Morocco and Portugal 2023

February - April 2023

A 63-day adventure by Darren and Janet Read more

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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 21, 2023
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 22 m
- Singapore Kampong Ayer Gemuruh Sungai Ayer Gemuruh 1.352127, 103.9870131°21’8” N 103°59’13” E
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Day 1
Singapore transit
February 21, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We started with a daytime flight to Singapore, then 9 hours in transit before we head to Munich.

Fortunately Changi Airport has enough attractions and facilities to keep you amused for that long, including a butterfly garden and sunflower garden.Read more
John Kalaitzis That is very cool
2/23/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 22, 2023, 4:51pm
- ☁️ 10 °C
- Altitude: 549 m
- Germany Free State of Bavaria Munich Ludwigsvorstadt Munich Central Station 48.138942, 11.55733548°8’20” N 11°33’26” E
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Day 2
Mooching in Munchen
February 22, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
After a smooth 13 hour flight, we arrived in Munich at 7am to a temperature of -2. We caught the train to the city and were lucky that our hotel room was ready, so we dropped the bags and headed for a day's walking around Munich.

We spent most of the day in the old town, following a trail of caches through town. Lunch was classic tourist - overpriced alfresco in the main square (Marienplatz), consisting of wurst and sauerkraut. But what a setting!

We went for a short walk in the local area before tea at our hotel.Read more
John Kalaitzis Brilliant!
2/23/23Reply
John Kalaitzis Looks a lot more modern!
2/23/23Reply
John Kalaitzis Ah yes, I remember this as a 17 year old
2/23/23Reply
John Kalaitzis Why?
2/23/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 23, 2023
- ⛅ 8 °C
- Altitude: 912 m
- Germany Free State of Bavaria Schwangau Hohenschwangau Neuschwanstein Castle 47.558688, 10.74804747°33’31” N 10°44’53” E
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Day 3
Royal Castles
February 23, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Today was a full day tour of two of the royal castles of Bavaria, located close to the Austrian border, about 90 minutes from Munich.

Linderhof Palace is the smaller castle, the only one of King Ludwig II’s castles which he lived to see completed. He liked to be alone and built the castle with no provision for guests. He also liked to dine alone and out of sight of his servants, so had installed a table that was lowered through the floor with a crank mechanism so it could be set in the room below, and raised when ready, ensuring no interaction with his servants. The table is still in working order, the only one of its kind in the world.

After Linderhof we visited Oberammergau, home of the famous Passion Play, held every 10 years since 1634.

We had a stand-up wurst lunch, before we visited Neuschwanstein Castle. It's often referred as a "fairy-tale castle" and was the model for the castle on the Walt Disney logo. Every room is elaborately decorated and filled with ornate furniture. Built on a rocky outcrop overlooking a valley, the best view of the castle is from Marienbruke, a bridge spanning the gorge behind the castle.

Tours of the castle start every 5 minutes, with a maximum of 65 people per tour. Tickets must be purchased in advance, as it's a 45 minute walk from the ticket office to the castle entrance... and if you miss your allotted timeslot, you can't join another tour, and no refunds are given.

After a long day and much walking, we arrived back in Munich at 7pm and grabbed some takeaway on the way back to our hotel.Read more
John Kalaitzis I had it my head that the passion play was performed only every 10 years? I'd be useless at quizzes!
2/23/23Reply
Darren and Janet oops, that's been corrected now 🙄
2/23/23Reply
John Kalaitzis I was full of self doubt. Glad it's all been cleared up now :)
2/26/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 24, 2023
- ☁️ 11 °C
- Altitude: 460 m
- Germany Free State of Bavaria Dachau Polln 48.269537, 11.4703148°16’10” N 11°28’13” E
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Day 4
Dachau, and Olympic Park
February 24, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
After a hearty breakfast we caught the local train and bus to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, approximately 16km north of Munich.

Dachau was the longest operating concentration camp, established by Hitler in 1933 to house political prisoners. It was designed to accommodate 2,600 inmates, but when it was liberated in 1945, 32,000 prisoners were present.

There's very few original buildings now standing, the notable exception being the crematorium. Mass killings didn't occur at Dachau, but overwork, overcrowding and poor diet led to high levels of illness and death.

After lunch we returned to the central train station, then caught a tram to Olympic Park, site of the 1972 Olympic Games. We got good views of the area from the top of Olympic Mountain, one of the highest points in Munich with 360 degree views of the city. Our visit was cut short when it started raining, but not before we found one of the best caches we've ever seen, built into the geodetic reference marker on top of the hill.

