zanzibar's European Adventure

[zanzibar138]

Welcome​

Hi I'm Aussie Disboarder, zanzibar. You may remember me from such TRs as:

• The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner (WDW)
• The 'I Survived SDL's Opening Day' TR (SDL)
• Running for my Disney (DLR)

Introductions​

zanzibar (AKA Lana) and Hubby (AKA Ben)​

We'll be the main characters on this trip. We are recently married and live in Perth, Australia with our Australian Kelpie x, Evie.





We enjoy travelling in general, and I have had the joy of introducing Hubby to a whole new world of Disney travel!

Disney resorts visited: Me - DLR, HKDL, DLP, SDL, WDW... just one more to go! Hubby - DLR, WDW
Fave parks: Me - HKDL. Hubby - AK
Fave resorts: Me - Explorer's Lodge at HKDL. Hubby - AKL
Fave rides: Me - POTC at SDL, BGM and Mystic Manor at HKDL, EE at AK, RotR at DHS. Hubby - KJS at AK, RotR and MMRR at DHS
Fave shows: Me - Flights of Fantasy Parade at HKDL. Hubby - F! at DHS
Fave characters: Me - Dug, Chip N Dale, Minnie. Hubby - Fab 5, Chip N Dale, Eeyore, Grumpy

Mum and Dad​

I've travelled extensively with my parents, including many of my Disney trips. They are planning to join us for a large portion of this trip, although probably not the Disney portion.



Disney Resorts visited: DLR, DLP and HDKL for Mum.
Dad enjoys thrill rides and music shows. Mum enjoys theming and gentle boat rides.

Grandma​

Hubby's grandma will also be joining us for most of the trip (and in fact is a large part of the reason we're going in the first place). She will very likely have her 91st birthday on the trip! We will need to approach this trip slightly differently to make it more comfortable for her.

The Inspo​

After experiencing WDW with me, Hubby was keen to explore other Disney resorts around the world. Grandma is from the UK and has been talking for a while about doing a trip back there, so Hubby thought it would be a great opportunity to visit DLP. I would have preferred to give ourselves more of a breather before the next big trip, but since we want to take Grandma while she's still able to travel, we decided to bring the timeline forward. The earliest we could realistically make it is September 2026.

 

[zanzibar138]

The Plan so Far​

I’ll keep this page up to date with all our current plans, what we have planned, booked etc. I’ll try to keep this brief!

First flight locked in, the rest of the itinerary will depend on our departing flight.


Itinerary so far:

Day 1 - Friday
Fly to Bangkok, most likely on Jetstar. Look for an airport hotel with a pool and bar.

Day 2 - Saturday
Enjoy a day of relaxation by the pool.

Day 3 - Sunday
Fly to Paris, stay at one of the airport hotels reachable by free airport shuttle train.

Bookings:

• Air France 199 Bangkok to Paris, departing at 11:35am, arriving at 7:10pm

Day 4 - Monday
Take an early train to Disneyland, considering utilising Disney's luggage service so we can get started on the parks straight away! First point of call will be Guest Services to grab a birthday button Eventually make our way to the hotel.

Bookings:

• Disney Hotel Cheyenne, 2 x standard rooms (booked, but I need to call to update the booking for our new dates and add my request for a ground floor room with a walk, in shower).

Day 5-7 - Tuesday-Thursday
Enjoy all that Disneyland Paris has to offer!

Day 8 - Friday
Enjoy a final morning at Disney, maybe with a late brunch/early lunch in the park. Take an RER into Paris, aiming to arrive by about 3pm. We will have a full afternoon/evening of sightseeing, planning to hit Arc de Triomphe, take a sunset river cruise, and then visit the Eiffel Tower in the evening. We are staying near Arc de Triomphe for convenience since most of our sightseeing will be on that side of town.

Bookings:

• Hotel Elysees Ceramic, triple room

Day 9 - Saturday
Take an early-ish train to Strasbourg. Have some lunch and check in to our hotel (just across the road from the station), then head to the Strasbourg Cathedral to have a look inside and also climb up to the terrace (only for me and Hubby). We'll have an early dinner and hang around to take a sunset cruise, which leaves from the same area. Strasbourg seems to be a pretty walkable city - it's only 20 minutes from our hotel to the cathedral. However, Hubby and Grandma will probably prefer to take the tram.

Bookings:

• Hotel des Vosges, suite with sofa bed

Day 10 - Sunday
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the Petite France area before heading to a lunch time train to Stuttgart. We'll have nearly 2 hours in Stuttgart between trains. I might wander, but Grandma and Hubby will probably just find a coffee shop. Take another train to Salzburg to arrive at about 8pm.

