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Europe 2023
  • Toni's Travel Tales
  • Toni's Travel Tales

Europe 2023

Family trip, to see relatives and friends in Germany after 7 years, and show the kids our beloved Italy. Read more
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  • Trip start
    April 5, 2023
    Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Descent into Munich
    A380 Syd to Sin1Gorgeous flight over the snow covered AlpsCoffee shop at Changi airport

    Bye Sydney, hello Europe

    April 5, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Off we go, on our way to Europe!
    It's a long flight and sleep is never really possible sitting upright. A 7 1/2 hour flight, then 3 hours to stretch our legs at Changi airport, Singapore, and on to the final leg, 12 1/2 hours to Munich with a beautiful view of the Alps on the way in.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Weisswurst and brezn

    Relaxed first day in Munich

    April 6, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Relaxed first day in Munich, brunch consisting of all the food we have missed, weisswurst, pretzels, sweet mustard and an early chocolate Easter bunny. Spend the day with family, taking a leisurely stroll around the local lake, picking spring daisies and enjoying the sunshineRead more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler

    Exploring Munich

    April 7, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Exploring Munich from several perspectives, the ground and from the Munich wheel, which was fun. The rain held off so we enjoyed a walk across the Viktualien market and through the historic centre, ending up at a 130 year old restaurant for delicious wuerstchen and kartoffelsalat.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
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    An afternoon of art

    April 8, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    An afternoon of wonderful impressionist art in the Alte Pinakothek of Munich. Van Gogh, Gaugin, Monet, Klimt, Manet, Cezanne etc. It's a fantastic collection to see all in one place, that's what I love about visiting Europe, getting an abundance of history and culture 😊Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler

    Some fun for the kids at Bayern-Park

    April 9, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    We had a fantastic day at the Bayern-Park theme park. Seems it was not the thing to do on Easter Sunday as we never had to queue, except once for the rafting ride. Kids rode pretty much everything and some twice. I skipped the large roller coaster and the drop tower (109m tall - no thank you).Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Chairlift up to the start of the trackView from the start of the coaster trackStill some snowSuch trust and honesty, bags are left here unsupervised while you ride the alpine coaster

    Excursion to the Alps

    April 10, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Off to the Alps today for a couple of activities, first off the Alpine coaster. So much fun going down the mountain on the toboggan type track. The drive down was spectacular with the Alps just looking surreal!Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
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    Neuschwanstein Castle

    April 10, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Next stop in the Alps was Neuschwanstein castle. It looks spectacular seen from the Marien bridge, built on the edge of the cliff face! It's a long and steep walk up the mountain and begs to consider the difficulty they may have had building the castle. King Ludwig II's castle actually never completed construction before his sudden death. He lived in it for a total of only 172 days. This visit we also did a tour of the inside of the castle (no photos allowed, and recommend to book tickets online well in advance), which shows his vivid imagination and why he is known as the fairy tale king / swan king / mad king. We were so lucky with the weather today as the rest of our time in Germany it rained every day.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler

    Slowing the pace, in Kehlheim

    April 11, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We were feeling the fast pace of the trip so far and needed a slow day today. Long sleep in and a leasurely afternoon visit to this 1800s built monument in Kelheim depicting the victory over Napoleon. It was modelled on the Pantheon in Rome. Climbing to the top gives nice views over the town and the river Danube.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler

    The Residenz, royal palace in Munich

    April 12, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Today we visited the Munich Residenz, which is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. They lived here between 1508 and 1918. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and has over 150 rooms! All the rooms are opulent and the level of amassed wealth and detail in each of the rooms is astounding. Although parts of the palace were damaged during WWII it has been well restored. King Charles and Camilla had a royal reception here 2 weeks ago. Finishing off the day with scrumptious schnitzel and potato salad.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    GetreidegasseBridge with locks over the river SalzachOver 140 varieties of Staindl handmade jams, spreads and chutneys1

    Girls trip to Salzburg

    April 13, 2023 in Austria ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    Girls day trip to Salzburg, Austria. We had the best day (despite impending rain) in this beautiful city. It's such a charming place to wander the narrow streets, browsing the shops and enjoying afternoon tea in a Viennese style coffee house.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
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    Salzburg Sound of Music trail

    April 13, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Growing up with, and loving the Sound of Music movie, we had to visit the Sound of Music sights. Schloss Mirabell and its gardens with Magnolia in full bloom was beautiful. We also visited St Peter's graveyard, on which the scene where the family hide behind the grave, is based. After walking past it initially, we also found Mozart's birth houseRead more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler

    Fortress Hohensalzburg

    April 13, 2023 in Austria ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    After delicious Apfelstrudel and hot chocolate on this cold spring day, we took the fenicular up to Fortress Hohensalzburg. Views from the top are amazing, over the historic town, and to the south towards the Alps. The rain eventually caught up with us on the way back to the train station, but we were grateful it held off for most of the day.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler

