My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #14 – Amiens–Paris – Barcelona 22/10/25

With plenty of time this morning I had the best & possibly the only sleep in I’ve had since Nuremburg. Really needed it & Amiens was so quiet, plus it was an apartment, like a home would be. I had to completely clean the apartment to remove any signs of my stay there (as I usually do … cleaners would love me) & return the key to the magical place of the stairs around the corner for the lock box. I was able to do a well-timed laundry wash too last night & everything was dry. Another win!!

Boarding the train at Amiens was a breeze due to being a regional station & then another hour later I was at my favourite Garde du Nord Train Station .. NOT!!! From my last experience in getting a domestic rail connection & the taxi mongrel the other day I decided to see more of Paris by walking the 4.2klms to my Tim Hotel for the overnight stay (40mins) which is quite close for my train trip tomorrow. Once I checked in & paid a smallish city tax (€15), I headed off to Garde de Lyon Train Station to test out my train connection for 7.40am departure to Barcelona (6.5hrs) tomorrow. This station is much more simplified & has only 3 Halls (all huge though). My Hall 1 has 23 platforms & I have confidence all will be well tomorrow. The station is only 250m away too.

23/10/25 Everything went to plan (proper planning) & caught my train on time at 7.41am but I didn’t sleep much at all last night. Travelling around 165 -300klm/hr in aircraft seats was comforting but alas, I am still travelling backwards which I’m beginning to think is a European thing to annoy tourists (joking). For the 6.5hrs of travelling there is plenty of farmland to see & I had that rare moment when I thought I had no-one sitting next to me. Bummer .. a guard came up with a man about 60 & he just plonked down, almost hitting me. Well .. the smell of him! A mixture of garlic, old eggs & body odour. Wow!! It was dreadful. Appeared to be Spanish, even his hands were dirty. He was on the train for some 3hrs or so until we stopped at Beziers when he got off. A lady took his seat & she was French, but I wished I had disinfected the seat for her. She never spoke to me either, so I’m on a roll of silence, I guess. We had 20 coaches on our train plus 2 food carriages & 4 engines. That works out about 390m & that is how long some platforms are in Paris & the like. Our carriages were also double deckers too.

There wasn’t much to see along the way with the tracks having high levee banks parallel to the tracks possibly to limit the noise pollution of the trains but every now & then an opening would appear. Southern France was quite fertile & full paddocks of ploughed topsoil & soon to be harvested crops but as you got closer to the Spanish border the whole thing changed & became worse the further south you go. The soil turned to sandy gravel & quartz & grass basically disappeared; it was more like semi-arid land & maybe in a period of drought by the looks of it. The train route consisted of the 1st stop being Lyon, then Montpellier, Nimes, Beziers, Narbonne, Perpignan, Figueres, Girona & finally Barcelona. This train terminates at Barcelona, so everyone is getting off & the platform is full of rushing masses.

Back to the arid lands of Spain, there was some farming done, but on a difficult scale. Lots of the farms needed considerable work done on them. Some I saw seemed they literally walked away from the land with deserted housing & barns. Of course, Spain went mad with their solar & stupid wind farms & they were scattered in clumps & with the high winds I believe that’s why 85% or so weren’t operating (wind speed limited). These windmills could be put up anywhere as there seems no sensitive environment to deal with; such is the arid land. Remember, Spain had a country wide blackout about 2yrs ago, but they had French nuclear energy to fall back on at some unknown cost (repayment). We in Australia are putting these shit things everywhere & the windfarms are being installed through pristine forests, koala habitats, logging forests & dinosaur period rainforests without any environmental impact legislation applied. My hometown area of Nrthn NSW just 3months ago was shut down for selective logging, yet these farms just plough through with utter destruction. Also, when we have a major blackout & it will come, we can’t call upon our neighbours for energy. We are all alone, an island. Complete shutdown. End of this rant … for now!!

Arriving in Barcelona was beyond ridiculous with gusty high wind forces. Despite this & remembering my disgusting taxi ride in Paris, I decided to see more of Barcelona by walking to my hotel, some 4.1klms away (40mins). I walked & by-passed broken limbs scattered all over the streets. They were everywhere & the wind was still around at 7.30pm when I came back into my Hotel Espana Ramblas after checking in. Wind gusts seemed to be around the 80klm mark. Of course, Google Maps played up & sent me about 4mins out of my way but eventually I arrived at my hotel after seeing quite a few sights & landmarks along the way, such as, the Colosseum-like Arenas de Barcelona shopping Centre which looked more like something else in its stature. The Placa d’Espanya statue within a busy roundabout. World Trade Centre building adjacent to the marina. The monument a Colom dedicated to Columbus, again in the centre of a roundabout along the marina. Finally arrived at my quite swanky Hotel Espana tucked away in a very narrow street lane (being renovated over on the left side) & even has a doorman to open the door. The room is rather swish to say the least. A shower you can dance in. King sized bed. Once settled, I started out walking around a bit more to get my bearings & seeing lively eating areas & community buzz at the Plaza Real de Cataluna Espana & the overcrowded fish, meat, poultry & fruit/veg markets. With the daylight fully ended I completed 15,374 steps = 11.98klms for the day. Tomorrow, I have a tut-tut city tour set for tomorrow morning 9am sharp & The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia tour set for 1pm.

24/10/25  WOW, WOW, WOW!!!Of what I have seen today but first I must divulge what started out on the day. Best sleep ever in such a great bed. Showered & off to a great breakfast in the hotel buffet. I was certainly looked after, treated like royalty, really. As soon as brekky was over, I started out to my meeting point, some 2.5klms walking away for the Tut-Tut City Tour (3hrs) to map the main points out on this wonderful city. Of course, I’m never late & was some 20mins early & I had the correct address & confirmed my arrival on Google Maps. Not a sign of a tut-tut, nor a representative. as time went on, I sent text msgs, emails before & after the 9am deadline but yet, not a response. I waited till 9.25am, yet not a response. I also sent an email at 5.57pm & still no response. Eventually I received an email from Get Your Guide operator on 26/10/25 stating they have received my request for a refund due to no tour provided. I received 2 more emails the next day requesting my tour feedback, so I couldn’t let that slide by. Finally, the 30/10/25 (I have since left Lisbon for Dublin) I received their email confirming my refund is being processed to my account. Such a slow response.

With much frustration of no Tut-Tut Tour I left the meeting point at 9.25am & headed towards my next tour, The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia some 15mins walk away & with that I saw a lot of landmarks & fine buildings. Castle of the Three Dragons (castle built for 1888 Exhibition World Fair, now cafe & museum), Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia, Arc de Triomf as the entrance gate to The World Fair in 1888. Sant Pau Recinte Modernista Hospital (1902-30), which is a hidden gem of spectacular, not far from Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. Viewing from the front entrance is amazing. The clocktower is 62m high. I didn’t get to see inside but people are stating it is of disbelief the imagery of architecture & finishes inside. It is now a knowledge centre for various educations of health, etc. Only a kilometre away from the Basilica is La Monumental is another Colosseum type – 1914 art noveau bullring building now used for concerts, etc with a bullring museum. You can go inside & even stand on the sand ring. Due South of Sagrada Familia is the Cathedral of Barcelona, another great architectural Gothic church (13 [1298] -15 centuries) built on previous churches foundations. The dome was completed in 1913. This cathedral has so much history & was operating well before the 13th century in previous buildings.

Of course I’m far too early, so I did a bit of crowd watching in-between looking at this marvelous structure disbelieving what I am seeing. After a while I circumnavigated this amazing place by a few city blocks to get more views of Barcelona living. Found the best coffee place I’ve had since Nuremburg & the staff were thrilled with my response. With more walking & getting nearer to my strict 1pm entry time I checked all correspondence with this tour. Lots of restrictions (like an airport & dress regs). I soon discovered my entry point is on the other side of this construction monument (rear of the structure) & headed off to be early again. I helped a foreign lady who was confused to find Entry Door C which is my access entry too. I was standing, people watching again & I looked over towards Entry C where she was waving & stating to ask the guard to come in earlier than my time allowed. That worked a treat with the guard & now I’m entering at 12.30pm, bonus. I wasn’t able to catch-up with her again to say thanks. The below photo is a teaser for my next blog on Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, this amazing structure of disbelief.

I’ll end my Blog #14 here for I have more to write about this magnificent basilica & far more photos of this brilliance & a little more of Barcelona. Many thanks for reading my blogs. Please stay safe, happy & healthy. Cheers.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #13 – WW1 Tour 21/10/25

Blog #13 – Amiens – Villers-Bretonneux 21/10/25 Today is an extra special day thought about long ago. It is about a ‘promise’ I secretly made to myself to visit the war area surrounding Villers-Bretonneux & The General Sir John Monash War Memorial just out of town. The promise came about when I was trying to organise a trip in 2017 for the 2018 opening of the underground War Museum at The General Sir John Monash War Memorial with my youngest brother, Rod but I won’t go into why he couldn’t agree but it wasn’t his decision not to. Not long after my first planning of this trip & discussing it with him Rod suddenly passed away (at only 54). Rod was an avid reader of books on WW1 & knew a lot more than I on the subject. After he passed away, I made that promise to myself to take him with me .. much like I’ve done on every trip since 2017.

I have read 2 large, detailed books on who I call our greatest ever Australian, General Sir John Monash who landed on Day 1 at Gallipoli 25th April 1915 & through his efforts & strategies saved countless lives & later ensured the safest retreat from the bloodbath of Gallipoli & in 1918 took control of the whole alliance armed forces of countries (England, USA, Canada, NZ & other countries) in an orchestrated front to defeat the German army. He was the only one to ever achieve that chief honour of such a combined force. Only cruel politics kept him from being rightly called Field Marshall, for he was born in Melbourne of German Jew parents & as he grew always called Australia his country despite his heritage. Too many Field Marshalls & Generals failed miserably throughout this war until they reluctantly took notice of him. He brought the war to an earlier end & saved countless thousands of soldiers & civilians. He was the only Commander to be knighted on the battlefront for about 200years by a reigning monarch, King George V through his amazing & accurate strategies mentioned above. After the war, he also brought reinforced concrete to Australia through Monier, built & designed bridges & rail networks, electricity networks, chief organiser of ANZAC Day marches & Remembrance Day & the repatriation of soldiers & the list goes on. Every student must read his life stories & his achievements, for they are amazing. His name is honoured by universities, highways & hospitals, etc.

So today, 21/10/25 at 9am I meet my guide, Bridgitt on a Tripadvisor 8hr tour – Australian Battlefields Tour. Our first stop is where I met Brigitt at the Cathedrale Notre-Dame d’Amiens, just 200m from my apartment. This Cathedral celebrated its 800 years birthday in 2020 with the first stones laid in 1220! She is the largest gothic medieval cathedral in the world, double the space of Paris Notre Dame & has a 112m high spire. . We also have the opportunity for an early morning peak & to hear the large pipe organ being practiced on. What a sound! The bishop, before the war began, wrote to the Pope asking for him to ensure the German’s don’t destroy the cathedral. It worked however, the bishop being less positive made sure the elaborate stained-glass windows were removed & stored in a large warehouse for safe keeping. The warehouse was eventually blown up by the Germans & only 2 windows survived as per my photo. The ceiling is solid stone & vaulted some 30m high which is an amazing sight in itself. There is just too much to see in this cathedral as well as the insane detail on the outside, carved in stone.