Day 11 - Monday
Leisurely day of sightseeing in Salzburg. We'll probably start with the big castle in town (Festung Hohensalzburg), and enjoy wandering around the general area.

Day 12 - Tuesday
Day trip out to Wolfgangsee (alpine lake). We can cruise around the lake on the ferry, and take a cable car up to the top of Zwolferhorn if we want to. There is also a historic train that goes up to the top of Schaffberg, but it is insanely expensive so we'll probably give that one a miss.

Day 13 - Wednesday
Enjoy some more leisurely sightseeing. Today we might explore the other side of the river and hit up the Mirabel Gardens and some of the sites from the Sound of Music. It might also be a good day for a sunset hike up Kapuzinerberg (probably just for me and Mum) for views.

Day 14 - Thursday
Day trip out to Werfen for the ice cave and another mountaintop fortress (Burg Hohenwerfen). We will probably wait to see what the weather is like on the day and order our events around that - if it's nice in the morning, we'll head to the fortress first, otherwise the ice cave and hope that the weather clears up.

Day 15 - Friday
Free day to either rest, do some more city sightseeing or even another day trip somewhere with Grandma. Public transport across the entire region is free for visitors, so Grandma might enjoy just taking a train somewhere to enjoy more scenery.

Day 16 - Saturday
Take a midday train to Vienna, timed so that we can just check straight in to our hotel - as close to the Hofburg area as we can afford. That day we'll probably visit St Stephen's Cathedral, including the tower climb (which even Grandma can do since once of the towers has a lift!).

Day 17 - Sunday
The performance at the Spanish Riding School is on at 11am, and goes for a bit over an hour. There's no photography allowed during the show, so I'd also love an opportunity to photograph some of the horses - maybe on a guided stables tour. The only other must-do on my agenda is (randomly) the State Hall at the National Library. It might work out better to do that first.

Day 18 - Monday
There's a direct flight from Vienna to Manchester with Austrian Air, which will place us in a good spot for getting to Wales. The flight gets in at around lunch time, so we can pick up a car and be in Liverpool by early afternoon. Hopefully the rellies will be available for dinner that night!

Day 19 - Tuesday
We'll probably have a last catch-up with rellies in the morning/over lunch, and then head to our first location in north-east Wales.

Days 20-22 - Wednesday-Friday
Enjoy the offerings around north-east Wales.

Day 23 - Saturday
Make our way to our next location in north-west Wales.

Days 24-29 - Sunday-Friday
Enjoy the offerings around north-west Wales.

Day 30 - Saturday
Make our way to Cardiff.

Day 31 - Sunday
Drop off the hire car in Cardiff and catch the train to London. We will aim to stay in the area around the Tower of London. It looks like reasonable value, and will be a convenient location for us.

Day 32 - Monday
Day trip out to Corringham where my grandparents used to live and my dad was born. The train leaves from the station near the Tower of London and takes about an hour I think.

Day 33 - Tuesday
Spend the day sightseeing in London. The only thing I really want to do is the Tower Bridge experience where you can go inside and cross the top of the bridge in a glass-bottomed corridor. We will probably also do a Thames river cruise and I probably should at least take a passing glance at Buckingham Palace right?

Day 34 - Wednesday
We'll probably have one last lunch together as a group, then I'll head to Heathrow and Hubby and Grandma will make their way back to Paris airport in preparation for their morning flight. I booked the later departure from London, meaning I'll have a pretty quick turnaround in Helsinki so I probably won't get a chance to try Finnair's signature lounge. Really wanted to maximise our time together though.

Bookings:

• Finnair 1338 London (Heathrow) to Helsinki, departing at 6:10pm, arriving at 11:00pm (zanzibar)

Day 35 - Thursday
With the time difference (plus, you know, a 12 hour flight ), I'll be spending most of the day travelling. I'll head straight out to HKDL upon arrival, and probably just stay at whichever hotel is cheapest (usually Hollywood). I'll decide when I see the prices if it's worth splurging on a park view room for a potential fireworks view. It might be cheaper for me to add an extra day to my park ticket lol!

Hubby and Grandma will pretty much spend the day and night travelling, arriving into KL early the following morning.

Bookings:

• Finnair 99 Helsinki to Hong Kong, departing at 12:35am, arriving at 5:40pm (zanzibar)
• Malaysia Airlines 21 Paris to Kuala Lumpur, departing at 11:25am, arriving at 6:10am Friday morning (Hubby and Grandma)

Day 36 - Friday
Super excited that I'll get to spend the day at HKDL after all On the to-do list will be checking out the new castle, Frozen land, riding Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor as many times as possible, and all the shopping!

Meanwhile, Hubby and Grandma will have arrived in KL and will be either making their way to Penang or Langkawi, or checking in to a nice relaxing hotel for a few days.

