Project WWWT Day 47( part II) of 72 - Salzburg, Austria

3rd July 2017

Today has been an eventful day. Right after our Konigsee/Berchtesgaden excursion, the Summer day is still young so we headed to the one place that everyone had to visit to get a photograph in Salzburg - Mirabell Palace/Garden. Yeah, we had visited this place on the very first day of our arrival to Salzburg, but the urge to have a photo momento of this place is too overwhelming, especially during a beautiful day like today (its a yours truly habit).

Project WWWT Day 47 of 72 - Berchtesgaden

3rd July 2017

Naaman's hair is getting longer so we decided to bring him to have a haircut at the local hair salon. It seems that the hairsalon does not do children haircut but one of the hairdresser actually broke tradition and allow Naaman to have a haircut there by quoting a mere €12. I can see that one of the hairdresser are not very happy with this decision but we coud not care less how she felt and continue to let the hairdresser giving Naaman his haircut. Well, he did not do a fantastic job and I suspect he is just an intern/apprentice but could not complain much as Naaman got his haircut at such an affordable price.

After the haircut, I have planned for a 1 day excursion today to Berchtesgaden with Panorama Tour. The price is pretty decent at only €42.00 per adults and my boys are excluded from paying the tour fees. The schedule was to visit Marktschellenberg (Where Julie Andrews sang “The hills are alive with the sound of music” in the opening scene to the movie - The Sound of Music), the beautiful Konigsee and Berchtesgaden. 

Project WWWT Day 46 of 72 - Salzburg, Austria

2nd July 2017

Salzburg is truly beautiful. The cultural advancement of the country can be seen true the building architecture, the landscape of the city, the souvenir shops and the antique shops. We have decided that we will do some walking, eating of local delicacies and window shopping.

We have chosen to start our day with lunch at St. Peter Stiftskulinarium. This is not only the oldest restaurant in Salzburg but the oldest in Central Europe with evidence of its existence dating back to pre-14th Century. Due to its history, you should not expect it to be cheap but it was actually not too expensive. Our lunch consists of 4 mains (Spagetti Bolognese for the kids, Wiener Schnitzel for the missus, grilled lamb chops for MIL and Viennese braised veal for yours truly) and a couple of wine and beverages.

Project WWWT Day 45 of 72 - Salzburg, Austria

1st July 2017

We took the morning train ride from Vienna to Salzburg mainly because I'd like to spend a little more time in Salzburg. The train ride brought us through many picturesque location but the best view is the one hour prior to reaching Salzburg. 

Project WWWT Day 44 of 72 - Vienna, Austria

30th June 2017

Although we have visited Schonbrunn Tiergarten, it is only a small part of the Schonbrunn Palace compound. We have two choices today viz. 1) Visit the Schonbrunn Palace compound; or 2) The Heldenplatz where you get access to the Burggarten, parliament building, Hofbug Palace, St. Michael Church etc. We decided to go with the Schonbrunn Tiergarten solely because Naaman has nagged us the day before that he wanted to sit on the train i.e. the transport that brings you around the whole Schonbrunn Tiergarten compound.

Project WWWT Day 43 of 72 - Vienna, Austria

29th June 2017

It is a rather mixed weather today with occassional showers in between hours, but we are determined to not let the weather spoil out day/plan. I have promised the boys, especially Naaman that we will be going to the Zoo and he is super excited about it. In fact, he kept reminding me (borderline nagging) on when we will be heading to the zoo. A promise's a promise and I don't intend to break my promise, not to my son where possible.

Project WWWT Day 41 & 42 of 72 - Vienna, Austria

27th ~ 28th June 2017

We took the morning train ride from Prague to Vienna and it all went uneventful. The ride is smooth and reached on time. I had the pleasure of meeting with Simeen and her husband whom are both from New Delhi, India. We shared plenty of stories and information through out the train journey which makes the long journey bearable. The train station in Vienna was one of the best that we have seen although St. Pacras International Station has been good too, especially the provision of luggage trolley which no other train station in my entire trip has. Vienna main train station is wonderful due to the passenger friendly design and also the vailability of a food court in the station (fancy that!). We had some Thai food as they have fried noodles for the kids. The food although cooked by Thai was quite bad. The first day was spent looking for accommodation as our intended accomodation was not what we have expected. If you have been following Project WWWT, you may have read about it in my separate posting under the title Project WWWT - Misadventure Journal, otherwise, you can read it up here under the heading of Austria - Vienna. 