Dinner was at a traditional Bavarian restaurant, pork knuckle and beer beef goulash 😋Read more
John Kalaitzis Oh goodness!
2/24/23Reply
sam and bruce yum, warm and hearty!
2/27/23Reply
Darren and Janet 👌
3/1/23Reply
Traveler that pork knuckle looks delicious
3/1/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 25, 2023
- 🌧 2 °C
- Altitude: 291 m
- Germany Free State of Bavaria Nuremberg Hauptmarkt Augustinerkloster Nürnberg 49.454435, 11.07544649°27’16” N 11°4’32” E
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Day 5
Walking Nuremberg in a flurry of snow
February 25, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 2 °C
We checked out of the hotel early today ready for our 9.18am fast train to Nuremberg. It's a popular route, with 50 trains a day making the 160km journey.

We arrived in Nuremberg at 10.25am, and was surprised at how few people were on the streets. Turns out shops don't open until 11am on Saturday, so the streets were almost deserted.

We spent the day walking around the old town, inside and along the city walls, a medieval defense constructed between 11th and 16th centuries. Approximately 4km of the original 5km are still standing.

The old town is full of beautiful buildings, churches and squares - looking around you would never know that 90% of the old town was destroyed in one day by Allied bombers in 1945.

It snowed off and on for most of the day, so we stopped a number of times for coffee, snacks and a long lunch!Read more
John Kalaitzis That is very special
2/26/23Reply
John Kalaitzis Is that one of your walking people symbols being followed by a goose, that I spy?
2/26/23Reply
Darren and Janet We thought that initially too! It's the logo for a burger chain, Hans Im Gluck (Hans in Luck), named after a Brothers Grimm fairytale. We can confirm they make very good burgers 😁
2/27/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 26, 2023
- ⛅ 2 °C
- Altitude: 354 m
- Germany Free State of Bavaria Nuremberg Zerzabelshof Großer Dutzendteich 49.431088, 11.11809449°25’52” N 11°7’5” E
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Day 6
Rally Grounds
February 26, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C
More snow and bitterly cold wind this morning, so we rugged up and caught the train to the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds, aka Zeppelin Field (named after the landing of one of Count Zeppelin's airships there in 1909).

From 1933 the area was used by the Nazis Party for their annual party rally, with up to 200,000 attendees. During World War II it remained largely intact. On April 22 1945, the US Army held its victory parade at the main grandstand, and after the ceremony the swastika atop the building was blown up. In 1967 the pillar galleries were demolished because they were unsafe. The shortened grandstand remains, with the area still used for an annual motor racing event and cultural events.

Across the lake from Zeppelin Field is Congress Hall. This huge building was to provide undercover seating for 50,000 people, and would have been almost twice the size of the Colosseum in Rome. The outside looks complete, but the interior is an unfinished shell, 39m in height. Construction work was abandoned in World War II and it remains unfinished today.

We walked back to the city via a number of caches and had dinner at a local restaurant.Read more
John Kalaitzis Crikey!
2/26/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 27, 2023
- ☁️ 3 °C
- Altitude: 309 m
- Germany Free State of Bavaria Nuremberg Gostenhof Nürnberg Imhoff’sche Grabkapelle St. Rochus 49.447412, 11.06035449°26’51” N 11°3’37” E
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Day 7
Pencils and Plague
February 27, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
We began the day with a trip to the Faber Castell pencil factory, in the hope they had a tour running. Unfortunately they didn't, and their museum was also closed today, so we had to settle for a visit to the shop and a walk around the grounds and surrounding woods.

On the way back to the city we passed the Nicolaus Copernicus Planetarium (also closed on Mondays 🙄), but had more luck at St Rochus Cemetery. The cemetery was created to bury the victims of the plague of 1517–18. To avoid spreading the disease, city authorities decided to build the cemetery some distance from the city, so St. Rochus is located outside the old city wall. It's an unusual cemetery where most of the graves are low, stone coffin shapes. Among the notable burials are Franz Schmidt (the city executioner who left a diary detailing the 361 executions he performed during his 45 year career), and composer Johann Pachelbel (Canon in D)

In the late afternoon we popped into the supermarket for supplies, had another walk around the city, and had dinner in our room.Read more
Traveler That is the best gate design I've ever seen!
2/27/23Reply
Darren and Janet 😁
2/28/23Reply
John Kalaitzis Did you find any broken pencils? They would be pointless!
2/28/23Reply
Darren and Janet 🤣🤣🤣
3/1/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Feb 28, 2023
- ☁️ 7 °C
- Altitude: 116 m
- Germany Hesse Frankfurt am Main 50.113556, 8.68666550°6’49” N 8°41’12” E
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Day 8
Nuremberg to Frankfurt
February 28, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
After breakfast we had a couple of hours up our sleeve before our train to Frankfurt, so we left the bags at the hotel and went for another walk along the city's historical mile.

