We couldn’t wait for 23 March, our Europe trip. When we boarded the aircraft, I said to my boyfriend it’s odd to be sitting in row 13 because most airlines don’t have a row 13. It’s a superstition, because 13 is not a lucky number. But it doesn’t worry me at all. In fact, I like such numbers.
I sat back comfortably in my seat and the aircraft started reversing … we were going to take off now. But only seconds later we moved back to the parking area. The speakers came on and the captain announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a technical problem with the left engine”. This is how our holiday began.
We had been lucky to get cheap tickets on Air Ethiopia and we jumped for it because a euro is worth much more than a rand. If you plan for a holiday in Europe, paying R15 for one euro certainly comes as a shock.
Paris, the city of love, with my dearest. We landed at Charles de Gaulle early Saturday morning at a time when there was no staff available to assist the anxious and tired tourists, so I collared a guy who looked as if he could speak a little English. But he was a visitor himself, from Russia. In the end we succeeded in buying tickets to Paris, boarded the train and appreciated the beautiful landscape slipping by. Excited.
It is not only in South Africa where roadworks is the order of the day, this we discovered negotiating closed-off streets on the way to our hotel. Unfortunately, there was no time for a quick shower and power nap, but at least we could leave our bags there. Paris was still sleeping, everything was quiet and empty. Nobody in view, but some coffee shops were open; for the rest it felt like a ghost city, with shops only opening their doors at 10:00 or even 14:00. Luckily it is never too early for coffee.
As we made our way to the Notre Dame the city began waking up and more people appeared on the streets. It really was incredible. The buildings, the people, the culture and the way everything fits in. If you have only three days in Paris, you walk until your feet hurt, your throat is parched and your tummy groans of hunger.
Using the red hop-on hop-off bus we visited all the major tourist attractions. Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Palace of Versailles, Sacré-Coeur, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge and of course Mona Lisa in the Louvre. We spent four hours walking around in the Louvre listening to an audio gadget that explained every painting, statue and tapestry. The Louvre is a must, and you could easily spend a whole day there.
Our second stop was Amsterdam. We promptly bought a City Tour ticket for the hop-on hop-off bus and train to explore the city. What struck me most was how crowded the streets of Amsterdam were. My parents always taught me to look to the right, left and right again … but there you almost have to look through 360 degrees before you start walking. Cars, bicycles, trains, trams, busses and pedestrians. All of them moving at the same time. And of course, the streets are even more crowded when the sun shines. Benches are carried out, people peer out of their windows and every bit of sunshine is absorbed. It is a festive atmosphere with people socialising and celebrating spring.
Museums have to be booked in advance, otherwise you don’t stand a chance. There are so many tourists queuing everywhere at the Van Gogh and Rijks Museums. Even taking pictures has to be planned carefully – you may think you are taking a picture of yourself when suddenly there are 30 strangers in your viewfinder. Fortunately, everyone has its own story.
The Heineken Experience is exactly that, an experience. Not only is the history of Heineken explained, but you also experience the process of brewing, bottling, packing and distributing the beer. This is a 3D virtual tour. And of course, the tour is concluded with an ice-cold Heineken.
If you are feeling peckish, there are sweet-potato frites, croquettes, syrup waffles, bitterballen, oh, too many delicacies to mention and to try. No wonder everybody uses bicycles – there are so many delicious things to eat. Parking areas with three floors crammed with bicycles. There are about 850 000 bicycles in Amsterdam, with 15 000 of them being salvaged from the canals every year.
In Luxembourg we visited a lovely little village, Vianden. The Vianden Castle is one of the largest fortified castles west of the river Rhine. It is an enjoyable day trip – on foot. The castle is perched on a 310 m high rock and has a view over the town. Following the visit to the castle, we concluded the day with a hot pizza and genuine German beer.
We also visited Trier in Germany, close to the border with Luxembourg. Trier is said to be the oldest city in Germany, and it is also known as the “Rome of the North”. On Saturdays the square is crammed with residents and tourists. The air is filled with the aroma of freshly baked pretzels (bigger than a plate) covered with melted cheese. Many residents of Luxembourg do their shopping in Trier, where it is slightly cheaper. Only booze and petrol are cheaper in Luxembourg.
Our last stop was Lingen, also in Germany. Everybody first wanted to know where this place was. Why would we go there? Why not Hamburg, Munich or Frankfurt? You see, the whole reason for this trip was that we had been invited to a wedding. One of our friends was getting married to a German, and who can miss out on a wedding? It was fabulous.
The couple were married by the magistrate in the old magistrate’s building on the market square. After the formalities, we all could congratulate the couple, down a glass of sparkling wine and enjoy ourselves on the square. From the market square we all moved to the Hotel Am Wasserfall. The name means the hotel at the waterfall, where the bridegroom also experienced a waterfall while making his speech. Tears everywhere you looked, and to top it all, the speech was partly in German and partly in Afrikaans.
By late afternoon we took a boat trip on the canal and enjoyed seven different cakes and coffee. Here, eating, drinking and partying is serious business. This region, Emsland, is well-known for its schnapps. Orange, mint and cherry schnapps was freely available to toast Pieter and Heike Schuurman. From there, everybody went to Heike’s parents’ home, where the festivities continued. A long table with different kinds of bread, cheese, cold meats and spreads for those who had not yet had enough.
We enjoyed ourselves until midnight, when the wind started blowing and the pigsty came crashing down. The pigsty had been erected by the South Africans using all the empty schnapps bottles. The tower reached 62 storeys, and 124 bottles were used. It was a wedding I will never forget.
Hints for travellers
- Travel lightly, my mother warned me in advance – but who ever listens to their mom? My reasoning was that I did not want to look the same on all the pictures. But who cares? The pictures tell a story of the place you visited, not your clothes. You don’t want to be burdened with huge and heavy suitcases.
- European airports are huge. If you don’t know the airport, be there in good time. It could take hours to get to where you have to be.
- If you want to visit museums and tourist attractions, buy tickets in advance. This will avoid queuing for hours and will avoid disappointment.
- Carefully plan everything you want to visit. When you are there, you could forget some of these things because there are so many things to see and do.
- Download an offline map of the areas you are going to visit. Wi-Fi unfortunately is not available everywhere.
- Remember comfortable shoes for walking – you spend the entire day on your feet.
- Pack a couple of energy bars if you tend to get hungry quickly, then it will not be necessary to hop outside just because you are hungry.
- Always have small change on you. Using a public bathroom costs between 50c and €1.
We are now planning our next trip … to Italy!
