We (or rather Mr Hubby! I just follow okeh :) ) wanted to explore the eastern part of Europe. So we decided to fly using Turkish Airline to Vienna (via Istanbul of course! So that we can 'drop by' in Istanbul.. hehe!)... booked a room in a pension which was wayyyy much cheaper than an ordinary hotel room.. *budget maa! :P* and travel on daily basis to Salzburg (Austria), Budapest (Hungary) and Prague (Czech Republic).We bought Eastern Eurail Passes from Boustead Travel in Jalan Raja Chulan and utilised them to the max possible!! :)
The photos may not be very clear as we had to re'capture' the pics from the original ones using our digital camera... (What d'ya expect.. digital cameras were so expensive then! huhu!)
The journey started on 22nd of April 2001, we flew to Vienna (via Istanbul), get ourselves settled in our room and later explore the beautiful city of Vienna! :)
At the beautiful Vienna Schoenbrunn Castle
Outside the Vienna's famous cathedral
2nd day - Left Vienna as early as 5am to catch a train to Salzburg! We later joined the famous 'Sounds of Music Tour' ~ we are big fans of this musical movie you see... so of course we really enjoyed the tour! :) Salzburg is such a beautiful city!
Behind us is thhe little summerhouse at the Palace of Hellbrunn where Liesl and Rolf sang "I am 16 going on 17"
Palace of Leopoldskron-used in the movie as part of the family home
A scenery captured from the Abbey of Nonnberg: remember the abbey in the movie??
More beautiful scenery of Salzburg from the Abbey of Nonnberg
Exploring beautiful Salzburg during spring :)
During our trip to Salzburg, we met a nice Austrian guy who advised us to buy the Bayern Ticket (around 40DM *Euro currency was not introduced yet then* for unlimited travel on a specified day and time for 5 persons between Austria and Germany.. good bargain indeed!) It was our dream to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen, Germany.. so we thought what the heck... A change of plan was made at the very last minute for our 3rd day activity....
3rd day - Last minute plan - travelled the whole day from Vienna-Salzburg-Munich-Fussen-Munich-Salzburg-Budapest. Very tiring but worth every single step we made! :) Neuschwanstein Castle is as fascinating as we've ever imagined!! King Ludwig, your fairytale castle was really amazing!!! :)
Neuschwanstein Castle view in a postcard we bought there :)
Our tickets to enter the castle. Neuschwanstein Castle is located on a top of a hill. To save our precious energy, we decided to experience a ride on a horse carriage to go to the top of the hill :)
Dearest hubby infront of the Castle entrance
More view of Neuschwanstein Castle from our album :)
Walking down the hill on our back.... it was spring.. but there were still traces of snow around this castle.
After an exciting day at the Neuschwanstein Castle, we took the last train from Fussen heading to Budapest... (we slept in the Euro train!! Our very first experience!!)
Reached Budhapest early in the morning ~ enjoying the fresh air at this square ~ can't really remember the exact name of this square.. sorry :(
Posing with Budapest Parliament building as background
We reached back to Vienna late in the evening.... a very tiring trip but worth it! :)
5th day - Again woke up real early to catch a train to the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic ~ Prague!! Exploring Prague city was such an awesome experience! :) Being there was like going back to the past with its magnificent architecture, coble stone road and bridges... there are sooo many magnificent buildings in Prague! We could not get enough of Prague in one day.. we'll definately be back to visit this beautiful city in the future, insyaAllah :)
On Charles Bridge: Prague's most familiar monument which connects the Old Town with Little Quarter.
Church of Our Lady before Tyn.. Prague's Old Town's most distinctive landmark
The Astronomical Clock.. another unique masterpiece that could only be found in Prague Old Town
6th day - Flew from Vienna to Istanbul - stayed in Istanbul for 2 nights. Our first time in Istanbul!! (went there again back in 2009 during our umrah trip) Istanbul is an exotic city rich in history. We went crazy shopping at the Bazaars!! :) Wished we had more budget for shopping!! :) Mouth watering Sish Kebabs and pure orange juice were definately a change after salad, fish and fries (Halal food at last!! Yeayyy!!!)
The famous Blue Mosque - just opposite the Haghia Sophia... 2 very fascinating buildings! During this trip... somehow we missed going to Haghia Sophia (salah planning!) that's why we decided to go again back in 2009. Rugi woo tak dapat masuk inside Haghia Sophia! :)
Making new friends with a Canadian couple while enjoying 'sandwich ikan bakar' at the Bosphorus.
The Topkapi Palace : For 400 yrs the Ottoman sultans ruled their empire from this vast palace
At the Spice Bazaar... we had a great time at Grand Bazaar & Spice Bazaar... great places to shop ~ semestinya! RM jer yang kureng... hahaha!
P/S : I did not realise it then... but actually, I was pregnant (of Izzat.. hehe!) when we were on this trip :)