Moving on, you can see the beautiful rolling landscape of the Somme region. Farmland everywhere & perfectly manicured of sugar beet & seed sown ploughed acreage. The cows are kept warm in large sheds & allowed out twice a day, then milked. Such beautiful scenery now hiding the devastation of war.

Villers-Bretonneux is only a few kilometres away from Amiens & is a much smaller village but it has a stronger connection to Australia & it’s almost a religious following, as Australian troops saved this village & many others. There is a school, fully funded by the State of Victoria & is called Victoria School. Each student is fully schooled on the ANZACS & Australian history & culture. Robinvale in Victoria became its sister city in 1984/85 & the townships have had a close bond ever since. I had a chance look into the school due to school holidays & there’s certainly a lot of Australia here.

Just outside the township we visit the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery linked to the Australian Memorial where Bridgitt explained the role to undertake the carving of the Portland stone back in England & shipped out for the required grave after the soldier was clearly identified. Some families were even allowed to have something carved on their headstone along with their regiment or country war insignias, etc. Sadly, the Portland stone is a bit porous & some erosion is happening, making them difficult to read depending upon wind, etc. We saw 2 headstones side by side of 2 brothers who enlisted together & died in the same trench. One was 25 & the other 31yrs old. What a shock for the family.

Turning 180° from the thousand or so headstones, we walked a short distance to the General Sir John Monash Museum where thousands of names are engraved on external walls who could be identified who died in this region. I believe there are 300,000 still declared as missing (never found or identified) for this war. The Western Front & the counterattack led by the Allies in April 1918 shows the amazing courage the Australian troops displayed but also suffered terrible losses.

From looking at the walls of names Bridgitt takes me downstairs to venture into the underground museum but first, we partake in great Australian made barista coffee. The best one since arriving in Europe. This centre tells Australia’s story of the Western Front in the words of those who served through a cutting-edge multimedia centre revealing the Australian Western Front experience through a series of interactive media installations and immersive experiences. You are provided a smartphone to trace your steps & for the respective narration to take place & you have to pay €3 if you didn’t bring your own earpiece for it. I left mine in the apartment. Argh!! There are lots of exhibits & displays. I spent an hour interacting with the displays while Bridgitt organised our lunch there & talked to other tour colleagues. The below images you can see the interactive Western Front images on the floor screen.

Leaving the museum & just up the road towards Le Hamel is the Australian Corps Memorial where it was inaugurated on the 22nd of July 1922 by King George VI and is the last memorial of the Great War to have been erected. On its walls are engraved the names of 10,729 Australian servicemen. Every year, on the 25th of April thousands of people gather on this site at dawn, to commemorate “ANZAC Day”.

After a brief stop we venture down to Chipilly, Somme, Hauts-de-France where from “Camp Cesar viewpoint” you get a fantastic panoramic view of the valley of the Somme which gave its name to the famous “Battle of the Somme” in 1916. On our way to Albert (Albere) you can see for miles the Basilica Notre-Dame de Brebieres, which is of Neo-Byzantine style and was built at the end of the 19th Century. The original was completely destroyed by the Great War & was reconstructed identically by the son of the original architect: Edmond Duthoit. Its dome is covered with gold sheets & bares the statue of the Virgin Marie holding baby Jesus. The gold sheets with the sunlight on it glows like a strong beacon for miles.

Our next stop is the Lochnagar Crater, on Route de la Grande Mine, 80300 Ovillers-la-Boisselle. It is on private property & there are controls in place to limit erosion. The owner has placed a large carpark for buses & cars to see the crater from the fence line. We are in the middle of the Somme offensive of 1916. This crater was one of 19 underground mines planned to explode under the German lines to assist the infantry advance at the start of the battle. This impressive site is 70 feet deep and 330 feet wide which makes it the largest crater in the Somme. The earth & dust was seen to rise over 1,000’ into the air, let alone the noise & vibration. Due to the stalemate in this sector it was discovered the Germans were building their own range of tunnels, but the British beat them with their timing. One tunnel set was found to be only 3m apart, so it was a wonder they couldn’t hear each other dig.

Following part of the Somme River we stop at the 1st Australian Division Memorial, 268 Route d Albert, 80300 Pozieres where the Australian official historian accompanying the troops, Charles Bean would say about Pozières that it “is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth.” Pozieres sadly is well known to Australians where almost 7,000 men lost their lives here. We also pass by the Windmill Memorial at Pozières where an Australian memorial was established in the 1930s at the suggestion of Australia’s official war historian, Charles Bean. It commemorates the 23,000 casualties; some of which died in the surrounding countryside. Just opposite this site stands the “Tank Memorial” which gives an insight about the part played by the tanks on the Western Front.

Not far from here is the site where the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen crashed his plane & died in a dog fight in the sky while taking a reconnaissance flight over to the allied forces. Canadian planes were in the dog fight against other German planes but a few years ago experts disclaimed the Canadian pilot shot him down for it was an Australian machine gunner at his post did the duty. Out of respect (his plane was painted red also) The Red Barron was buried by the allies with military honours after a few days in a village some klms away. Bridgitt states his body has been exhumed 7times until his final resting place since. He died April 21, 1918, at 25yrs old just 4 days until the big push from the allies that ultimately won the war. Monash chose 25th April as the ultimate date for the push as a Gallipoli landing anniversary motivation I suspect.

We later passed by Moquet Farm Pozieres where there were mass tragedies from 1st Australian, 2nd Australian & 4th Australian regiments doing the hard slog into battle. Everything was destroyed but we suffered huge losses. Circling back, we stopped at the Memorial de Thiepval, Rue de L’Ancre, 80300 Thiepval for the “Memorial of the Missing” where it is the largest British War Memorial in the world. This imposing monument overlooks the surrounding rolling countryside. On its walls are engraved the names of over 72,000 soldiers who are rather missing or whose bodies were found but not identified.

We then pass by the Ulster Memorial Tower & Thiepval Wood, Route de Saint-Pierre-Divion, 80300 Thiepval for Ulster Tower, Northern Ireland’s national war memorial. It was one of the first Memorials to be erected on the Western Front and commemorates the men of the 36th Division and all those from Ulster who served in the First World War. The memorial was officially opened on 19 November 1921. From the top of the hill, in the opposite field, you can still see the traces of the Battle of the Somme frontlines and the remains of a German machinegun post.

Getting late in the day 5pm this new parkland called The Memorial Terre-neuvien De Beaumont-hamel, Rue de l’Eglise, 80300 Beaumont-Hamel closes early now into Autumn by we are free to walk the grounds. This parkland is commonly called The Newfoundland Memorial Park which had money raised in Canada for 17 hectares bought & controlled by Canadian Newfoundlanders. It is the largest actual remaining battlefield site in the Somme and a memorial dedicated to all Newfoundlanders who served during the First World War.

The Battle of the Somme was the first major engagement of the regiment where they suffered staggering losses on the 1st of July 1916. The ground, purchased in 1921 by the women of Newfoundland and their government has become the symbol of sacrifice and a source of identity of the island. Here you will find the routes of trenches, craters & the view looking down at the German line after pushing them back with huge losses & countless bravery. The Germans had the prime location to defend themselves. Brigitt refers back down to the creek we just crossed by car where it was found a huge underground bunker was created by the Germans (villagers said the Germans took 2 yrs to build). It starts near the creek bank & then several branches are formed & each branch has well equipped rooms for the commanders & other huge rooms for the soldiers, kitchen, dining, a medical centre, ammunition stores, etc, all underground. This tunnel system nears about 1klm long & goes even past the ridge of machine gun outposts that could see the Australians coming up the hill. The Australians were sitting ducks with no cover.

Just up the road we pull over to a carpark & Brigitt shows me where a house once stood. Totally obliterated, yet you can see in the crater the house footings but with concrete walls between them where the Germans had a tunnel system connecting each house or farmland house, totally out of view of the enemy.

Brigitt points to where her home is & further away her dad’s farm along these fighting lines. Her current home is just 3klms away, yet she has to take me 30mins down the road to Amiens for my drop off. I really felt for her driving all that way & then returning. I did find sufficient Euros to tip her which she was very hesitant to taking, but I won. She is a marvelous tour guide & the history & research she has done is staggering. I was so blessed to have her but couldn’t take too many photos or remember everything she stated, such was the type of tour we were doing. Far too much info but it was very well received. I’ll end my Blog #13 here. Many thanks for reading my blogs. My next blogs will be leaving Amiens for an overnight stay in Paris, then my hi-speed train trip to Barcelona Spain (6.5hrs) where I hope the sun is stronger. Please stay safe, happy & healthy. Cheers.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #12 – Paris to Amiens 20/10/25 

To lessen my perceived stress levels, I thought it best to pay for a taxi direct to Garde de Nord Station instead of taking a domestic line & changing at another station where anything could happen. I pre-booked my 1hr train trip from Paris (Garde de Nord Station) to Amiens long ago in Australia but will be tested by the enormous Garde de Nord train station for the correct platform on which Hall (Zone), as per my previous blogs.

Looking out the front of my Mercure Hotel, it has just stopped raining at 7.45am so I headed off, hoping to see a taxi, but no, so kept walking towards the other Mercure Hotel where there was a taxi rank. I should have had my hotel call a taxi .. der!!! Next to this other Mercure Hotel was the Australian Embassy with our 3 flags for God’s sake!! Arghhh!  .. Go figure, I never saw it before walking past it. Should go in & complain about our treasonous Communist Albanese Government & Commie Governor General, the flogs!!

I see the line of taxis, so I do the right thing & go to the front taxi & stated “Garde de Nord”. The driver repeated in clear English & talked as we loaded my bags into the boot & away, we go. It normally takes around 20mins & €20 for the one-way. I noticed he went another way to my compass brain, so I tracked using Google Maps. The 1st bridge crossing came up & he did a quick turn left at the Eifel Tower, right behind a 6klms/hr street sweeper (I think he saw it, then turned hard). I said “really?”. He shrugged his shoulders. He was supposed to take the 2nd bridge & go to the Arc de Triomphe but no, he took another 2 diversions, then I showed him my Google Maps stating the bleeding obvious. No real English now but in French says he’s in the Bus Lane in peak traffic. Another 2 blocks & we are now at The Notre Dame .. shit!! … not even close to the train station & so far from the hotel, then after me stating a few words, he repeatedly states “Fuck you” x 4 times, to which I stated right back to him. The next turn, he then heads straight to the station in peak crawling traffic. The fare ended up at €28.50 & 33mins. He did know I was right & pissed! ☹ These drivers don’t display any badges, licenses, etc so I took a picture of his number plate to vent to the company later. Don’t ever rip me off or disrespect me!! Kharma comes in many forms, but I hope in this case it hurries up.