We ended up in the main market square at Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain), a 19m tall fountain in the shape of a Gothic spire. It was built in 1385 and has two brass rings embedded in the fence said to bring good luck to those who spin them.

We purchased some local gingerbread and pastries for the journey and made our way to the train station.

The 2 hour trip to Frankfurt was comfortable and smooth, with the train less than a quarter full.

We grabbed a pork steak sandwich from the food vans near the station and walked the 2km journey to our accomodation via a number of caches.

Our accommodation is only metres from the last remaining section of the Staufenmauer, the city wall originally constructed in 1180.

As we are staying in a self-contained apartment, dinner was dine-in, after a visit to the supermarket to purchase supplies.Read more
John Kalaitzis Great shot!
2/28/23Reply
John Kalaitzis Indeed it is beautiful!
2/28/23Reply
John Kalaitzis Love their railway architecture
2/28/23Reply
Darren and Janet it's rapidly becoming our favourite too!
3/2/23Reply
John Kalaitzis I can see why.
3/2/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Mar 1, 2023
- ☀️ 9 °C
- Altitude: 118 m
- Germany Hesse Frankfurt Altstadt Römerberg 50.110335, 8.68203650°6’37” N 8°40’55” E
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Day 9
Bridges of Frankfurt
March 1, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C
We spent the day crisscrossing the Main River, first visiting the old Jewish Cemetery on the way to the Sachsenhausen district, famous for its apple wine bars and half timbered buildings.

We crossed back to the north and had lunch overlooking Römerberg, the old town square, site of royal coronations, Nazi book burnings and more recently Christmas markets. The distinct town hall buildings have been the seat of city administration since the 15th century.

Our afternoon walk took us back to the south bank, and a quick visit to the technology museum (mainly for afternoon tea in their cafe), before heading home via the Kleinmarkthalle, a fresh food market, similar to the Adelaide Central Market.Read more
Traveler Sunny weather! Finally!
3/2/23Reply
Darren and Janet 😁
3/3/23Reply
Traveler I wonder what the meaning is for all the rocks placed on the nameplates ...
3/2/23Reply
Darren and Janet They use a stone as a symbol of lasting memory - flowers, though beautiful, will eventually die, but a stone will not die, so the memory goes on forever.
3/3/23Reply
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Darren and Janet Morocco and Portugal 2023
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- Mar 2, 2023
- Altitude: 474 m
- Morocco Marrakesh-Safi Medina 31.628223, -7.98384631°37’42” N 7°59’2” W
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Day 10
Frankfurt to Marrakech
March 2, 2023 in Morocco
After catching the underground to the airport, we flew out of Frankfurt at 11am for a 3.5 hour flight to Marrakech.

Our first sight of Morocco was a patchwork of brown and green fields from the plane window, with snow covered mountains in the distance - not quite what we were expecting!

After finding an ATM, and buying a local SIM card, the next challenge was getting a taxi. We'd read about the problems at the airport with taxi drivers charging inflated prices, so much so that the government has mandated the price to the city at 70 dirham (about $10)... and even put a sign up to that effect. Seems word hasn't got to the drivers yet, as prices on offer ranged up to 350 dirham! When we said we'd pay the advertised price, the taxi organiser found us a driver, but he took another fare with us... so at least he got 140 for that trip 🙂

Our accommodation is a traditional riad (courtyard house/hotel), very close to the main square, so our taxi dropped us on the outskirts of the city centre, and we walked the rest of the way through the busy lanes.

We went for a late afternoon walk and took an impromptu tour through the tannery. It was quite a sight and smell - and I can safely say it's not high on my list to do again 🙄

Dinner was at a local restaurant as the call to prayer was sounding, before a quiet night in the courtyard of our riad, avoiding the occasional shower of rain.Read more
Traveler Quite a change from Germany!
3/2/23Reply
Darren and Janet yes, there's no ordered efficiency here!
3/2/23Reply
Daniel Williams Didn't want to get in the tannery like the amazing race then?
3/2/23Reply
Darren and Janet I don't think you'd ever get the smell of pigeon poo out 🤮
3/3/23Reply
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