Project WWWT Day 40 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

26th June 2017

This is considered the last day for us here in Prague as we will be taking an early morning train from Prague to Vienna the next day, hence we will need to make today count! I started my day early by sneaking out early in the morning while the missus and kids were still soundly asleep for a morning photo-walk (Did I mentioned that morning is one of the best time to take photos when the natural light is soft and there are no one around to photo bomb your photos?). Prague is beautiful as it is but Prague in the morning is magical as most tourist attractions are relatively empty, exactly the way I liked it. I started the photo-walk by taking an Uber to the famous Dancing House for a quick shot and walked up north thereon towards the Charles Bridge. While walking and taking photos, I also take this advantage to find good spots for evening shot later in the day like the one shown below.

Project WWWT Day 39 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

25th June 2017

Its a sunday! What do I do on Sundays? Attend a church service. Yes, even when we are travelling. I have searched online for a Baptist church to attend and I found out that there is an International Baptist Church in Prague and they have English service, yay! The church building is just like any typical building. The irony is that church building are no longer being attended by worshippers while worshippers worship in building that doesn't look anything like a church. Anyway, the sermon was about the Parable of the Wicked Servant. Very apt for Prague. The difference between the Prague out there and the Prague in the church is very stark. Outside, it seems dead spiritually with old empty church building and statues of dead saints and martyrs. Inside the church building, it is just the gathering of people who loved God. 

Project WWWT Day 38 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

24th June 2017

Have you been to Prague? If you had, then you must have visited Charles Bridge or Karluv Most. If you haven't visited Prague, then you must visit this beautiful bridge. If you have been to Prague but have not visited Charles Bridge, then you have not been to Prague. It is that symbolic! It is like when you gone to Rome and you did not visit the Colloseum or Vatican City but did not visited the St. Peter's Church! More history and details of this bridge from Wikipedia here. If I have to name 5 of the most beautiful bridges I have visited, this would take a spot there. Do note that this bridge is always packed with tourists even to the wee hours of the night. Tips: The secret is to go there early in the morning and you will get most of the bridge to yourself. When it is packed, it is reasonably safe too unless for petty pickpockets, so be vigilant.

Project WWWT Day 37 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

23rd June 2017

When you are in Prague, you need to explore the old town hust like you need to eat chicken rice when you are in Singapore. The day starts at noon when you have children travelling with you... well perhaps most of the children... perhaps mine.  Although I woke up early for groceries, prepping breakfast (not all of the time) and venturing out for morning photography, the kids sleeps in until they are awakened from their deep slumber. Its both pro and cons. You gotta make the best out of your situation or the cliche said "When life gives you lemon, you make lemonade". Probably its early in the morning while I am typing this post, so my mind is still starting up.

Project WWWT Day 35~36 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

21st~22nd June 2017

Dobry Den, precrasna Praha! That's "Hello, beautiful Prague" (Hopefully I got this right. Vendula, if you are reading this, let me know if this is correct). We are arriving here with huge expectation and excitement as we are meeting with my ex-colleague who is a local Czechian from Prague. We took a flight from Dublin Airport to Prague Airport with RyanAir and reached around 11PM although we are expected to reach an hour earlier, no thanks to the flight delay. We took a Taxi Van to our accomodation in Praha 5 and that costs us Kc700 or approximately €28.00.

Project WWWT Day 28 ~ 34 - Belfast, Northern Ireland

15th ~ 21st June 2017

Finally, we are travelling to Belfast, Northern Ireland. This country has hold something dear to our hearts, our relatives and friends. My wife has two aunts here, 5 cousins from the two aunts, two cousins whom has also started their own family and from them, we had 2 nieces and 1 nephew. This destination was more like visiting family as well as to take a mid-project rest where we could relax a little more before we embark on the other half of our project's duration. As such, the post on Northern Ireland will not be as the previous postings which was on a day by day basis but rather, based on a single post of the POI that we have visited in this country.

Project WWWT Day 27 - Cannes, France

14th June 2017 

The original plan was to visit Forcalquier in the morning to take in the sights but there is a change in the plan after re-considering the time that we've got. We decided to set out at 7AM in the morning from Manosque to Cannes via the A51 and then towards A8 in the direction of Cannes so that the kids can have a good sleep in the car. The toll for this expressway cost us €27.40 (If I am not mistaken) which is far more than the mountain road of €0.70 but is a small price to pay for a smooth and vomit-less ride.