Now for the Garde de Nord station. Looking up at the first large board I can see my train # but had to wait to see Amiens (ha .. 2nd stop). The next winning bonus is Hall A (Ground Level) & this is where I entered the station. A win!!! Now to wait the hour or so till boarding. Being early, this Hall 1 is partly deserted, but it won’t be long till it’s crowded & insane.

Travelling to Amiens is for three reasons. The first is where the train runs through it, has more accommodation available & is a bigger city than the village of Villers-Bretonneux (closer to the war section I am preferring to see). For my accommodation I selected La Pléiade Dorée from my Booking.com provider at my Genius Level rate. Travelling to the war locations I wanted to see involves a bit of hardship + hiring a car is a bit risky for me & to firstly obtain one, so I booked the best war tour available through Tripadvisor for tomorrow. It wasn’t cheap but goes for 8hrs & includes a private vehicle with guide.

Arriving at Amiens too early to check in I found this great bakery & coffee shop .. but they need to improve on their coffee. Not good .. but bakery & seating are excellent. I did a bit more of my travel blog, but internet is not working that well, so more frustrations. Jose (off-site manager) contacted me through Booking.com stating in French that my apartment is ready. He continually sends everything in French & I must use Google Translate all the time. He now wants me to go to another address & find a lockbox with a code. Google Maps got me to the street corner but still had to find #6 & then the lockbox. 2 vehicles were up against the small steps, but in more detailed searching, something caught my eye; it was the small lockbox around a water tap & the code worked. Yay!! Now I had to go to another address (turns out around the corner). Opened the steel security gate & then said go to ground floor, room 103 or use the lift or the stairs. Well, I went into that building. No rm 103, lift access doesn’t operate for me. Security is tight at every door I see, so what do I do now?

Obviously, something is wrong, so I went back out to the security gate & reread the message. A young, very accommodating lady with French speaking only, helped me for quite some time & she was also confused on Jose’s messaging. With huge thankful smiles I let her go. Then my frustration boiled again. Nothing makes sense. Contemplating what strategies are open to me & after complete frustration I went back to see the people at the lockbox, but they shrugged their shoulders on having limited English. I typed a strong msg back to Jose & in doing so some photos turned up showing the lockbox near the concrete steps, the gate & then the back doors of building 1. I retraced my steps back through the gate (Building 1) & found more building units behind it. Entering each foyer, I was able to see the letterboxes & that told me which building had Rm103. Why he said to use the stairs or the lift got me. Well, I arrived & the apartment is very clean & well set out. Kitchen, dining & bedroom all 1 room. Quite small in area but it all fits. Separate bathroom & WC. Washing machine under kitchen bench (common in France & Germany) & that is a bonus for my laundry needs.

Unloading all my gear & wanting to venture out more & to find a grocery store for my stay I followed the security advice & escaped through the security gate to stroll down the main corridor street (no traffic allowed). This corridor was quite wide & fully paved & a little slippery when some drizzle rain started. The older buildings were quite impressive but some of the new buildings were ordinary. The first ugly one is Amiens Train Station as per my photo & the second one is right out front of the railway station & was an architect’s/ owner’s ego to build the highest building in the region but the Amiens citizens call it the “ugly pencil“. I note, down another street is the Cathedrale Notre-Dame d’Amiens with restoration works happening. It is obvious this cathedral has a very important history for more of my research.

Now closer to dinner time I’ll venture out before dark & then bed early for a HUGE day tomorrow, so I’ll end my Blog #12 here. Many thanks for reading my blogs. My next blogs will be living the WW1 experience & keeping a ‘promise’ I made some time ago to visit the Sir John Monash War Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux & other places he was well-versed on, etc for my youngest brother, Rod who suddenly passed away in 2017. Please stay safe, happy & healthy. Cheers.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #11 – More of Paris 19/10/25

19/10/2025 Knowing what is ahead of me today I had set the alarm for 6.30am, so I have enough time to spruce up .. yeah .. sure … & to have a good protein brekky downstairs before heading out. With my walking Protein is critical with sufficient water intake. Going to the Mercure Hotel buffet (leaving my reading glasses on the table) I picked my usual items. Seeing the labelled egg basket, like yesterday I took 2 eggs. My first clue should have been the boiled eggs were quite cool, but I’ve had that experience in other hotels. Slicing off the top I found the egg to be raw & not boiled. Bit of a controlled mess followed, but discreetly. Argh!! Putting my glasses on I went back & the boiled eggs were in a tiny machine, so I took my 2 quite warm eggs back to my table. All is now good & made a smoothie out of the raw egg. Never waste what is good for you.

Racing up the 2 levels of stairs (their miniature lift is beyond slow) I quickly got my room sorted & headed out hoping the predicted 20% rain was a furphy. Bloody hell it was cold!!! It is now 8am & the only sign of life were the market people stocking their markets out front (once a week on Sundays). The market of fruit, vegetables, fish & bread, etc ran for about 200m in 2 rows, so it was a decent size. I headed north to The Pantheon (Paris version) but knowing I would be there before it would open at 10am. My ticket for the strict attendance at The Louvre is set for 11.15am to obtain my 11.30am entry. They will not accept you being late for the timing & one must not to fail this requirement. I correctly anticipated this Pantheon would not exceed Rome’s Pantheon’s internal wonders going by the literature I saw, so going inside was not critical, as the Louvre has priority.

From my hotel to The Pantheon is 1hr of walking (4.8klms away) so I had best be off, but not in a hurry. I walked the deserted suburban streets for ages .. seems like I’m one of the few in Paris today. Did I say it was chilly? Even walking was cold & I was glad I put my scarf on & now to keep my hands in my pockets. Brrr!! It certainly wasn’t pleasant to see people sleeping on the footpaths & in front of doorways overnight. Too many for my liking. Paris has a lot of beggars & pick pockets, so you must always be aware. I was walking accurately today so everything was going well (GPS working when needed). As time went on, the buildings became more historically elaborate & exclusive assuming this area is another prime neighbourhood. I found The Pantheon quite easily & what an impressive structure. It was also surrounded by other impressive buildings of a university & also a Government Services building along with other churches (Eglise Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, bottom right photo) & basilicas. Two couples had arrived & noticed the sign saying 10am opening, so they headed off for coffee. About 5-7 people are present, so it’s still a deserted Paris.

After seeing the externals of The Pantheon & other buildings I set off for the Notre Dame near the River Seine where it entailed around 2.6klms of walking. It is now around 9.30am & I can finally see Paris kicking citizens & tourists out into the chilly world with gritted teeth & the line up for the coffee & bakery stores are quite long. It will be another hour before I see the volume of runners hitting the pavements trying to get a clear run through the volume of people. Some with shorts & singlets .. you’re kidding!!!!

As I get closer to The Notre Dame you can see the increase in people traffic, so you know you’re making progress getting closer. Turning the corner & WOW!! What a glorious sight! You cross a narrow street to the bridge of the River Seine & you can get your first photo from the church’s side. The first stone of the cathedral was laid in 1163 by Bishop Maurice de Sully who was the main promoter of the construction & was a builder of many religious buildings, even outside of France. His famous master building was the Notre Dame. This site in history was the start of the town of Paris before it became the city. This Medieval Catholic Church was completed in 1345AD, dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Our Lady) & built on an island in the River Seine but had many periods of vandalism & destruction over the centuries.

Driven by a revival of popularity thanks to Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris, the State decided to carry out restoration work in the nineteenth century. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, the cathedral is a major place of Christian worship and the most visited monument in France in 2018. Following the fire of April 15, 2019, which destroyed the medieval framework and the spire of the cathedral, a major restoration project was being carried out to reopen it to worship and visitors on December 8, 2024. The entrance line of people for the internal viewing was insane. I couldn’t imagine the time to get to the front doors of the church. The bells are now tolling & what an incredible sound they make. I watched the line of people enter the church in a larger than normal door which is cut into the much larger front doors. The church is impressive in every form from whichever angle you see it. You must get close to really see the detail in the statues & plaques above the front doors. Truly amazing workmanship. There is an ongoing redevelopment for the church by upgrading the forecourt to start this year (currently, sand grit covering). The next stage will be utilising the large back court for an underground parking extension. The underground parking is currently under the current forecourt. The super impressive statute below is Charlemagne from France’s medieval past who was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire & sits in the forecourt of Notre Dame.

Moving on from Notre Dame, I make my way up to the Louvre for my 11.00am appointment & 11.30am entry. It is approximately 2.2klms away along the other side of the River Seine. Leading up towards the Louvre you come across another obscene shopping area & the over-the-top Louis Vuitton shop. Insane building of wealth amongst other expensive shops. Upon reaching the outer building of The Louvre you take to the bridge over the River Siene first, towards the centre to get great photos of the river, glorious buildings & the background of Notre Dame to the South & The Eifel Tower in the North. Pity it is another full cloudy day & the sun is having another day off by just giving us enough daylight.

Walking off the bridge you cross at the pedestrian lights to enter the Louvre straight from its side with the open causeway. When I was waiting for the lights, I took notice of a policeman about 100m down along the gutter waving a mother & child on a bike to head back. She was the only one on the 2lane one-way road. I thought it was a bit weird & in hindsight did I see a worker’s truck parked at the gutter about 150m further down? That’s all the intake I took & proceeded to cross the road with other pedestrians.

Directly opposite the traffic crossing lights is a large square opening in the external building which leads you into a grand central courtyard, completely encased by 4 magnificent 3storey Louvre buildings (massive). Walking under the clockface building to the North through another causeway opening you enter the front forecourt, where you see the large iconic glass pyramid with smaller glass pyramids adjacent to it & the mass of people awaiting to buy tickets &/ or to gain entry. Buying online pre-day is certainly the best way to get in.

After a lot of photos & avoiding people doing the same, I walked to the side to get around the large glass pyramid & to seek out my ticket entrance section. In doing so, I noticed very large platform grills (3mx3m) on ground floor pavement level & with a man using a control device opens one of them showing large hydraulic stays & a row of stairs, like the action out of the film, Gladiator & a stream of people come up from that stairway. I kept walking around to my ticket section & confirming I’m 50mins away from my actual entrance, which is good timing really. After standing in front of the entry barricade for 10mins or so, taking everything in, a Frenchman with a Louvre uniform speaks loudly in French, then English to the crowd; stating there is a “technical issue” happening & we are closing The Louvre. WHAT!!!!

Everyone finally starts hearing him but too confused to move back as instructed. Within about 2mins a Special Police Squad of about 12 fully armed officers come up from that stairwell I described earlier & form a barrier line to set up more barricades than was previously. I had already got the message & moved back but some ‘idiots’ kept asking the police where to buy tickets. Really? .. yes, I heard them several times. Stupidity, really does my head in. The Frenchman, referred to earlier continues to yell out “Full Refunds apply .. The Louvre is now closed for the day. Go see Paris”. Bummer!!!!

