact tour last Thursday. I have added it along with a few others already mentioned for our big Europe trip in 2025. I have also looked into going to the castle featured in the movie "Where Eagles Dare" (not too far from Eagles Nest I believe). I have thoroughly enjoyed the photos and narrations Scash. Thanks for taking the time to do.

 

[jase05]

I was only looking at this exact tour last Thursday. I have added it along with a few others already mentioned for our big Europe trip in 2025. I have also looked into going to the castle featured in the movie "Where Eagles Dare" (not too far from Eagles Nest I believe). I have thoroughly enjoyed the photos and narrations Scash. Thanks for taking the time to do.

We have visited the Eagles Nest a couple of times and as we always have a car we drove up there and also to some other stunning sights in the area. Some excellent day trips around the region if you have a set of wheels

 

[Scash]

I was only looking at this exact tour last Thursday. I have added it along with a few others already mentioned for our big Europe trip in 2025. I have also looked into going to the castle featured in the movie "Where Eagles Dare" (not too far from Eagles Nest I believe). I have thoroughly enjoyed the photos and narrations Scash. Thanks for taking the time to do.

Thank @Gredgy69. I really appreciate the feedback.

 

[Scash]

The next day we did a paid tour to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Our meeting place was near the Friedrichstraße train station. From this station (and also other paces) thousands of Jewish and non Jewish children were transported to the UK prior to the outbreak of WW2. They were placed in foster homes, hostels, farms etc within the UK and parts of Europe but unfortunately not all were treated nicely and some children were effectively used as slaves. Most never saw their parents again . There are a series of statues depicting Kindertransport with one in Berlin (below), Gdańsk, Hamburg, Holland and London.

 

[Scash]

It’s difficult to make comment on places like Sachsenhausen concentration camp other than it’s sobering and so sad what was done to people who were incarcerated in these places. It is beyond belief the atrocities that were committed and how any person could become like that. The guide at times became quite emotional and we were asked not to take photos of certain things out of respect for the murdered people. The camp itself has mostly been destroyed with parts recreated to give an idea of what it was like.

 

[Scash]

On a brighter note we visited the East Side Gallery which is an open air gallery on the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall. After the wall fell artists from 21 countries contributed their art to the wall. There are way too many paintings to photograph and show but I have attached some of the ones I particularly like. This includes The Kiss for @MARTINE. For background on this painting go to The Story Behind the Iconic Kiss on the Berlin Wall.

 

[Scash]