SMHuang's Travel Book

Sep 2010 Euro trip Day 6: Lindau -> Luzern

2010-11-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

Lindau landmark - Port entrance with Lighthouse and Bavarian Lion

Lindau Town Museum

Lake side hotels that I can't afford

The hotel where we stayed

Zurich Station

Luzern

A village by the lake

Alpnachstad Station

On the way to mountain Platus Kulm (2132m)

top of the hill

from the lookout

Kriens is the last stop. A bus ride is provided to get back to Luzern station.
The whole trip was about 4 hours and only cost 47.6 Frank (after the discount of Euro rail pass) which was really cheap considering the cost of living in Switzerland.

2010 Sep Euro trip - Day 5 - Linderhof - Munich - Lindau

2010-10-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

Today's schedule was quite intense. We left Schwangau and stopped at Linderhof Palace on the way to Munich. We also needed to return the rental car at Munich before 1:30 pm, and then catching the 4:30 pm train to Lindau.
We did not want to stay overnight at Munich because it's the 200 anniversary of Oktoberfest and it was very difficult to get a room near the train stations with a reasonable price... So we only spent a few hours in the Oktoberfest before catching the train to Lindau.

The view from Schwangau to Linderhof was stunning. Part of the journey was in Austria. It's a pity I wasn't able to stop and take good photos as the roads were narrow so I could not stop wherever I wanted.

The car we rented ... the Audi, not the Porsche

After about 1 hour and 15 minutes, we arrived the Linderhof Palace.

The entrrance to the Palace, guided tour required.

The garden in the front of the Palace. There were lots of beautiful gardens, but we didn't have enough time to visit them.

The sides of the Palace.

Here we were at the Oktoberfest venue.

The Dom next to it.

One of the big tents.

Another tent.

Munich train station.

Another 2.5 hours we arrived Lindau. The hotels near the lake looked really charming in the evening.

Lindau landmark night shot.

2010 Sep Euro Trip - Day 4 (Fussen, Schwangau)

2010-10-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Day 4 of the trip.

After staying overnight at Fussen, the very end or beginning (depending on which direction you are travelling) of the Romantic Road , today' itinerary are world famous castles, the fairytale castle "Neuschwanstein" built by King Ludwig II and Neo-Gothic Castle Hohenschwangau built by Maximilian II, Ludwigs father.

The tickets cost 9 Euros for each castle or 17 Euros for both. Guided tours are compulsory and will be assigned a time schedule when purchasing tickets. Compared to Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau is really mini. I would recommend only to visit Neuschwanstein; Hohenschwangau looks like some kind of a large residential house or a hotel, I couldn't really connect it with a "castle" when first saw it.

It only took about 20 mins from the visitor centre, where we bought the tickets, to Hohenschwangau by foot.
Photos of Hohenschwangau:

View of Hohenschwangau from a room of Neuschwanstein:

Then heading to Neuschwanstein.

Taking photos inside castles are prohibited so there are no photos available.

It takes 20 mins to walk to this bridge opposite the Neuschwanstein. You will be able to capture the whole Neuschwanstein into your photos from there.

The balcony of the hotel we stayed at that night. We can see Neuschwanstein from here.

The hotel room. 97 Euros a night... a good sleep!

2010 Sep Euro Trip - Day 3 - Rothenburg to Fussen (The Romantic Road)

2010-10-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

We were wondering around the beautiful Rothenburg this morning, climbing up to one of the watching towers overlooking the whole town which was quite awesome. Then driving through the Romantic Road, down to Fussen to stay overnight. I had to say it was a mistake not to leave plenty time between Rothenburg and Fussen. There were so many beautiful places to stay on the way... Ah well, next time!!

Morning in Rothenburg

City Town Hall

There was a watching tower where you could climb up to see the whole town, highly recommended!
You wouldn't be regretted once you saw the scenery from up there.

There were quite a lot of shops in town and even though it's a touristy place, I felt they were not too expensive (compared to Australia).

Snow balls - a local speciality food

It's time to leave the beautiful Rothenburg. We bought some bread and drinks for picnic lunch and driving towards Fussen.

2010 Sep Euro Trip Day 2 - Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber

2010-10-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

The second day of the trip.
We planned to do some city sightseeing in Frankfurt in the morning, however, we did not know that all shops were closed on Sundays. Only restaurants and cafes were open.
We picked up the rental car on 1:30pm, then heading down to Rothenburg O.D.T, which is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town and is the most popular town on the Romantic Road. This beautiful town is located on a plateau overlooking the Tauber river. The city of Rothenburg was founded at the time of the building of Staufer castle in 1170.

The hotel we stayed.

Room... we dropped the luggage on the bed before I thought I should have taken some photos... That's why the blankets were wrinkled.

There were two basins in the room which were quite handy.

The views outside the window:

The room rate was 89 euros including two breakfasts.
The restaurant where guests had breakfast.

Beautiful old town in the late afternoon. Every corner was so charming!
I couldn't help but shooting my camera non-stop, but this could not demonstrate enough the beauty of this town. You got to be there to experience it yourselves.

A perfect way to finish a day in Germany - Pork Knuckle with red cabbage and potato dumplings, 11.9 euros.

Great Ocean Road - Jan 2007

2010-08-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

澳洲維多利亞州著名的大洋路
在２００７年１月去的時候只剩下１１顆大石頭（原本有１２顆）
The famous Great Ocean Road.
The 12 Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge

The Arch

London Bridge

Another angle of London Bridge

Kangaroo Island - Miscellaneous - Jan 2010

2010-08-08T04:34:00.000-07:00

當地居民的郵箱. 是的,那台烘衣機也是其中一個郵箱.
The residents' mailboxes

Penneshaw township where the ferry arrives at the Island

Beautiful ocean

Bay of Shoals

Kangaroo Island - Vivonne Bay - Jan 2010

2010-08-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

Vivonne Bay

Fauna on Kangaroo Island - Jan 2010

2010-08-07T04:39:00.001-07:00

Sea Lions on Seal Bay - Guided tours required.

