In September and October 2004 we, along with our neighbor friends, toured Bruges, Belgium, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands, before joining a Rick Steves tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. At the completion of the tour, Barb and I took the train from Vienna to Prague where we were a couple days before returning home.
The Rick Steves tour began in St. Goar, Germany. We traveled to Switzerland through the Black Forest area to Munich then Bavaria. We arrived in Munich just as Oktoberfest was wrapping up. What a celebration! Due to Okterbfest, we stayed in Starnberg, just outside Munich.
In Switzerland, the two towns we stayed in were Murten and Murren. Scenic places visited included Chateau Chillon, Gruyeres, Gimmelwald and Lauterbrunnen. A very enjoyable afternoon was going on the Mannlichen Hike. This is a quit easy and scenic hike. Another highlight was an early morning cable car ride up to the Shilthorn. We made extensive use of their cable cars and our feet there!
The Austria part of the tour included the lovely areas around Salzburg with a stay in the picturesque town of Hallstatt. The final destination for the tour was Vienna where we bid farewell to our congenial travel companions.
Barb and I were joined by George and Cindy, fellow tour travelers, for our journey via train to Prague. We had made reservations at a B&B in a residential area of Prague. This gave us an opportunity to see areas of Prague where people actually live in addition to the touristy parts that visitors usually only see. We had contacted a local guide in Prague before our trip and arranged two half days with her. With the brief time there, we were glad we had. After a couple whirlwind days of touring Prague, we flew home from there.
Click here for Bruges & Amsterdam; here for Germany; here for Switzerland; here for Austria; here for Prague photos.