Project WWWT Day 26 of 72- Provence, France

13th June 2017

Booked a car today and going to pick it up from Gare de Nice. The car was booked from EasyCar and it shows that I will be getting a Mini Cooper manual transmission or something similar. Was about to give the missus a surprise as she would like to try a Mini for the longest time since the new model hits the market. Once I am done with the paperworks and procedures, the lady attendant told me that she has given me an upgrade and passed me a key for a Volkswagon Polo. I was surprised as I knew that a VW Polo is not in the same class as a Mini Cooper, which I promptly told her and she replied on the affirmative that it is not in the same class and that my booking was for a compact car CDRW. So I called the helpdesk of EasyCar and told them the problem. To cut the story short, I did not get the Mini and decided to report this instead of wasting time at the Car Rental station to argue with the attendant.

So we are off to Provence! Our itinerary was to stop by at Castellane, Moustiers Sainte Marie, Valensole and Forcalquier. We took the mountain roads and the view is truly breath-taking! The toll from Nice to the mountain road is only a mere €0.70. The journey to Castellane took a little more than 2 hours but if you stopped in between for photos, it will take longer than that. It is hard to resist. Did I mention the road is winding? The mountain road is very winding! My eldest threw up at a a local town that we passed by... Andon? Can't really remember and not many photos as we are all kinda dizzy from the winding road. Travellers with young children, please rent a more comfortable car and drive slowly.

Project WWWT Day 24-25 of 72 - Nice, France & Monte Carlo, Monaco

11th ~ 12th June 2017

Finally, we are bidding addio to Italy and saying Bon Jour to Nice, France. It is with a heavy heart as Pisa, Cinque Terre and Florence has been a wonderful place to be in, would have loved to stay and explore these location longer next time. However, since we are on the way to another beautiful location, we can only hope that there are more beautiful and exciting places to greet us.

Project WWT Day 23 of 72 - Pisa, Italy

10th June 2017

The Italian weather has been very kind to us, too kind in fact as we had got ourselves some "nice" tan. My darker tone is stark when I hold Naaman's hand, thanks to our visit to Cinque Terre. I could barely recognise my own hand! Today started early for me as I set foot to explore Pisa alone in the morning. My itinerary for Pisa is very sinple really, there are only two places that I intend to visit. First is the Orto Botanico or Orto Botanical garden and secondly, the Piazza del Duomo.

Project WWWT Day 22 of 72 Florence, Italy

9th June 2017

Let's fall in love with Florence!

We drove up to Florence and we took the expressway called Fi-Pi-Li. The journey is quite smooth and took roughly 90 minutes drive. Florence is also a ZTL zone hence we could not park inside the town so we looked for a parking space outside the town across the river. We explored Florence by our feet. The weather is milder here than Cinque Terre, likely due to the availability of shades and it being a city as compared to Manarola, a coastal fishermen's town.

Project WWWT Day 21 of 72 - Cinque Terre, Italy

8th June 2017

While we are staying in Pisa, this place is really a leaping point for us to visit other nearby location. We have Florence and Cinque Terre in our mind and my thought was to visit the latter on the 10th of June but there is a slight change of plan and we proceeded to head to the 5 fishermen town - Cinque Terre. 

Project WWWT Day 20 of 72 - Pisa, Italy

7th June 2017

Prego!

Finally, we are making our way to the land of fashion, pastas & piazzas, parma hams and parmagiano regiano! Before I go any further, I would like to record some incidents and information for our journey from London to this wonderful location - Pisa. We flew via RyanAir from London to Pisa and the flight is scheduled to depart from London Stansted Airport. We took UBER to the airport and the journey took around 90 minutes and costs £111.13. The reason why it cost that much is because we took UberVan i.e. a 6-seater vehicle to transport all 5 of us plus 8 luggages + a stroller. I know that is a lot but hey, we have 3 adults, 2 children and 72 days of travel? Besides, yours truly has some really good looking arms by now although my face remains the chubby fat me (its a gift). If you are opting for regular Uber, it will likely costs half of that and at that price, it is way cheaper option considering that you have the car all to yourself.