Europe Day 20: Holiday Officially Ended

.: October 14, 2012. Sunday :.

Time to pack and say au revoir, Europe! We'll be back!

Europe Day 19: Back to Amsterdam

.: October 13, 2012. Saturday :.

The tour had officially ended. We were dropped off at the airport since we booked a hotel in an airport complex. A bit sad that weeks full of fun had come to an end.

~ With our tour leader ~

 

After checking-in, we took a shuttle bus from hotel to airport and did a last day shopping. I wanted to go to the city and had a last look of Amsterdam's canals but the comfy of our hotel room won over spending a wet, rainy day walking. So a quick shop at the airport and we were back to the hotel. 

 

Amsterdam croquette, delish. The filling texture is more runny than our usual crocket. Totally loved it.

~ Crocket vending machine ~

 

Alright, gotta admit. Before the tour, our friends advised us to bring some instant noodles in case we ever wanted to take a break from bread and pasta. And we just laughed, coz heck, both me and hubby are bread lovers, we could survive just by eating bread. So we didn't bring any. At the end of our tour tho, it took only a single glance of a shelf full of instant noodles to bring forth the desire and urge to eat instant noodle. Oh the thought of slurping the delicious, hot broth. Yummy.

 

It was raining again, but we were all warm and cozy in our hotel room. A perfect timing to pour hot water into the pop noodle, no?

Europe Day 18: Switzerland to Rhine Valley, Germany

.: October 12, 2012. Friday :.

We were leaving Switzerland *sob* Two days really weren't enough to explore Switzerland, it probably deserves the whole trip by itself haha *wistful thinking*. But Rhine Valley was waiting for us. A river cruise on Rhine river, passing a great view of hills with castles spotted here and there. It was drizzling lightly that quickly became harder and harder when we were waiting for the ship to arrive. 

~ A view from the cruise ~

 

~ Look, a castle on the hill ~

 

The cruise stopped at Boppard, a small city. It was here that we had a German wine tasting. 

 

Oh a pink house! I wondered what the interior looked like?

 

We tasted ice wine aka dessert wine produced in Germany. Super super super sweet, like drinking sugar, eck! But the white wine has a nice light flavor, so we bought five small bottles home.

 

Um... somehow whenever I see this picture, I imagine cows moo-ing...

 

We dined together that night and had a second round at a nearby bar. A nice, little farewell party coz the next day we would be going back to Amsterdam - to where it all began - to end this tour.

~ The guy holding the dog is our coach driver ~

Europe Day 17: Let's Go to the Top of Europe!

.: October 15, 2012. Thursday :.

We got ourself bundled up and ready to go to the top of Europe, Jungfrau. I can't really remember how many times we had to change train to get to the top, but I do remember the scenery along the way, snow capped mountain, green field, really typical Switzerland.

 

Aaannd Jungfrau! It is said that Jungfrau is the highest point in all of Europe, hence the name Top of Europe.  Our three-and-a-half hour of fun in Jungfrau went by quickly. Highlight of the day was "Lunch at Top of Europe".

 

Although we still can't get enough of Jungfrau, it was time to head back to Wilderswil. Since it was still early, we decided to stop by Interlaken, a fine city with casino and shops selling branded watches and handbag. We had our dinner, Swiss cheese fondue before going back to hotel.

Europe Day 16: Venice to Switzerland

.: October 10, 2012. Wednesday :.

It was time to say good bye to Venice and to welcome Switzerland. I almost couldn't contain my excitement at the prospect of being in Switzerland, albeit it was a bit sad to leave Venice. It was snowing a little when we were halfway there, the tour leader let us out of the coach for a short break.

We arrived at Wilderswil in the evening, checked in and explored the little village by ourselves. There wasn't much we could do here in Wilderswil, located approximately 30-45 minutes by train to Interlaken - the big city. Oh but what a beautiful village it is. Peaceful and it felt like we were living in a postcard. That beautiful.

We just spent time by going to the convenient store and took in the breathtaking view of beautiful Switzerland. The air was deliciously fresh.

Swiss people are friendly, so that made our stay there more enjoyable.

 

~ View from our hotel ~

 

~ A view from our room ~

 

~ A traditional Swiss wooden house ~

Europe Day 15: Venice

.: October 09, 2012. Tuesday :.

Hubby pointed out to me that Venice on a map looks like a fish. Interesting fact.

We skipped breakfast at the hotel and decided to have breakfast in a cafe. So we hopped on a bus to the main island and purchased two water bus tickets. We first went to Murano island to see a glass making presentation and look for souvenirs. Ah we had our breakfast there as well.

 

~ The best breakfast experience ever. Breakfast by the canal. Awesome ~

 

~ Gosh, I love 'em all, candy color haha ~

A nice lady from the Murano jewelry store told us to go visit Burano island. The houses in Murano island are in brighter color and smaller than the buildings in the main island, but we were told that houses in Burano island are even in more brighter color, so we followed the advise and hopped on the water bus to Burano island. Took us about 30 minutes to get there.

~ And she was right! Look at those happy, bright colors! Totally love it ~

 

We went back to the main island to spend the rest of that day. Had gelato, played with pigeons, and of course, took a gondola ride. I didn't know that we weren't allowed to feed the pigeons, only later after we finished taking pictures with them that we saw the warning board. Those who feed the pigeons will be fined. Uh oh. 

We didn't up the bell tower as well, as the line was crazy long and I didn't want our precious time in Venice gone just waiting in line. So yeah, we skipped that one.

We ended the day with a nice dinner by the canal.