Within another 2mins the reservist army personnel with their AK47s (possibly) parade the forecourt & then the volumes of police sirens are heard getting closer. I saw the emergency hierarchy arriving & running to the senior police officers, so I’m thinking it’s more than a technical issue .. whatever that means. They did a rapid job of clearing the thousand or so people out from all 4 directions with the front courtyard being the main one. Might have been the show of guns. Haha. It was unusual for me to see the rush of the emergency hierarchy (in suits) towards the police in charge & for the 4 persons involved they were all doing the French double kissing on the cheeks (all males) … but it’s France, hey. Then they start talking & pointing. Most people have now got the message & shouldn’t be in this area so all but a few headed off when it was again reconfirmed The Louvre is certainly closed for the day.

I contacted my tour provider, (Headout) by their contact email stating the immediate events & confirming I cannot reschedule, so a refund must be forthcoming, despite their claims of no refunds, as it is out of everyone’s control & The Louvre stating all will be refunded. I await their positive response but it’s France & I have little faith based on what I’m coming across in Paris. Another point, I think they forget countries like ours saved their arses twice in world wars. With not much else to do & feeling the tiredness of all my walking I headed back towards the Eifel Tower that I can still see & be nearer to my hotel, but first I seek a light ‘lunch’ & a bloody hot coffee to wrap my cold hands around the cup first. Across the road from where I was yesterday having lasagne, I noticed a crepe shop. Sadly, they were empty of customers, yet the menu & pricing looks OK. The owner sees me & I gladly accommodate by walking inside to instant warmth. I ordered a cappuccino & a crepe & all is now good. With me sitting there, suddenly people start looking in & by the time I left, the restaurant was full. I told the owner I had brought them in. He smiled & said “Thank you”. My Louvre ticket also included a River Seine cruise, but I was not prepared to do this as I’ve already walked the same river walkway plus did not want to jeopardise my refund application.

By the time I got back to my hotel, I checked my fb & found The French Media & TV had already posted the reason for the Louvre immediate closure today, in that it was a jewellery robbery that took place this morning around 9.30am I believe. Go Figure, on the most valuable of museums there is a flaw in security. The female Arts Minister responsible for all Arts, Culture, etc is getting a full bashing due to her previous crappy performances they are bringing out. Head of Security at The Louvre is a female plus the security supervisor is a female also. Seems like a typical DEI promotion. Apparently, workers used a small furniture delivery truck (like an escalator) that scales up to 3storeys, parked on the street & with iron bar cutting saw they made out they were working on a Sunday as per a normal job setup on the street wearing the Hi-Vis & workers gear. It is also alleged, the alarm system for those windows & room areas had been turned off some weeks ago by all accounts. Wreaks of an inside job surely. No alarms went off anywhere, so the security is a joke. You would think or even expect a perimeter security check would be done each morning & night as a priority & any such work scene would be properly scrutinised. Everyone was asleep at the wheel. I’m one of the people that won’t get to see The Louvre this trip, so to say I’m pissed is an understatement on my #1 tour pick! The Louvre should pay for my Paris trip return. Hold my Beer!! End of rant!!!  For now!!! I’d say, if I returned to Paris, it would solely be to see the Louvre & the inside of Notre Dame.

Not much is happening in this freezing afternoon, so I’ll end my #11 blog off here. Many thanks for reading my blogs. My next blogs will be leaving Paris for Amiens (tomorrow, 20/10/25),1hr by train to the North for the WW1 experience. Hopefully, I’ll have a better run at the dreaded Garde de Nord train station tomorrow. Please stay safe, happy & healthy. Cheers.

Post Blog: There were 4 robbers involved. 3 were caught within 2weeks. They left a jewelled crown (damaged) next to the truck in their getaway on small motorbikes. The internal robbery took 7mins apparently within the building. Confirmed 1 robber had worked in security at The Louvre. No sign of the jewels or crowns to date. With hindsight or whatever you wish to call it I remember seeing a policeman acting a little weird about 100m down the street from the bridge & also the furniture elevator truck but really didn’t register that strongly with me however I know which elevation they used to enter the window but 30mins earlier I would have seen everything unfold.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #10 – Amsterdam to Paris 17 – 18/10/25

17/10/2025 I managed to pack most of my things, leaving my Aus banking till after brekky & then heading out to Amsterdam Centraal to catch the Eurostar train to Paris via Garde de Nord (train terminates there) at 11.10am. Can’t help but notice yesterday & today the sun is out .. typical when I’m leaving. Finally seeing the sky of blue instead of a constant off-white sheet. Things do change with the trains, so I kept an eye on the train schedule board for the correct platform. Trains are only shown about 30mins prior to arriving, so best be quick to the platform. Usually the train arrives on #15 & today that was correct. The platforms are so long they have 15A & 15B by cutting the platform length into halves. I’m on #15A.

The carriages were of a high standard & very clean. I found my seat & to my luck no-one was sitting next to me .. well .. until we stopped at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (next stop) where a man sat next to me & wouldn’t utter a word. Anyway, he got off the train north of Belgium after about an hour & then I had the whole seat to myself. Yay!! Coming into Belgium we had a police incident, so we are running 20mins late so far.

Do you ever get the feeling something is going a little too well? Arriving at Garde de Nord Train Station was something else. Not enough clear English signs of course .. to be expected. The international trains (like mine) arrive on Level 1 (Hall 1) with about 12 platforms. The domestic & regional trains are on a few floors directly below which is an engineering marvel in itself. On the below levels there are Zones (about 5 Halls I think) where you have to work out which line you need. My phone said 4 RER B Sud, so where in the hell is that & where do I get my ticket? Found out later Sud means South & Nord means North. This place is enormous & then throw in a few thousand passengers & here we are, a bull ant colony with no chance of any communication with the clear sign I was a traveller, totally confused & no help forthcoming from any of the scrambling ‘ants’. After backtracking several times, I started using my secret cus words (plenty of them), especially when you have people walk right through you. This place really tests you! I eventually find a service counter back on Level 1. The lady looked at my phone & gave me my required ticket €6.30) & told me to go right & then down. Excellent! NOT!!

Nothing is making real sense at the moment, standing around to get a sign or some bearings. After walking the entire level 2 (Hall 2) I can see a board showing Saint -Michel- Notre Dame Station train in small print for Platform 42. Yay!! Upon arrival at the entrance of 42, large glass doors were locked for some reason. Passengers standing by were getting real jitty & then the doors finally opened without warning to stairs going up. My duffle bag is 19.4kgs & my day backpack is around 7kgs & I managed to beat a lot of people up the 30+ stairs; a lot were struggling. Within 2mins our train comes in & we are off. 3 stops down I get off at Saint -Michel- Notre Dame station for another train (another platform up). 3 stops later I get off at Champ de Mars (closest station to the Eifel Tower) & to my Mercure Hotel. With a bit of walking around the Eifel Tower I can see my Mercure Hotel & when entering a full bus of people were checking in. After a while a passenger comes up & says “we are not in a line, so you can go to the counter”. Yay!! Just as I got to the counter a French lady rudely jumps in front of me with no apologies. The reception staff found this very uncomfortable. She took 10mins to leave & then I started the check-in only to be told I’m at the wrong Mercure Hotel. Argh!! There are 3 Mercure’s within this small neighbourhood, so I made sure the next one was mine.

After checking in & paying the far cheaper City Tax of €25.35, compared to the whopping €128.80 for Amsterdam, I sorted out my room (King bed now) & then strolled over to both sides of the Eifel Tower (across the river too) where there were a couple of thousand people walking around & queuing for the climb up. I do my climb access at 12noon tomorrow on a pre-booked tour. At first look of the Eifel, you say, is that it, thought it would be taller … but when you sit there for a while & take in the sections it is quite the marvel. Will be a good view tomorrow.

Saw a street food vendor & he made a bbq chicken with spice, tomatoes, lettuce & seasoning wrap & it was amazing; €8 thanks (Yikes .. $15AUD). I followed it up with a high protein drink (24g) seeing I had done 15,164 steps today = 11.92klms. I’ll try & get a night photo of the Eifel Tower tomorrow seeing I just saw the lights from a distance. They start at 7pm & the added light show stays on for 5mins & this is repeated every hour till 11pm I think. My hotel is about 600m from the tower, so the location is good. From my 2nd floor room, I can see the top 80m or so. I had a really good sleep, an almost hot shower & into the buffet breakfast by 7.40am. This Mercure Hotel is a step down from the fantastic Eden Hotel in Amsterdam, but it is what it is & still I’m comfortable.

18/10/25 With time on my side, I headed off to what I believed was the Eifel Tower going by what I saw yesterday afternoon so I can travel further east for the Arc de Triomphe first. My tour of the Eifel Tower starts at 12noon. I’m trying to save my data as it seems to be used quickly now so I’m limiting my Google Maps use. Well, after a while I checked G Maps & to cut this story down it was playing up quite a bit. Today, my brain compass is not working either & so is G Maps. Argh!!! Finally, I get to Eifel Tower with around 40minutes of valuable wasted time & walking prior. Heading East from the tower, you go over the Pont d’lena bridge over the River Seine towards the phallic symbol fountain lake, Fontaine de Varsovie & then Trocadero, historical area & gardens & keep walking somewhat East for a while then head Southeast to see the Arc de Triomphe. I walked the elaborate street, Av. Georges Mandel with super expensive houses but of course that is the very long way. Bloody G Maps!!! If I had turned right after the bridge & took Av. D’Lena I would have seen the equestrian statue of George Washington & straight on to the Arc de Triomphe in all its glory (more facts below).

With the time remaining to my Eifel Tower Tour, I couldn’t squeeze into the subway walks to the centre of the Arc de Triomphe like my friend Renske said to do (she walked through the traffic which is really a no-no)!!! Took whatever photos I could then headed down the Av. Des Champs – Elysees for a while then turned right at the extra lavish Louis Vuitton shop. Passing these exclusive shops, I could feel a nosebleed coming on with the thought of how much money needed to shop here. Certainly extravagant. G Maps still playing up but my brain compass is working, a little. I headed off towards the Eifel Tower for my tour.

I had to now walk past my hotel, via the Eifel Tower again to check in with Get Your Guide shop for my guide & ticket I ordered back in August & then at 12noon my group walked back to the Eifel Tower & skipped the very long lines (up to 1hr usually to get through on these) to go through 2 screening airport-type systems to ensure you are not taking in anything like at an airport or anything metal-like to prevent idiots from carving their names into the expensive paint on the structure. They even screen for padlocks to prevent people from activating them on the structure.

Natalii was our guide & she asked us all to say where we are from. She then said she has been labelled many countries of origin due to her looks & dialect. After many unsuccessful guesses, she said Ukraine to all our amazement. She left 3yrs ago (war) where she was an English teacher & this guide work these past 3yrs has been most welcomed & enjoyable. She is now learning her 4th language at an age around 35, I guess. In these 3yrs she has done over 3,000 visits to the tower, so she is well versed.

Some quick stats on the Eifel tower, naming rights of the architect & engineer, Gustave Eiffel built in 1889 for an ‘Expo’ & also to celebrate the 100yr anniversary of the French Revolution. Eiffel had a fast-growing international engineering company & he fought hard against the elites in constructing it. To enable to get his dream started he supplied 85% of the costs to design & build it & pay for the naming rights & then the French Government reluctantly paid the remaining15%. Today just 1% of the earnings goes to Eiffel’s company & the govt takes 99%, so it’s a cruel outcome .. but typical of poor govts. Today, the tower generates more than 7million visitors each year & produces revenue of €100mil each year in just ticket sales alone.

