Travel Guide Table of Contents

Austria
• Ruette
• Salzburg
Belgium
• Brussels
England
• London
Germany
• Baveria
• Bonn
• Cologne (Köln)

Austria Travel Guide

Note about driving to Austria: You need to purchase a driving pass to display on your windshield. The passes are available at most gas stations near the boarder. A pass costs €7.70 and is valid for 10 days.

Reutte
A small town located near the German boarder in Bavaria. It's a good place to spend the night while visited Neuschwanstein.

Accommodations

• Alpenhotel Erberg, Planseestrasse 50, 05672/71912. Plain, but comfortable, rooms with great views. Hiking and running trails near by. Really good food in the cozy restaurant. (See Oasis in the Snow, my post from December 26, 2007.)
  

Attractions

• See Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria.
  
• For additional information about this town visit the region's English language tourist site.

Salzburg
Both Motzart and the Von Trapp Family called Salzburg home so this a very musical city. But, the picturesque winding streets ending in charming squares make this a must-see stop for even those who can't stand The Sound of Music.

Accommodations

• Hotel Stein, Giselakai 3-5 A. +43 662 8743460. I would stay if I wasn't trying to maintain my travel budget.
• Belmondo Hotel, St Julien Strasse 7. The hotel is a 10-minute walk from the center of the city, but I wouldn't stay here again. The staff was rude and it wasn't as clean as I'd like.

Attractions

• Mozart Dinner Concert. Not the best food and quite touristy (everyone at our table was from the U.S.) but a good way to experience opera in Salzburg if you're with someone who's not willing to sit through an entire concert.
  
• There are many concerts in Salzburg all the time. For information , visit the Salzburger Concert Web site.
  
• Salzburg Dom. The main cathedral in Salzburg is worth a visit. Since we were there on Christmas Eve we attended midnight mass. The music was AMAZING!
• Sound of Music Tour. Rick Steves, surprisingliy, gives this tour a great review. Kevin would have killed me if we spent Christmas Day on a bus full of American tourists singing "Doe a Deer" though. I were in Slazburg with my sister we'd surely indulge in this tour.
  

Restaurants

• M32. Mönchsberg 0662/841000. Restaurant at the modern art museum overlooking the city. This restaurant was closed when I visited Salzburg (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). I am including it in my guide because it was highly recommended by an Austrian friend who has spent a great deal of time in Salzbug.
  
• The Steinterrace. Giselakai 3-5 A. +43 662 8743460. This is the rooftop bar at the Stein Hotel.
• Carpe Diem Finger Food. Getreidegasse 50. +43 (0)662 848800. Dinks and snakes. All of the the food comes in cones., hence the name.
  

Belgium Travel Guide

Brussels
Before heading to Brussels, a number of Germans asked me why I was going, saying that it wasn't the best city to visit. I'm glad I didn't listen to them. I spent a great day eating, window-shopping, and wondering around.

Attractions
Musee Bruxellois de la Gueuze, Cantillon Brewery, Rue Gheude 56, Tel. 00 32 2 521 49 28. Admission 3.50. The nondescript wooden garage door gives little away about what's inside. The reasonable entry fee to this operational brewery allows you to take a self-guided tour, replete with a detail brochure, and taste two of the lambic beer brewed here. For any one interested in beer, brewing, factories, traditional production methods, or "old stuff" this is a must-see attraction. (See Beer, Beer, Beer.)

Restaurants
The cobbled streets between the Grand Place and the Saint Hubbert Royal Galleries are lined with tons of restaurants – all competing for your business with grandiose seafood displays and hawkers trying to get you to come in. Though I generally don't like to eat in this type of tourist-laden neighborhood, I decided to give this area a try since to sculptural mounds of fresh fish, mussels, scallops, clams, and lobster looked so delicious. I made my selection by going to a place that looked cozy, busy, and didn't pressure me to come in.

• La Cotelette, Rue des Bouchers 300, tel. 02-512 59 19. Our meal was a little price, but we walked away happily filled to the gills with great mussels and beautiful paella chocked filled with lobster, shrimps, scallops, clams, mussels, and white fist. (See Mussels in Brussels.)
• La Maison des Crepes, Rue du Midi 18, tel. 0475 95 73 68. In a town known for its chocolate, I was surprised the it was a little difficult to find a place for dessert. Once spotted though, La Maison des Crepes was worth the hunt. A small coffee shop with a local feel, they offered good coffee and a standard, but tasty selection sweet crepes.
• Lebeau Soleil, 25-27 Rue de Rollebeek, 0479 420 382. This cafe/studio, run by a livey violin maker and his bow making partner, offers a nice brunch served on tables between the instument-making work benches.

