Europe
Eight touring days through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.
Oman
Muscat International Airport
Europe travel journal
Day 1 - Journey to Paris
Route
Singapore Changi AirportSingapore→Kuala Lumpur International AirportMalaysia→Sama-Sama Express KLIATransit hotel→Muscat International AirportOman→Paris Charles de Gaulle AirportFrance→Mercure Paris Roissy CDGParis
We were joining a Malaysian Tour Group as part of Golden Destinations. We had to meet them at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to take the flight together. We took a flight to KL and transferred at Oman Airport. Sadly, the in flight entertainment had no sound for one of the main flights.
Oman
Flight to Paris
Oman
Muscat International Airport
Day 2 - Paris
Route
Mercure Paris Roissy CDGRoissy-en-France→Eiffel TowerChamp de Mars→La Fontaine de JadeRue du Bosquet→Louvre MuseumRue de Rivoli→Galeries Lafayette HaussmannBoulevard Haussmann→The TerraceGaleries Lafayette→Place Edouard VIIParis→Bateaux MouchesSeine River Cruise
Visited a very crowded Eiffel Tower in the morning, and had a good Chinese Zi-Char style lunch. Stopped by the Louvre Museum for some photos, then headed to Galeries Lafayette for some shopping and Cafe Food & Ice Cream, with a nice top floor view at The Terrace. Dinner was quite underwhelming with a bland tasting Steak, and I tried Escargots for the first time. Not a fan. Ended the day a night Seine River Cruise, but would have preferred to go for the cruise in the day as everything looked similar at night.
Paris
En Route to City Centre
Paris
En Route to City Centre
Champ de Mars
Eiffel Tower
Champ de Mars
Eiffel Tower
Champ de Mars
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Viewing Area
Eiffel Tower
Descent
Champ de Mars
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Entrance Area
Bosquet
La Fontaine de Jade
Rue de Rivoli
Louvre Museum
Panasia Lafayette
Galeries Lafayette Haussmann
The Terrace
Galeries Lafayette Haussmann
Chez Edouard
Pl. Édouard VII
Edward VII
Pl. Édouard VII
Bateaux Mouches
Seine River Cruise
Eiffel Tower
Seine River Cruise
Arc de Triomphe
Champs-Élysées
Eiffel Tower
Seine River Cruise
Day 3 - Brussels
Route
ParisFrance→Grand-PlaceBrussels→Manneken PisBrussels→AtomiumBrussels→Berghotel AmersfoortNetherlands
Started the day with a long bus ride but had a nice photo stop at break place. Had Mussels in Brussels at a restaurant in City Hall. Saw a peeing statue Manneken Pis and lots of people crowding around it. Long wait for the food and it wasn't too great. Afterwards, took some nice photos at the Atomium.
En Route
Brussels
The View Ferris Wheel
Grande roue Place Poelaert
St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral
Pl. Sainte-Gudule
Mussels
in Brussels
Manneken Pis
Rue du Lombard
Grand-Place
City Hall
Atomium
Grand-Place
City Hall
Atomium
Fonteinen Eeuwfeestlaan
Day 4 - The Netherlands
Route
Berghotel AmersfoortAmersfoort→Zaanse SchansWindmill village→Cheese Farm Catharina HoeveZaandam→VolendamFishing village→Amsterdam Canal CruiseAmsterdam→Red Light DistrictDe Wallen→Berghotel AmersfoortAmersfoort
One of my favourite days of the Trip. Started off the day heading to the Windmill Village, where we saw a few demonstrations such as the Wooden Shoe Carving and the Cheese Factory. Later in the afternoon, we headed to a Fishing Village at Volendam for lunch. Another underwhelming meal with an overcooked steak :( Thereafter, we headed to Amsterdam for another River Cruise. At this point River Cruises were kind of boring so I switched to Japanese Audio for the Audio Tour to practice my Japanese. We also headed to Red Light District but no photos were allowed.
Zaanse Schans
Wooden Shoes Carving
Zaanse Schans
Zaanse Schans
Cheese Factory
Zaanse Schans
Volendam
Fishing Village
Volendam
Fishing Village
Town Hall
Amsterdam
Day 5 - Cologne
Route
AmersfoortNetherlands→Cologne CathedralCologne→Koln HauptbahnhofCologne→HohenzollernbruckeCologne→Rhine GardenCologne→NH Mannheim ViernheimGermany
Quite a short day as we only visited the area around the Cologne Cathedral. Bought a nice Starbucks and walked around. Visited the Train Station, took some nice photos on the Hohenzollernbrücke Bridge and took a walk around Rhinegarten Park.
