European Getaway Tour

Topdeck tour around Europe was heaps of fun, if a whirlwind trip of the highlights in 20 days.

First stop was Paris ... went on an awesome bike tour led by some funny Texan guys, climbed Eiffel Tower (668 steps to the second level), raced through Louvre to see Mona Lisa, went to Notre Dame and finished the day with a champagne pinic on the Champ du Mars and a trip to the Cabaret. Pics are Eiffel Tower at night, Louvre and Pyramid, Notre Dame, me and friends at CAbaret, Napoleans Tomb.

Guten Tag Switzerland

I had a great few days in Switzerland - after attending a meeting in Geneva from 20 - 26 April, I had 3 or 4 days exploring Lucerne and Zurich. This is the view of the french alps and Lake Geneva from our hotel.

Lucerne was a very beautiful city with picturesque buildings and views of the lake. A highlight was getting a boat across the lake and then a tram up to the top of Mt Rigi. It felt like something out of Heidi with green mountains and snowy caps in the distance. And to top it all off I had an excellent place to stay with a friend of a friend from NZ.

THis is the water tower and river at the end of Lake Lucerne (actually it's called Vitterwaltsee or something like that but everyone calls it Lake Lucerne).
Me at the top of Mt Rigi.

Zurich also had a lot of offer - another pretty lake, impressive churches - the Fraumunster with beautiful stained glass windows and the Grossmunster on the other side of the river.

The Gross Munster (one of the Cathedrals) and the river in Zurich.
The FrauMunster - it has one of the largest clock faces in Europe.