Accommodations

• Bedford Hotel, Rue du Midi 135, Tel. 32 2 507.00.00. Great location within easy walking distance of the Grand Place. Breakfast included. Small rooms, not the best bed, but still one of the best deals in a town commands high-priced rooms.
  

England Travel Guide

London

Restaurants and Pubs

• The Abingdon, 54 Abingdon Road, London W8, Phone: 4420 7937 3339. Love this place. Great food, great atmosophere. Well worth the trip.
  
• Tea Palace, 175 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2SB, Phone: 020 7727 2600 175. Open for breakfast, lunch, brunch, and afternoon tea. Reservations recommended. The shop sells over 160 varieties of tea and infusions from all over the world. Great, helpful service.
• 202 Cafe, inside Nicole Fahri, 202 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London W11 2RH. Written up in The London News in March 2008 as one of the best breakfasts in London. By the looks of things they must be right — we couldn't get anywhere near a table on a Saturday in April.
• The Princess Victoria, 25 Earls Court Road, Kensington, London W8 6EB, Phone: 020 7937 4534. Cozy pub, friendly service. Try the John Smith's beer.
  

Accommodations

• The Rockwell, 181 - 183 Cromwell Road, London SW5 0SF, Phone: +44 (0)20 7244 2000. A lovely, independent hotel located in Kensington, conveniently located near multiple tube stops. Not in the "budget accommodations" category, the double rooms at The Rockwell are larger and more well appointed then most European hotels. Nice garden.
  
• The Kensington Close Hotel, Wrights Lane, London W8 5 SP, Phone: 0870 751 7770. Small, but nice rooms. Large hotel, but a good value.
  
  
  
  

Germany Travel Guide

Bavaria
This is the region in Germany most visit by tourists. We plan to go back in the summer when it's not so cold.

Attractions

• Schloss Neuschwanstein, Mad King Ludwig's storybook castle. Fascinating story. English tours available. Entrance fee, €9.00. Visitors can also purchase a combo ticket for €17.00 to see Hohenschwangau, Ludwig's childhood home. Wear your walking shoes because there is a steep hill to climb. There are also horse-drawn carriages that go to the tops but honestly, the people in who took them looked miserable.

Accommodations

• See Reutte, Austria
  

Bonn

Attractions

• Rhine Cruses. Most boats run March through October. Prices vary depending on the company, season, and length of your trip. (Bonner Personen Schiffahrt offers a good deal.) Many companies offer cruses along the Rhine. Though the portion of the Rhine between Cologne and Linz am Rhine is not the most scenic part o the river. It is certainly worth it if you will not be traveling farther up river. (See Rhineland Highs and Lows.)
  
• Drachenfels Bahn. €9.00 for train ticket, €10.00 for train plus entrance to the Schloss Drachenburg, Siebenbirgs Museum, and the Nature Museum. (Museum tickets can be used at any time, not only on the date of purchase.) The oldest cog railway in Germany, the Drachenfels Bahn travels from Köenigswinter up a steep portion of the Siebengebirge (literally Seven Mountains). From the top you can visit the ruins of the Drachenfels castle, which dominates the highest peak in the area and can be seen from many places in the Bonn area. There are great views and a nice cafe. Halfway down the hill the train stops at the Drachenfels Schloss, a residential castle, or visit the reptile zoo.
  

Restaurants

• Kratz, Lennéstraße 61, Südstadt. Mostly Italian food with Indian influences. Nice atmosphere. Friendly staff. (See A Local Place.)
• Eiscafé Capri, Theaterplatz 2, 53177 Bonn. Open daily from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM, March through October. Phone: 0228-353681 Fax.: 0228-353847. Good gelato in Bad Godesberg. (See A Lot o' Gelato.)
  

Entertainment

• Jazz Keller, Burbacher Str.2/Ecke Reuterstr, 53129 Bonn. Jazz club featuring local acts. No cover. Visit their Web site for weekly schedule.
  

Cologne (Köln)

• The Kölner Dom, Dompropstei Margarethenkloster 5, 50667. Free admission every day except during services. English tours daily at 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM for €6. Meet inside, at the front. This is the attraction in Cologne. You don't really need a map to find it. If you arrive my train, exit the main train station (Hauptbahnhof, or HBF as you will see it posted) and look up. If you are driving into Cologne, the spires dominate the skyline. Following road signs to "Zentrum" will get you there. (Also see Kölner Dom or visit the cathedral’s Web site.)