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Central Station
Starbucks
Cologne
Hohenzollernbrücke
Cologne Cathedral
Rhinegarten
Rhinegarten
Day 6 - Heidelberg, the Black Forest & Rhine Falls
Route
NH Mannheim ViernheimGermany→Heidelberg Old BridgeHeidelberg→Heidelberg CastleHeidelberg→Black ForestBaden-Wurttemberg→Lake TitiseeTitisee-Neustadt→Cuckoo Clock WorkshopBlack Forest→Rhine FallsSchaffhausen→Movenpick Hotel EgerkingenEgerkingen
Started off with a very cool day and visited Heidelberg Castle. Later, we drove past Germany's Black Forest and had some German pork knuckle for lunch. Also stopped by Lake Titisee for some photos, and we learned about the history of Cuckoo Clocks. We then drove to Switzerland's Rhine Falls and had some really delicious Chicken Tikka Masala that cost 18 Swiss Francs. So happy that I ate it because there was a traffic jam due to an accident and the bus driver also made a wrong turn which caused us to reach our hotel almost 3 hours later at around 9pm.
Old Bridge Heidelberg
Church of the Holy Spirit
Heidelberg
Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Heidelberg
Lake Titisee
Baden-Württemberg
Lake Titisee
Baden-Württemberg
Cuckoo Clock Factory
Baden-Württemberg
Cuckoo Clock Factory
Baden-Württemberg
Lake Titisee
Baden-Württemberg
Rhine Falls
Switzerland
Rhine Falls
Switzerland
Rhine Falls
Schaffhausen
Chicken Tikka Masala
Schaffhausen
Rhine Falls
Schaffhausen
Chicken Tikka Masala
Schaffhausen
Chicken Tikka Masala
Schaffhausen
Day 7 - Mount Titlis & Lucerne
Route
Movenpick Hotel EgerkingenEgerkingen→EngelbergObwalden→Titlis RotairMount Titlis→Glacier CaveMount Titlis→Ice FlyerMount Titlis→Cliff WalkMount Titlis→Panorama RestaurantMount Titlis→Lion MonumentLucerne→Reuss River & Needle DamLucerne→Bachmann BakeryLucerne
One of the best days of the trip. Headed to an excursion at Mount Titlis where we took a cable car to the midway point then took the world's first Revolving Cable Car. There were quite a few activities at the mountain such as the Glacier Cave, Cliff Walk and the Ski Lift. Had a great lunch at the Panorama Restaurant, then we headed to Lucerne for some sightseeing. Ended the day with one of the most value for money meals - Pizza Poulet Curry which cost 13 Swiss Francs that the two of us shared and struggled to finish.
Mount Titlis
Engelberg
Mount Titlis
Engelberg
Ice Flyer
Mount Titlis
Ice Flyer
Mount Titlis
Ice Flyer
Mount Titlis
Glacier Park
Mount Titlis
Glacier Cave
Mount Titlis
Cliff Walk
Mount Titlis
Panorama Restaurant
Mount Titlis
Mount Titlis
Engelberg
Titlis Rotair
Revolving Cable Car
Mount Titlis
Engelberg
Mount Titlis
Engelberg
Mount Titlis
Engelberg
Lion Monument
Lucerne
Needle Dam
Lucerne
Reuss
Lucerne
Pizza Poulet Curry
Bachmann Bakery
Day 8 - Colmar & Zurich
Route
Movenpick Hotel EgerkingenEgerkingen→Colmar TramColmar→La Petite VeniseColmar→Marche CouvertColmar→Restaurant Au KoifhusColmar→St Martin's ChurchColmar→Hans Waldmann MonumentZurich→LindenhofZurich→BahnhofstrasseZurich→Zurich AirportSwitzerland→Muscat International AirportOman→Kuala Lumpur International AirportMalaysia→SingaporeHome
Final day of the trip! Time passed so quickly. Started off the day heading back to France, Colmar. Took a tram ride in the morning for a tour of Colmar. Visited Little Venice and had one of the best meals - Steak. We walked through the city and saw some churches. Thereafter, we headed to Zürich and saw a nice Statue. One of the coolest things we saw was people playing Outdoor Giant Chess. With that, we made our way to Zürich airport for our flight back.
La Petite Venise
Colmar
Marché couvert
Colmar
Limmat River
Zürich
Zürich
Lindenhof
Zürich
Giant Chess Board
Lindenhof