The original height was 1,024ft, current height is 1,083ft using the antennae. The 4 tower feet are spaced at 410ft on the ground & the 1st floor height is 187ft, providing 14,485sq’ & the 2nd floor 377ft height providing 4,692sq’ with the 3rd floor height of 906ft providing 820sq’ with an exclusive restaurant that is ridiculously expensive. Just below the 1st Floor there are 72name plaques placed around the outside frame. These are men who have led the design, scientists, physicists & the like to enable the structure to be built. The govt is planning to place female names below the 2nd platform of recognised scientists, etc, like Madame Curie but no-one knows when, as a means of female recognition that didn’t happen in the past.

The structure has 7,300tons of dead metal weight & with the add-ons gives a total weight of 10,100tons. There are 18,038 metal pieces & 2.5mil rivets used. The original construction took 2yrs, 2mths & 5days to build. It was to last only 20yrs but with radio transmission evolving it became critical to keeping it. It is repainted every 7yrs & now into its 20th repaint. 60 tons of paint & 25 hand brush specialist painters are used each time (2yrs to fully paint) & many colours have been done over its 136yrs. The new colour is the same for 1907 but this time they are removing multi layers of paint for better bonding & protection. When it was previously painted through the 1900s the painters would climb it free hand, no ropes or pulleys. I saw the video … Yikes!!

Getting to the 2nd floor was by a type of Funicular lift (5 lifts are within the structure) & it was a good ride despite being packed in like the Japan Train Push. Moving out on the 2nd floor & mezzanine floor was insanely windy & very cold to boot. I froze of course until I got to the other side for the sun & wind block. The Arc de Triomphe could be seen of course & it looked tiny, but when compared to the surrounding structures it was quite large. I believe the Eifel Tower is still the highest structure in Paris, but it must be close with the skyscrapers out into a new part of the city. The Arc de Triomphe is 162.5’ high, width 147’ & depth 72.9’. Construction started 1806 & inaugurated in 1836. It was built to honour those who died in the French Revolution & Napoleonic Wars. Beneath its vault lies The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WW1. Like a huge bicycle wheel there are 12 (spokes) avenues coming of it on a roundabout configuration. Happy motoring!

After my adventures today I had this yearning for pasta, yes, I know I’m in Paris & found this great Italian restaurant, La Piccolino. It was a great little place & my lasagne with mushrooms & a special sauce was amazing. I’m hoping I’m not in Barcelona yearning for escargot. LOL!!! I walked away from the River Siene & took another view of the Eifel & saw another part of this historic area, including the stature of General Joseph Joffre (WW1) out the front of the impressive Ecole Militaire (Military Academy) opened in 1780.

I’m busy doing my blogs, so I’ll end this blog # 10 & trying to get my A game on tomorrow for a hectic big day. Today, I did 25,166 steps = 19.66klms of walking, not counting my night walk to the tower in the hope of getting a light photo. I managed to get out at night for the 8pm lighting of the tower. From 7pm – 10pm there is light show for 5mins every hour where the tower has sparkling light flashes, like a Christmas tree over the existing lights. In returning to my hotel, I managed the total of 28,625 steps = 22.4klms!!! Many thanks for reading my blogs. My next blogs will be more of Paris (Pantheon, Notre Dame & The Louvre + river cruise hopefully). Please stay safe, happy & healthy. Cheers.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #9 – Ayla & Renske 15-16/10/25

Today, 15/10/25 (Day 14) I have my usual huge breakfast at my hotel & headed off to Amsterdam Centraal to take a train to Naarden Burrum train station (€6) to meet up with a very close friend, Ayla who I met years ago at my new hometown of Yamba at my cousin’s then Yamba Backpackers. Ayla sent me an app 9292 which was so easy to book my rail eticket & see the rail timetable. A breeze. They send you the eticket 40mins before your departure. I caught the 9.40am train which provided the required 10am arrival for Ayla to drive & pick me up there & to show me her hometown region. Seeing her was such a thrill & she hadn’t changed a bit. Still gorgeous & vibrant. After such a wonderful greeting she drove into Naarden & did a quick walk around this quaint village & stumbled across a WW1 cannon. Photo opportunity of course. The first photo is in 2022 on her revisit to my Yamba.

At Naarden there is an ancient canal setup from 17th century, called Bastion Katten which is a quirky maze of levee walls & water in very odd shapes. It is very difficult to understand this construction & for what purpose it was intended for other than it was a water designed fortress with 15 cannons. The buildings were constructed between 1873-75. https://www.vestingnaarden.nl/Bastion_Katten.html

Following on, we travelled to Monnickendam & by chance along the way we entered a dairy farm of jersey cows that specialised in all types of cheeses. It is called Henri Willig Cheese & what a great little tasting & shop they have there. It is the original farm where Henri was born. He took it over in 1974 from his parents. If you planned correctly, you could see them do the milking too however, the cows were happily out on the farm grazing. Around 150,000 visitors per year come here & now with their other farms have 1mil attend/ year. They also have 24 stores in 8 cities. They certainly know how to do this business correctly.

Ayla & I tasted almost every cheese on the wide range of samplers. Eventually, we both loved the Old Gold cheese & Date ‘chutney’, so I insisted on buying that for her to enjoy as a memory of our catchup. I had a strong feeling she was thrilled & I could see her opening it straight away when she gets home. The Date Chutney I found was her real weakness. LOL! She took a photo of us & then me, in the giant clog shoes. Everything was so spontaneous with Ayla when she sees things. How can you refuse Ayla?

The next stop Ayla planned was to see the dyke at Volendam just up the road, but confusion reigned. The road signage was weirdly partly blanked off but the gps said keep going, so we followed the bus in front of us. Things became hysterical, where we found ourselves travelling through the roadworks under construction. For those 10mins it was priceless, so much laughter & what tha?? Finally, we came to where we supposed to turn off but barricades prevented that. Ayla pulled over when she saw a worker at the barricade. Using her Dutch language & no doubt her great smile, I could make out the story & laughter & what can we do comment? The worker then looked around & said do a quick circle & he will move the barricade & we can go down that street. Obviously, he was doing us a big favour. With more laughter, we found a parking spot & went into the info store where they guided us up the street to the dyke & food places.

Volendam is a beautiful seaside spot with fishing boats & the like. Ayla ordered some traditional finger food of various types with sauces & a soft wine & me a lager beer. It was just enough food intake & we sat & talked for a bit. Ayla also had spotted a traditional pancake treat, so we decided to share that with fruit & cream & again, that was certainly enough. Very tasty, but of course sweet. Time was getting away & Ayla had mother duties & things to be done at home so we both agreed to find the nearest train station for me to head back. Traffic was starting to build & with our talking & a small screen gps we missed the required turn off, so we had to venture back (more laughter). We didn’t find Dieman Station but somehow stumbled on Weeps Station, so that was fine being on the same line.

For me, saying good-bye was very hard, for Ayla is a very close friend that has done life the hard way & continues to move forward juggling all that she encompasses. I truly wish her dreams to come true, for that is a wonderful future I do see for her. Hugging & waving lessened the pain & I’ll check later if she arrived home safely. Today I managed 16,840 steps = 13.1klms so another big day of walking. Ayla continues to contact me to see how my trip was going & sent me photos of the cheese & chutney demolition. Such a wonderful human .. so kind & thoughtful.

16/10/25 Day 15 I met up with another gorgeous lady, Renske who I also met at my cousin’s backpackers many years ago. After my hearty breakfast I hit the road back up to Amsterdam Centraal to meet up with my close friend, Renske who lives way out of the city for our scheduled 10am catchup. I have since learnt, the quickest way to Amsterdam Centraal was to follow the tram lines. Der!!! With this method I maintained my consistency in being early, plus standing outside the front doors in front of the huge signage stating to myself “She can’t miss me!”. I thought it was smart of me to send her the photo of my blue wind jacket I wore when Ayla took my photo (minus the big Dutch clogs). I did stand out in the crowd. After a while & without any warning Renske had come up from behind & had the greatest smile, hello & welcoming hug. She had exited the station at the side. . Renske had not changed a bit since we last saw each other back in Yamba with her husband. She is still gorgeous & fit & enjoying life, although slightly hectic work life. We were both thrilled to see each other. 2nd photo is the Theater Tuschinski Pathe, a very unique building. 3rd photo is the foyer area of Amsterdam Centraal.

Our first decision agreed upon was to walk a bit & find one of Renske’s favourite coffee shops, Zettle _ Coffee & Cake where we both eyed off the Carrot Cake (apparently, both our weaknesses). With Renske having her own Auditing Consultancy & Process company, she deferred her day to come & see me. So blessed she gave up her time & work commitments, just for this old bloke. She must get home too later & do some mum & house stuff as well as pack for her family trip away tomorrow, so time is valuable.

After 2 straight coffees, we still chatted like it was yesterday & then it was time for more walking. We headed off to the left of Amsterdam Centraal area & then it struck me, with all the walking I had done I hadn’t walked this section before. Renske had a laugh at that & the took control of the navigation & I was very happy she did so. Saw some great neighbourhoods, canals & museums & then down to the ‘Green Ship’ area. With time now pressing, I made sure Renske could leave at a good time if we went straight to Amsterdam Centraal. Where did the time go?

Again, saying good-bye was very hard but with the hope she will bring her whole family over to Australia & call into Yamba again, possibly next year. Fingers crossed. We had quite a few memorable hours together today, so it’s never about the quantity, but the quality.

Waving good-bye, now from a distance I retraced our steps back towards that neighbourhood, particularly to find the Rijksmuseum Art Museum (Rembrandt, Van Gogh & others) for Renske said it was amazing what is in there. Eventually, I found the huge museum & paid the €25 entrance fee. In the foyer, you can go to the museum shop, cafeteria & then head into the museum. It was here I found the layout map in English .. but I have to say I should have thrown it in the bin. Totally stupid set out. Very small room #s high on the wall & then no signage telling you what is ahead of you. Yes, saw some amazing things, like Rembrandts renowned paintings & others that came a close 2nd. Some paintings were the width of the entire wall & as high, like 20 or so m2.

I saw some great paintings, silverware, ancient woodwork, 1/24 scale Dutch ship with its 74 cannons fitted, coloured glass windows that define the true masters of this craft long ago. An artillery collection of swords, guns, etc that a 13yr old boy started collecting after the revolution.

I picked out the famous Van Gogh self-portrait to view .. but after quite a few hours, couldn’t find it in this art maze of a building. Hence, why I call it a pathetic layout of a museum So many floors & focussed on making it a maze of walls. In the end I called it quits, for I had to fit in a canal cruise yet & that was up near Amsterdam Centraal. Walking back, I saw Rembrandt Square where there is a large statue of him.