    Thank you family and friends

    April 14, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    It's been wonderful to catch up with so many people over the past week. Thank you to our family and friends, some of whom came from across Europe to see us ❤️. We wish we had more time with all of you.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Mia San Mia, FC Bayern fans75,000 people in the Allianz arenaEnd score 1:1

    FC Bayern-München game at Allianz Arena

    April 15, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Another highlight (they just keep coming) watching an FC Bayern München soccer game. End score 1:1 FC Bayern München : TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. At one point in the game it was 2:1 for Bayern, but the goal was called offside to everyone's disappointment. It was such another fantastic experience to add to the tripRead more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Partnach gorge
    Low clouds11Beautiful cherry blossomsKaiserschmarrn

    A day in rainy Garmisch-Partenkirchen

    April 16, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    Wonderful day with friends exploring the Partnach gorge in the Alps at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We did not let the rain dampen our spirits, even though we were damp through the jackets and shoes. We warmed up with a delicious lunch and quick look at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 Winter Olympics ski jump stadium. Unfortunately, no view of the mountains today with the very low clouds 😒.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Travelling through South Tyrol
    Still snow at the Brenner PassA glimpse of the dolomitesWaiting in this cute waiting room in Verona for the connecting train to VenicePretzels on the train, part of our daily diet in MunichDining car on the Swiss trainVineyardsTrain through Bozen/ Bolzano

    Train to Italy

    April 17, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 3 °C

    Beautiful scenery on our train ride from Munich to Venice. Clouds unfortunately concealed the upper Alps for the first 3/4 of the trip, until we hit South Tyrol. Then the sun came out. Our first Austrian train from Munich to Verona was so full with people queueing in the corridors for the entire 5-6 hours. We changed trains in Verona and got a sparkly Swiss train for the last 1, 1/2 hr of the journey. Izzy has caught a cold and is a little under the weather but has improved since we arrived in Venice.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Cicchetti at 5pm with a glass of local wine
    Where else do you arrive by train and step out to this view!Even the green grocer is on the waterDelicious gelato combo of chocolate, lemon and pistachioOur fantastic hotelBeautiful hotel garden

    Arrival in beautiful Venice

    April 17, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Oh Venice ❤️. Finally made it back to my favourite city, and it's even more stunning than I remember. Today, after arriving by train in the early afternoon, we just wandered the beautiful streets and savored the delicious gelato and cicchetti.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    On the Accademia bridge
    Corner pub for dinnerHugo spritzPastaView of Accademia bridge1Beautiful light

    First evening in Venice

    April 17, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    First evening in Venice. We strolled through our local area of Dorsoduro, which is actually my favourite neighbourhood in Venice. The evening sky was lovely on the Accademia bridge. We had dinner in the tiny 'Corner Pub' and to our surprise the waiter did not speak a word of English. We had left thinking there were no tables available, but with our broken Italian we were able to understand what he meant, as he came running after us, to motion they had tables in the back. Our first pasta and spritz in Italy did not disappoint.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
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    117th century boatyard building traditional wooden gondolas

    Gondola ride

    April 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We did a gondola ride in Venice 22 years ago on our honeymoon, so this time we did one with the kids. Our gondolier Alessandro made the ride so much fun, he was serenading us, goofing around and talking with passers by. So entertaining and worth the €80 for 40 minutesRead more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
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    Piazza San Marco

    April 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Visited Piazza San Marco this morning, the bridge of sighs and beautiful Cafe Florian, est 1720, the oldest Cafe in the world. We did not go into the Saint Mark's Basilika or the Doge's Palace as we just did not have enough time this trip. The aim of this trip was to introduce the kids to Venice and just soak up the atmosphere by wandering the canals.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Ponto de Chiodo, one of only 2 bridges left in Venice with no railingGorgeous views at night from Accademia BridgeRooftop views from Bottega Veneta T Galleria Venice department store

    Until next time Venice

    April 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Our last afternoon and evening in Venice, visiting the Rialto bridge, taking the vaporetto down the grand Canal, discovering the quieter parts of Venice and enjoying the rooftop views from department store Bottega Veneta T Galleria. We had fantastic pizza for dinner, tiramisu and there is always still room for an evening stroll with gelato.Read more

  • Toni's Travel TalesEurope 2023Traveler
    Morning sun just coming over the mountain

    Spectacular Positano

    April 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Wow this place is stunning! The drive from Naples to Positano was hair raising though, as road rules seem to be optional (that includes speed limits, using phone while driving, crossing double lines). Our hotel is 3/4 of the way up the hill, and the steps here are killers! I did 183 steps 3x up and down just to do our laundry. But the views make up for it 😍. We've learnt you take the steps down, and the road back up, so that's what we did exploring the town and beach.Read more

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