Fur Seals near the Admirals Arch

A white kangaroo

More kangaroos

Koala mom and her baby

Kangaroo mom and her baby

Orphan kangaroo raised by the Eucalyptus Distillery shop owner

Barossa Valley - 20th -22nd Jan 2010

2010-08-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

After picking up the rental car from Adelaide, we headed north to Barossa Valley. When we arrived Barossa, it was about 1:30pm so first thing was to find a place for lunch. Then we found Jacob's Creek winery. We had a look at the lunch menu and it was surprisingly good with reasonable prices. So we asked for a table without hesitation.

Nice view of vineyards from the restaurant:

After lunch, we had our first wine testing in Barossa. Although you can get Jacob's wines from everywhere (even can get them easily from overseas), we still gave it a try. Then we walked around the vineyards and took some photos. It was quite pleasant to be there; comfortable visitor centre.

Vineyards at Jacob's Creek:

Chateau Tanunda

Beautiful formal gardens, with pleasant staff who were helpful in letting us try some of their better wines.

Chateau Yaldara

Seppeltsfield Estate
The road of palms

Magnificent fortified wines, served in a cool cellar on a very hot day....very pleasant

Try the Ruby, or the top-end sherries, not to mention a vintage port or two....

Peter LEHMANN

Kaesler Wines

Great wines, and an impressive display of empties!!

Murray Street Vineyards

Some very deep, rich reds live at this address.

Lunch at the Maggie Beer Farm Shop

After a hard morning tasting reds, all I wanted was a beer, but don't ask at Maggie Beers, 'cos they don't serve beer !! Anyway, the pheasant pie and the pates, and food were superb, as only Maggie can do. Do try the ice-creams, as well.

The deck at Maggie's, but not when it is 40 outside!!

Novotel Hotel @ Barossa - AU$185 per night including breakfast for two

The back of the hotel

Brekkie at the restaurant

Views from the balcony

The Louise Resort Estate where we had dinner @ Appellation

Appellation restaurant. A degustation meal to remember.

Sunset beyond Appellation, looking over the kitchen herb gardens.

Rottnest Island - 24th Jan 2010

2010-08-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

The jetty at the main township.

Porpoise Bay.

Quokkas. They are how the Rottnest Island's name came from.

People thought they were rats. Rott is Dutch for "rat".

Little Salmon Bay.

I went snorkelling here.

Salmon Bay. Perhaps the best swimming beach, away from the main town area.

There are no cars on the island. The main transport mode is bicycle.

But believe me, unless you are super fit, do not try cycling here. It will ruin your trip here.

The roads are so steep and I got cramped a few times later when I was snorkelling in the Basin.

You can get around the island by shuttle bus, which is quite cheap.

The colorful lake on the island.

The Basin. I did more snorkelling here.

Sunset at Darwin - July 2008

2010-08-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

Sunset at the Darwin Yacht Club.
Great for a good value meal, cheap drinks and a view that will make you stay for another drink!

Stroll down to the beach to get closer to the action.

Kings Canyon - July 2008

2010-08-04T05:09:00.000-07:00

Photos taken from the helicopter

Uluru (Ayers Rock) & Kata-Tjuta - July 2008

2010-08-04T04:55:00.000-07:00

Sunset at Ayers Rock...Uluru

Another angle of Uluru/Ayers Rock.

Photo taken on the way to the Kata-Tjuta

Kata-Tjuta lookout

Tasmania - Coles Bay - Jan 2007

2010-08-03T05:07:00.000-07:00

The Edge of the Bay Resort - Ocean View Suites

An excellent restaurant, overlooking Coles Bay towards the Freycinet Peninsula.
Modern rooms, free rowboats. Relaxing and fun.

View outside the restaurant

View outside the hotel room

The wallabies coming to visit us

Another visitor

Evening view from the room. The rooms are very private, and well-appointed.

Tasmania - Strahan - Jan 2007

2010-08-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

After getting off the Spirit of Tasmania, we had a short stop at the Cradle Mountain and then drove down to Strahan.

The beginning of the Gordon River Cruise at Strahan.

Hells Gate

Cruising through the river

The mirror-like river.

Salmon Farms

Kangaroo Island - Remarkable Rocks - Jan 2010

2010-08-03T04:27:00.001-07:00

Flinders Chase National Park

On the way to Remarkable Rocks

Remarkable Rocks

Kangaroo Island - Snelling Beach & Stokes Bay - Jan 2010

2010-08-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

Stokes Bay
- follow the sign "Beach", you need to walk through the headland of boulders to get to the beach.

This is the other side of the boulders. The weather was a bit cloudy after we got through the boulders.

a rock-enclosed pool

Snelling Beach - about 15km west of the Stokes Bay. Drive down onto the beach, enjoy it to yourself.

The view from the west coming into Snellings Beach

Hamilton Island - White Heaven Beach - June 2009

2010-07-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

漢米爾頓島的白天堂海灘,被評選為世界１０大海灘之一　(sorry 來源不可考)
拍照當天雲很多,所以我的傻瓜相機無法完美呈現亮白的海灘.

Hamilton Island - June 2009

2010-06-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

We stayed at the Reef View Hotel at the Hamilton Island.

These are the views from the hotel room's balcony. Get a room above level 5, so you are above the trees!

Catamarans on the bay

Cockatoos on the balcony

More cockatoos

Sunset from the balcony

Sunset at One Tree Hill. They have "cocktail hour" there, or take your own bottle, and enjoy the setting sun.