The best one, but not the cheapest canal cruise was Lovers Canal Cruises (no it is a perception with that name). It cost €17.50 for 1 hour. The cheapest I found, but not now in service was €14.50. The boat was full & I found the last seat available & of course I was sitting backwards which made the landmarks seen after the commentary & going into the next sight. Anyway, it was good to sit down for an hour at least. The worst was that I could not take one photo due to my sitting central on the aisle & backwards. After the cruise, I decided to head back to the hotel as it’s been a big day & was getting dark. Arrived at 7.30pm & noticed I had done 28,180 steps = 22.06klms of walking, Yikes!!! & still my blogs to do.

I’ll end my 9th Blog here & many thanks for reading them. My next blogs will be leaving Amsterdam for Paris. Please stay safe, happy & healthy.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #8 – Amsterdam 13 & 14/10/25

If you read my last blog (#7), you would see the journey, I had in getting to my Eden Hotel in Amsterdam. With that said, I slept very well, my room was excellent for a king single bed unit with ensuite with the hottest water for a shower I’ve come across. 13/10/25 (Day 12) With my room cost the buffet breakfast was included & WOW! .. it is a full breakfast. For the insane City Tax incurred (€128) when checking in the hotel it should be a 5star to justify that expense.

Amsterdam is a city of about 1Mil people; it is full of bikes, trams & tram lines, cycleways, roads in every direction, canals you can’t get your head around for direction, etc. You quickly learn where & when to walk & use your 360° vision. For a bustling city you can get around quite easily & just about everything goes within reason. Not too much policing, but they are about everywhere. Certain road & tram etiquette is required but people walk like ants in a colony. Another thing that hit me was the frequent strong smell of weed. It is legal here on the streets & in pubs, etc.

My first task was to pack my day bag ready for a bicycle tour & to head to the required meeting place up near Amsterdam Centraal, about a 22min walk away. Today & by the looks of the week it is going to be a very cloudy day, with misty rain. I walked past Magna Plaza which is a high-end shopping centre under renovations so there’s very little inside. I eventually found the bike shop but of course I was 25mins early & they were shocked to see me well ahead of time. I explained my diligence in being early in everything I attend. I went up the street & found a great little café (Caffe Vergnano 1882) where I was able to unwind very quickly & even did a review on it while I was there.

Again, I was right on time for my bike, but we had some very late commers, so we had to start the introduction & safety criteria again. So frustrating & it’s starting to rain. Must remember to not follow parallel with the tram lines, for you will come undone very quickly & violently. Baylon was our guide, but he was over cautious & it was harder to ride much slower. He showed us several historical buildings and their facade effects of shutters, gantries, etc even after major restorations. A couple from Scotland were my adopted partners, for they seriously needed watching over. I opted to ride last so I could keep an eye on the couple plus allow Baylon to easily see my bright blue wind jacket. As time went on, the group surged ahead of us at one major road crossing on a bend leaving the wife & myself behind. I could read her mind where she was going to take a direct short cut to catch up to her husband & I sped up a bit to catch her right arm & yell stop!!! She didn’t hear the tram coming up from behind her & she was just about to ride in front of it. The tram missed her by 600mm max. Catching her emotions, she was extremely thankful I saved her from the thought of a tram run over. Now the group was just about out of sight with no visual of what had happened. With a bit of collective confidence, we crossed the tram lines & took up the street & made good time. She could not wait to tell her husband of that near-miss. Very lucky & still Baylon was none the wiser.

We stopped in the huge natural forest park Baylon calls Amsterdam’s NY Central Park (Vondelpark) due to the same landscape designer used here. The lady (wife) shouted me a coffee for sticking with her & before long we were back on our bikes. We did get to see Ann Frank’s house externally & to see inside it is booked out for months. Not far from Ann Frank’s house is Westerkerk, a protestant church (1620 – 1631) which is Rembrandt’s burial place. Amsterdam is basically built on an extensive pine tree forest of some 13million or so trees due to the area being swamp land. Amsterdam Centraal Station is built on about 9,000 trees & fill. A lot of older buildings are early 1904 – 1940s (war period) & some are leaning in on a corner, but no-one worries about this. There are lots of houses (3 storeys high) that have a gantry out from the attic with a pulley wheel for getting stock & furniture up from the street. Houses were even built intentionally leaning out from the 1st floor to help with the lifting process so they wouldn’t hit the frontage or glass windows. You can see this in my photos. Very unnerving for me.

Going to another nearby & smaller park we stopped to see the Turkey & US Embassies next door to each other & diagonally opposite is the Concert Hall in all its grandeur. After that we cycled back to the bike shop & within a few minutes everyone had gone, all without any commentary or safe travels, etc. Really weird. I did see the Scottish couple some 80m up the street & managed to get them to wave back. Oh well, Go Figure? Anyway, I hit the pavement again to see more of Amsterdam. The canal boats, Victoria Hotel & St Nicholas Basilica built in the same years as Amsterdam Centraal. I didn’t manage a visit inside .. seems to have the big doors closed all the time.

I had to do a Dutch pancake thing before I run out of days, so I found this great cozy pancake café (lots of them but not everyone is cute & welcoming) called Milky Pancakes & they were so accommodating & really enjoyed my time there. The banana & hazelnut topping on the pancake was yummo!!!! After that, I had to do some serious walking to wear down that pancake & walked into the large plaza with the Royal Palace & the central sculpture where they have a dedication ceremony on 4th May each year & then Liberty Day on the 5th, so it’s a huge giving thanks & then celebration time.

14/10/25 (Day 13) Along the canals there are many permanent canal homes (old boats & barges) that have strict city & maritime controls on them. They eventuated when housing was extremely rare straight after WW2 & most have remained in that way of living. After that canal I went down to another canal to see the now famous ‘Skinny Bridge’ which was used in a James Bond film a few years back. Walking over it you can see how it works to raise the wooden platform for the bigger boats. Very ingenious & many more types can be found.

In the photo of the little black house next to the canal was the home of Rembrandt when he was painting. It is now a little café & looks very good for its age even though it is tilting slightly. Moving on you can see the green ship like structure. That is the NEMO Science Museum. I walked up along its ramped roof to take better view pictures but a bit expensive to go into it. I did take a photo of the insane engineered water clock in the foyer that was designed & completed by a physicist. The architect of the ‘green ship’ never designed it as a ship structure but something about light & dark .. (too much weed, I think) but so many Amsterdam citizens call it the ‘Green Ship’. Looking back down the ramp, you can see the Naval Museum with an old bounty ship moored there. This building also stored all sorts of ammunition & arms there for the defending of Amsterdam & now is a museum.

I checked out a souvenir shop (so many to see) & in broad daylight at a small child’s eye level was the rude section & my photo only took the less dirty section, so it can be full on here. I don’t believe any prudes live in Amsterdam. Also, walking past certain shops, bars especially I often get a full lung of weed smoke. Cough. Also, people all around are smoking the stuff, so you can’t avoid it plus the smell. Explains why I was painless, sort of happier when I arrived back at the hotel each day. LOL!!!

My first full day here took in 10,915 steps = 8.52klms on 13/10 & 15,009 steps = 11.63klms on 14/10, so not bad. Tomorrow, 15/10/25 (Day 14) I take a short train trip to Naarden Burrum train station to meet up with a very close friend, Ayla who had to postpone from Tuesday (14/10) which was totally fine & understandable. So blessed she could still make it for this old man.

I’ll end my 8th Blog here & many thanks for reading them. My next blogs will be more of Amsterdam & catching up with 2 of my much-loved backpacker friends I met years ago at my new hometown of Yamba at my cousin’s then Yamba Backpackers as well. Please stay safe, happy & healthy.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #7 – Volkach Area

10/10/25 (Day 9) Respecting AJ & her family’s privacy I won’t go into too much detail however, I can’t not blog it, for me it was such a great event stemming from 2017 where I first met AJ in NZ when she was backpacking around the North Island & was about to struggle trying to do the more complex South Island & what a trip that was with 18days of pure excitement & no issues whatsoever. Now, we can all come together finally & meet AJ & her wonderful family.

After a few days in Nuremberg, Munich & Tegernsee we are now heading NW from Nuremberg towards AJ’s family home region in the wine area & when we left the Autobahn the scenery was fantastic of manicured farmland, wineries, forests & nature as far as you could see, but in the landscape I detested the ugly renewable scam machines of giant wind farms & solar, for they are truly evil to nature & never return the energy to make them back to viable electricity power. It is DC power, not AC & definitely not base power for high energy use like manufacturing. It is too intermittent & relying purely on the instant wind & sun gains & losses. A real climate change scam. Rant over!!!

After going through several quaint villages AJ continues to point out her childhood memories & then turns into a courtyard & says “Here we are”! What a welcome I received!!! First by her Mum (calling her EJ for privacy & clarity) & her dad (RJ) when I entered the home. RJ had recently come out of knee surgery so he couldn’t jump up to greet me but he’s slowly coming out of recovery. For being an active man, it is hard for him to do the rehabilitation process.

With family commitments, the home was full & my attendance certainly added to it!! AJ’s aunty & uncle were there, nephews & niece (parents away for a few days). Without delay EJ had the dining table full of food & I was given a right royal treatment of German hospitality!! We had a great time talking for ages; AJ & EJ can speak English, so that helped tremendously with the others trying to understand the conversations & laughing.

After the wonderful lunch, AJ showed me more of the countryside of wineries, quaint villages & historical sights. We went up to a regularly visited lookout & were surprised to meet the local Franconian Wine Princess who was wearing her crown & waiting for a representative as part of her duties. The annual festival is huge with up to 50,00 visitors staying in villages around the Main River loop. Back in the car AJ took me around the Main River Loop, they call it & we travelled on the shortest & smallest traffic ferry I’ve ever come across. The river width was around 30m if I was generous. Such a quaint ride. LOL!!!

Back at AJ’s home one nephew had arrived from school, etc & we went out to see the younger nephew do his soccer training. It brought back wonderful memories for me when my kids were little & I trained the Tiny Tots (3-5yrs) as well. Bringing the nephew back with us, the home was in full swing with everyone in attendance including AJ’s brother & sister-in-law. It wasn’t long before we were applying more food to my already expanded & full stomach. EJ said it was the normal German thing to do. More food, drink & talk & then it was ready for bed. AJ was exhausted doing the translation of German to English & visa-versa. She said her brain hasn’t switched around so much. I have no idea of what that would feel like, but I guess it doesn’t compare with my English to Australian language switch. Haha!

Out the back courtyard through the shed I slept in a well-equipped Winnebago & AJ had earlier put the space heater on for me which was an absolute blessing. Had a great sleep & rose at 7.15am (Day 10) to ‘sneak’ into the house but AJ & one nephew was already coming down the stairs. Again, everyone was up & food & drink was out in full pace once more. I don’t know how EJ handles everything & with RJ recovering. Later, AJ & nephews went out to play their regular soccer game, so that gave me time to catchup on my Polarsteps blogs while everyone relaxed a bit.

OMG! As soon as AJ arrived after the soccer, lunch was in full mode. Surely, I can’t fit much in. AJ still had some things to show me, so we headed out taking her mum (EJ) up to another lookout spot where RJ & the wine community association funded a permanent lookout structure. It was certainly well constructed but took around €20,000 to design & build & I can see why RJ is so proud of it. It is only just completed & the remaining touch up works is still to be done. From there, we went over to AJ’s brother’s place where she showed me his event company renovations & equipment, he put all his resources into plus renovate the house at the front. Incredible work & achievement. He also renovated EJ’s home too & all this after COVID closed him down temporarily. Such commitment. Truly wonderful to see & a great credit to him.

Back at EJ’s we loaded the car & said a very hard good-bye to such a great warm & caring family. I really loved my time there. It took a little while to get back to Nuremburg with the peak traffic & to find another car space. It was a wise & thankful decision to head back out to have dinner & to see the nighttime of Nuremburg. We found a spot out the front of a bar in the open space with 2 chairs & sat & watched the night life pass us by with my scotch & AJ, a non-alcoholic drink. Later, I repacked my bags ready for my afternoon flight to Amsterdam & made sure I was ready to meet the timing required.

12/10/25 (Day 11) I awoke early to my set alarm .. again & AJ was already up & getting organised. We headed back out to her favourite coffee & brekky place & to see the Bratwurst Museum (believe me, this is true), plus more historical sights before taking the train to the Nuremberg Airport early for my flight & allow AJ to get home to do her things before heading back to her mum & dad’s again for her sister’s birthday party. In taking my bags down from AJ’s apartment to catch the train I was thinking I won’t be missing the 7flights of stairs (no lifts). It’s a 15mins train trip to the airport & of course it was another hard good-bye & for so many thanks for such a great week, AJ had put on. Hopefully, I can return to see everyone again.

Nuremberg Airport is so small & didn’t take much time to get to my departure gate. The new EES Schengen traveling system came into effect today but didn’t intrude on us too much. Looking up at the board I have noticed my plane has had 2 delayed departures already .. Arghh! I’ll be arriving in Amsterdam in the dark!! My flight takes only around 1hour but by the time I get from the Schiphol Airport Railway Station to Amsterdam Centraal (Central Station & not a spelling mistake) & to find my hotel it will be truly dark. Upon arriving at Centraal I have a confusing issue understanding my travel app. I finally worked it out I needed to get onto a tram, so asking the information booth I am directed across the tram lines out the front, but the other challenge was to find where to buy the ticket. I took a guess with the ferry & tram booth some 20m further away & it was thankfully, correct. The cheapest option I was given was for 1hr of tram travel for €3.40 & he told me to go to RAI Station & use #4 Tram.

With minutes to spare I was on the #4 tram & helped 2 American women with their seating on a crowded tram. One spoke to me on a few things & then she got off at REI Station & confirmed to me RAI Station is some 15mins further. Unbeknown to me this is when I needed Google Maps to be on, even on a tram. Finally, I arrived at RAI Station with nothing alive, a place of clear desertion with no-one around. I looked up for directions to my hotel & it said 55mins walking behind me. Arghh!!!!! Deep breath & staying focused I still had tram time available (30mins) so I waited at the platform again knowing I had seen a tram go past earlier.

Within a few minutes a #4 tram came around the bend & stopped, allowing me to board & my app stated to get off at the REI Station where my Eden Hotel was only a few minutes away. Such a relief to be back on the correct route now & to check in. The next shock was the confirmation of paying the required City Tax of €128 … OUCH!!!! It is worked by a formula of nightly room cost, number of nights stayed plus a few other coefficients & that determines the payment. Bloody Hell & totally unexpected for that amount!!! My hotel is deceptively large & with lots of amenities. On my floor there are 49rooms alone. Anyway, a very hot shower, some great food next door (Hans im Glueck), meeting the host, Craig & off to bed.

Oh!! I forgot to tell you. Remember the ladies I met on the tram, well, when I entered the hotel one of them was filling her water bottle & I walked up to her & said “Stalking is illegal .. but hi again”. She was shocked & amazed we would run into each other again & was so sorry to hear of my wasted tram journey instead of getting off when they did. Small world ..hey?

I’ll end my 7th Blog here & many thanks for reading them. My next blog will be my 5day stay at Amsterdam & catching up with 2 of my much-loved backpacker friends I met years ago at my new hometown of Yamba at my cousin’s then Yamba Backpackers as well. Please stay safe, happy & healthy.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #6 – Germany 

Munich, Nuremburg, Ingolstadt, Tegernsee

6/10/25 (Day 5) Up at 4.40am, checking out of Bettoja Hotel Massimo d’Azeglio in Via Cavour, 18 & paying my Rome City Tax €40 & hitting the pavement for some 150m to Rome Termini (Central) to Fiumicino Airport, some 35mins direct train. I made sure I had the right train & ticket this time (Blog 2). My ITA flight was on time at 7.35am to Munich & everything went smoothly .. but yes, spoke too soon. Everything to do with ITA is superb .. brilliant. Munich Airport however is a confusion pit to say the least. Finally, the baggage was claimed & customs was a breeze but signage, again was crap. I found an info booth & he directed me outside & down a level to the train platform to get to Munich Hbf (Central). The ticket booth was another dilemma from the past where several people were beyond frustrated trying to get their respective tickets. I gave up after so many attempts & others did too. I Googled other ways to transport & it said the airport has a great bus service (no shuttle mentioned), but I had to go up 2 more levels. I was then directed out to a street & that was beyond useless.

I forced myself to retry the train platform, so another 3 levels down. Not worried about the time, so I stood back & looked at the buttons on the machine & touch pad. Ha .. Huh! I found the small translation button top RH of the machine with 3 buttons. Now, I can follow the steps, but you don’t have much time to tap your card & enter the pin, but I managed it. When things turn bad, it is best to step back, catch your breath & seek out options available to you. It’s a satisfying effect when you readjust with success in the shortest possible time. With ticket in hand, I’m on the train & getting off at Munich Hbf to find my scheduled train to Nuremberg is getting closer to leave. The train schedule board is a breeze & us passengers head along the train & quite a few of us are at the first carriage but nothing is working (doors). Sometime later a guard yells out & directs us further up the platform where carriages have blue lights from the roof side. We just managed to scramble on when the train doors shut & we are on our way to Nuremburg, the first major stop (Direct service). They had 2 trains aligned on the same platform. Lesson learned.

With a full train we eventually stopped after a good 90mins travel & basically everyone gets out. With the crowding & stupid me, I thought this was Nuremberg station but when the train left, I saw that it wasn’t. Arghh!!! What happened to the direct non-stop to Nuremburg? The sign board said on the next platform a Nuremberg train was soon to come through. After 2 train delays later, a train arrives & so relieved to get to Nuremberg. Of course, AJ (my young German friend I met in NZ in 2017 & respecting her privacy by calling her AJ & no photos) is waiting for me at the station where we were both excited & relieved to hug each other. With a grin, AJ said we must catch another train to her neighbourhood. Another one!!! With a 10mins train trip we walked another 10mins to her unit & what a day!!!! AJ has annual leave for a week & she will show me as much as possible of this Nuremberg & Munich region. She even arranged for my Audi Production Tour on Wednesday at Ingolstadt due to my problems in getting the sold-out BMW tour.

After a great meal, hot shower & sorting out my packing I managed a sleep in. AJ has done so well with her unit .. very pleased for her & her achievements in this difficult year she has had. We caught up like it was yesterday & not the 8yrs since we stood together. The next day, 7/10/25 (Day 6) AJ arranged for a Free Walking Tour of Nuremburg city (historic area) where we paid our own fee to the guide. We did a quick walk around ourselves due to being early & AJ showed me one of her favourite coffee cafés & it was great coffee (Kaffee) too. Our walking tour started & saw churches (Frauenkirche – 14th Century Gothic with its iconic chimes & cuckoo-like clock figurines (Prince Electors) coming out on midday & circling the Holy Roman Emperor), the ancient Nuremburg City wall, Nuremberg Castle & old bridges across the Pegnitz River & other great landmarks such as a private dwelling of the earliest of medieval houses left standing & undergoing renovations (Photo 11).

Nuremburg even has a Bratwurst Museum (German Sausage) where the Bratwurst must be exact in its production & wherever it is sold the ‘Bratwurst Police’ will scrutinise it due to the current patent law. When the Walking Tour was over, we did more walking around & headed back to the unit for another special meal by AJ. She has the next few days planned so she said for me to repack for a few days away, as well for the Audi Production Tour at Ingolstadt along the way.

Getting up early, 8/10/25 (Day 7) we loaded AJ’s car, but being a hybrid there was no charge to start it. There are very few apartments with garages for cars in Nuremburg & far too costly if you can get one so AJ has to pay for a neighbourhood permit & the parking is who is first, wins. She must remember where she last parked it too, for parking is getting ridiculous & AJ sometimes spends a lot of time searching for that one space. After a 30mins setback (no stress) we are on the road & my first experience on the Autobahn (but not the super-fast one) but it was certainly fast enough. AJ was cruising at 154klms/hr in between the large roadworks (road widening) but there were much faster cars in the faster lanes. I’m a terrible passenger too.

It wasn’t far to Ingolstadt (South of Nuremburg & about half way to Munich) but with time we strolled through the slightly expensive so-called DFO outlet (called something else) on the outskirts of Ingolstadt & after a bit of a splurge at Lindt chocolates we went across town to do the Audi Production Tour & that was super amazing however, we never saw every bit of production due to R&D secrecy. You had to secure your phone, smartwatch, etc into a locker before proceeding to comply with their secrecy of production. 2hrs of strolling through with their guide highlighting the robotic work & some tasks done by humans, as robots can’t do those tasks yet. A large section of a robotic production workshop was out of action, but this was due to the new model coming out where it takes the robotic engineers a full 12months to programme everything exactly before production & setting up costs is around €1Mil to do it.

We see how the car floor base is stamped out & sides tack welded & glued precisely by very fast robotic machines. We are talking 0.05mm tolerance on everything until it is tested further later. This Audi Plant uses 3million m2 of factory plant space with a rail yard interchange, museum, restaurants & arthouse cinema. It employs around 20,000 people on various shifts. The first things we are shown are the bulk steel rolls, each weighing 3 tonnes & 3klms of wide sheet steel per roll. Most Audi’s models have up to 400 sheet metal pieces that need to be cut, punched & formed. Their hydraulic presses cause heavy vibrations through the over structured metal structural covering to the concrete floor due to having a compression strength equal to the dead weight of the Eifel Tower in Paris. These presses are fed by robots & the pace is quite fast. The presses are actually made by Audi & created for each model costing around €1Mil each. All presses are stored for a further 15yrs to backup their spare parts warranty, hence why spare parts costs more as they can affect the main production run. The guide showed us a pressed sheet metal part where they found a human hair left on the plate. Despite buffing, etc they still could not rectify the line, nor the dent it caused. Can’t imagine that until you see the plate. A costly accident by an apprentice losing a hair. Gulp! Wished I could have sneaked a camera in, to what was on show.

This plant produces 200 Audi cars (3 models) with various fittings, colours, etc chosen by the customer every day. The humans are so focused on their duty to install whatever is needed. The doors are put on & when the wiring harness is to be installed, etc the doors are removed (for better access) by human & a robotic arm holds the door & takes it away to another run for rubber seals, glass, etc & when all that is done the door meets up with the exact car sometime later. Incredible. The complete wiring harness installation was truly amazing & fast!!!! It comes in a large bag. With several smaller bag sleeves inside which is thrown inside the car & a couple of humans place the sleeves through the correct panel openings & attached where required & that just takes around 3mins. The car is pre-wired, awaiting the connections of instruments, etc later. This installation run also accommodates left & right-hand drives without any hassles. When fitting parts (hatch & bonnet struts, etc) the bin will light up telling the human which bin has the part to fit that specific car. No mistakes. I was really looking forward to seeing the engine works, but that is all secret stuff. Bummer!!! Sorry no photos apart from the Audi Mountain Bike on the back of a showroom Audi @ €5,000.

From Audi we head to Tegernsee (South of Munich) to a resort AJ loves called Blyb Resort – Seeglas, near Tegernsee.  Take Tegernsee St #41 off the Autobahn just after KurstraBe St, some 50klms south of Munich. A quiet recluse resort with sauna, restaurant & bar. Amazing place, a bit on the high market due to its high reputation where AJ & I enjoyed all the facilities here & some time relaxing along the Tegernsee lakeside. Blyb is 197klms from Nuremburg. It was the first time in about 15yrs since I sat in a hot sauna. I had 1 session, but AJ had 2. It was fantastic & helped my skeleton from staying cold (Germany colder than Rome).

In reception there is a wall plaque stating the history of this retreat & area which was a favourite place for Hitler. The original dwelling was called Lindenfycht. In 1934 Heinrich Himmler acquired this building after many elites started visiting the region. There is even a war bunker but not for public viewing. In 1945 3rd US Army used this building for their headquarters. After the sauna, we both put on our good clothes & had a wonderful meal & drinks before retiring to our separate rooms. Next day, 9/10/25 (Day 8) we both disclosed we hit our heads a few times in the quite low attic type ceilings. So funny. Breakfast was amazing & quite the buffet. After checking out of Blyb Resort AJ showed me a great café (Schlosscafe) where I could view the lake from inside (warmer) & she can sit outside for her recluse love of nature (She is in a healing process) to which I gladly obliged.

After all this viewing we head back to Munich for the remainder of the day. Parking in the city is very hard & lots of roadworks, etc so AJ kindly lets me out at the famous markets until she parks. I saw quite a few landmarks until AJ caught up with me some 30mins later. A busker with his mini grand piano was a real highlight out the front of the medieval looking Parliament House & the extra-large courtyard. We saw the Opera House & the Dining Rm setup for an event that night & the Arts Museum & of course AJ’s favourite coffee café with extreme cake sweets. Walking back to the car, we ventured into Frauenkirche, a Gothic Church of significance with iconic domed towers. Driving out of the carpark we sight the iconic Angel of Peace (Friedensengel) before heading back to Nuremburg & another fun run on the Autobahn.

For different reasons I wasn’t able to catchup with my other young German friends living in Munich I met in Cairns earlier this year (Helen & Dana), but WhatsApp helps fill the gap. They are safe, happy & well. Again, we had a hard time in finding a car space back at AJ’s neighbourhood. We are only staying overnight before heading to AJ’s hometown NW of Nuremburg. We timed it perfectly to have dinner & a drink out for the night viewing of Nuremberg.

I’ll end my 6th Blog here & many thanks for reading them. My next blog will be my trip stay with AJ & her hometown in the winery area & back to Nuremberg. Please stay safe, happy & healthy.

My Europe Tour 2025 – Blog #5 – Rome City

Day 4 5/10/25 Rome City Walking Tour. My last full day in Rome. Scott is our guide for the walking tour & we finally found him at the City Wonders Piazza di Spagna, 00187 Roma RM without the blue shirt as prescribed so you always have to keep a look out for your guide. I was starting to get worried due to the last City Wonders debacle I described in my last blog. He was very pleasant & had no pushed time attitude. Scott is an American but has lived here for a decade or more & has a generational connection to Rome & has stayed here since retracing his family history. On my way to the meeting place & steps, I walked the same streets as before & noticed an impressive building with huge stone walls & metal gates. I was previously in a rush but today I noticed it was the National Museum but not sure when I can return for a viewing. Maybe next time visiting Rome. LOL!

Today (my last Rome day), we are going to see the famous Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps & Pantheon Walking Tour, however we will finish the tour at Piazza Navona some klms away but after that we will have plenty of free time to do our own thing. Now that everyone has arrived Scott shows us the Spanish Steps that was right behind us in the Piazza di Spagna all this time. Of course, there are no historical signage to identify this to tourists so I’m not to blame. I saw this structure the day before when heading to my meeting point for the Positano tour plus the central fountain. These steps are called the Spanish Steps however above these steps is a building with a mixture of French & Spanish architecture and with that ongoing conflict the Spanish eventually won. This is quite a meeting place for tourists & locals; however, the police can move you on if you sit on the steps, for it is forbidden.

Scott has us now walking towards the famous Trevi Fountain & I’m really happy we are doing so because the courtyard area is filled to the brim with tourists later in the morning & into the afternoon & it is not a pleasant experience. Sharyn at my cousin’s Wobbly Chook Brewing Company back home said you have to see this amazing, sculptured fountain. So, Sharyn, here I am, & throwing a coin over my left shoulder like many thousands before me. Apparently, the fountain coins are removed weekly & approximately €22,000 is gained. The coin throwing is a legend that it will make you come back to Rome another time.

The Trevi Fountain is something to behold. The details of sculptures, the size of the fountain. It is a full building width & the high volume of water comes from the aqueduct system below the ground. The God in the centre is Neptune. The crowd must keep shuffling along & when access is obtained you must get to the fountain edge asap (no standing at the top steps) or the ‘fountain police’ will blow their whistles in disgust. Definitely, no hands or feet in the water. Criminal offence. With our ongoing movement, we were soon out of the enclosure & Scott starts showing us his hidden Rome with amazing glass roof arcades of luxury shops, polished marble columns & ancient treasures.

Unfortunately, one of the major things I wanted to see was the Marcus Arillus Statue, but this was fully enclosed with scaffolding (photo 2 below) to undertake the necessary refurbishment. Another thing to revisit Rome. Hope you enjoyed the scaffolding photo? The next photo Scott said was Italy’s White House (3rd photo). This is where President Meloni resides & carries out her duties. It was a very unassuming building & one I would have walked straight past. The next building in this very large courtyard was the more impressive Senate Building (4th photo) where laws are made.

The photo of stones, bricks & different shades of mortar are the original footing/ foundations of the Roman era & they remain in perfect condition to this day. There are several of these exposed footings for viewing & again the public would just walk past this history. Throughout roughly 2,000years of history, no-one could replicate this concrete mortar, for the recipe was lost early until modern day technology scrutinised extensively the granules & found the missing ingredient was the grey & white pumice ash from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD. The setting mixture is incredibly strong & can withstand the elements of weather.

Following on from these footings & turning a few corners we come across the incredible Pantheon with its amazingly strong frontage of 16 hand-carved stone columns. Each of these columns weigh 60tons & were hand crafted in Egypt & shipped over (don’t know how they did that). They used up to twelve elephants to erect each column. With this being a Walking Tour there is no admission today to enter The Pantheon but after the tour you can line up with the public & buy the tickets unless you paid for entrance ticket previously online, etc. I saw the interior of The Pantheon on the 1st day of my arrival in Rome, so you would have to go back to my 2nd blog to see the photos & details.

Standing outside you can see the shape of the world’s largest concrete dome of that type above us. The dome is 43.44m (142.5’) in diameter & is the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world & has had the record for over 2,000years (125AD). History does not record who built it, but it started in 27BC & was rebuilt to finish 125AD. The circular walls are 24’ thick & the entrance doors are bronze at 24’ high with an opening of about 14’ wide. The open eye “oculus” of the dome is a whopping 27’ in diameter & hardly any rain falls through it. The floor has a 1’ slope from the centre to accommodate any rain that rarely comes through it. The concrete dome construction was possible due to the Roman Concrete I described earlier. The concrete thickness reduces as it gets closer to the top of the dome to overcome the additional weight.

Behind the Pantheon you can see the curved walls plus looking down over the handrail you can see the original Rome ground floor level (7m below). Walking back, we find ourselves in the Piazza Trevi for more central fountains. Scott has a connected outlet where we are granted a free drink or Gelato, so we are granted 15mins of free time. My gelato was another thing I must do while in Rome, so another box ticked. I kept an eye on Scott where he was waiting but a couple of women were immersed in their gelato & wandered off too far. In these massive crowds they came over & grabbed me (I stood out in my ultra blue trekking coat). They were so relieved when I pointed out Scott in the crowd & they walked straight over. I think they would even hug him if they could. Scott stated it is the busiest he has seen Rome in October.

After our welcomed Gelato treat we head down an alley which then opened up into the Piazza della Minerva where the Basilica of Saint Mary of Minerva, a 13th century Gothic catholic church with a Michelangelo sculpture located within designed by Fra Ristoro de’ Campi & Fra Sisto di Firenze in 1280 however the basilica was not completed until 1725 after several changes. Scott tells us an ancient architect story where Bernini & another architect (name escapes me) competed to gain the commission to construct a magnificent building adjacent to the basilica. This building was being constructed (curved frontages depicts this architect) under the vengeful Bernini however, he won the commission to do the Obelisk out in the front in the Piazza.

Bernini Obelisk

Bernini created an elongated rectangle spear with a tiny headpiece on top that resembled the learning knowledge of man & the weight it therefore carries. This spear was carried by his sculpture of an elephant for it’s the strongest of all living mammals that roamed the Earth that could carry this weight & has the best brain memory. The tale then turns that the elephant’s backside is pointed directly at the new building construction & still remains in place today. A well-known architect’s revenge. LOL!

The last stop was Piazza Navona (2 photos above on the right), but we managed to sidetrack a bit & saw what is known as the Royal Palace which is an opulent building of grandeur. With our last good-byes to everyone, I decided to walk back to the Trevi Fountain, for that is the way back towards my hotel but can see some other sights along the way. Well!!!! The crowd now was insane. I had virtually no way of cutting through .. I just had to shuffle my way along until a crack in the crowd appeared. Heaven helps those trying to view the fountain. Totally insane!

The Royal Palace

I must get up extra early the next day to catch the airport train to fly to Munich & then a train to Munich Hbf (Central) & then a connecting train to Nuremburg to stay with a young backpacking friend AJ (privacy) who I took around NZ Sth Island with my son Scott back in 2017. Her & her family have been hoping I could come over to see them one day with how we both looked after her. She had to trust an old man & his son for 18days. We all had a great time & not an issue for all that time & she remains in contact with me to this day. With my early rise planned for travelling, I decided to pack my bags as much as possible & have a nanny nap before heading out for dinner as a method of recovery from all my walking. Today, I managed 13,166 steps, 10.12klms. I’ll end my 5th Blog here & many thanks for reading them. My next blog will be my trip stay with AJ & Munich, Nuremburg, Tegernsee & her hometown in the winery area. Please stay safe, happy & healthy.