Day 37 - Saturday
Getting back from Hong Kong may not be the easiest thing to achieve. Only the 2 full service airlines (Cathay and Malaysia Airlines) have flights that would get me home that same night, and they have hefty surcharges for one way flights so I would have to use points and be once again stalking for availability. Although I will be open to economy which will probably help. Otherwise it'll be Scoot or AirAsia, which are both fine, but will require an overnight stopover in KL or Singapore.

I'll leave Hubby to finalise the plans for him and Grandma, but he will probably want to be home by the Monday to have a day to rest/catch up before flying back out for work on the Wednesday morning.

 

[zanzibar138]

Getting There and Around​

Those of you who know me from previous TRs will be familiar with my penchant for business class reward flights. This trip will be no exception. I refuse to sit on a plane for 20 hours unless I can get comfortable dammit!

Adding to the complexity for this trip is the requirement for 3 x business class seats so that Grandma can join us up the front too. We will likely run short on points to cover the whole journey, so plan to break up the trip via SE Asia. I can handle a 5-7 hour flight in economy to get to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Hong Kong. Wherever we end up flying through, we will just plan to spend 1 night at a hotel near the airport, to give us a buffer in case of delays.

From there (wherever there is!), we will plan to fly to Paris so we can spend a couple of nights there and get that ticked off. However, our main criteria will be anywhere that is a relatively easy train journey to Vienna, with somewhere suitable to stay the night if there is a change of train required. Other suitable options include:

• Brussels (train via Frankfurt)
• Frankfurt (direct train)
• Munich (direct train)
• Prague (train via Linz)
• Krakow (train via Breclav)
• Budapest (direct train)
• Milan (train via Venice)
• Zurich (direct train)

We'll spend a few days in Vienna, perhaps with a day trip out to some majestic mountain scenery, then fly direct to London. I'll be open to any of the London airports, but Heathrow is probably going to be quite suitable since it's already slightly west of London. This is just a short flight so we'll be fine to just buy economy fares. We'll go with a full service airline though, either British Airways or Austrian Airlines.

From there we'll be hiring a car (well, most likely a large van to fit all 5 of us, our luggage and possibly some sort of mobility device for Grandma) and driving to Wales. The details of our road trip are very hazy at this point. We need Grandma to give us an indication of where she wants to go. We will probably make our way from the south to the north, as we will leave her with family in the Liverpool area for the next part of the trip.

We will either leave the car in Liverpool and take the train into London or just drive back to Heathrow and take the train in from there. I'm not much of a big city person, so will only need a couple of days to tick London off. We will plan to take a day trip out to the village where Dad spent the first few years of his life.

There used to be a direct Eurostar from London to DLP, but they seem to have stopped this service, which is very unfortunate! Still, it only requires one change, or if we haven't seen Paris yet we can just take the train that far and do our couple of nights then instead.

At DLP we will plan to stay at one of the budget to mid-range hotels, probably Sequoia Lodge if we can manage it. We want at least 4 nights. If we're flying out directly from Paris, we will get Grandma to get a flight to CDG a day or 2 before we fly out. It's such a short train ride from DLP, we'll be able to go and get her from the airport, and then she can spend a day with us at DLP.

Again, we'll have to be a little flexible on departure locations. We'll want something that is an easy and fairly short train ride from DLP. There's not much that fits the bill exactly - the 2 most suitable other options are Brussels or London. In either case, we will likely take the train the day before the flight and get Grandma to meet us there too (via plane for Brussels or train for London).

I'll be trying my best to get flights back via Hong Kong, so we can swing by my favourite Disney resort. A lot has changed since my last visit there in 2019. If we can't manage that, the other options will be Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. And then a cheap economy flight back to Perth.

 

[zanzibar138]

The Points Game​

Now, in order to get our business class reward flights, we've needed to work on our points game. We still had a decent amount of points left after our US trip, but not nearly enough to cover the long haul business class for all 3 of us. I've been going through the credit cards over the last few months and am due another 210k from those (over 3 cards). Hubby and I have both been flying a fair bit for work which has given us a surprisingly decent amount of points too (plus we both now have silver status, and Hubby may even have gold before this trip!). And to get us over the line, we just recently purchased 150k 'top-up points'. I usually can't justify the cost of buying points, but this came with a bonus 75k which made it a lot more worthwhile. Once all the points come through, we should be sitting at just over 950k.

I've had a play around with flights using my new favourite tool, seats.aero. At this point, my preferred route is:

• Perth to Kuala Lumpur: AirAsia basic fares (cash) - we won't need to add much luggage on the way there
• Kuala Lumpur to Paris: Business class reward fares with Malaysia Airlines
• Brussels to Hong Kong: Business class reward fares with Air France (for some reason the taxes from Brussels are far cheaper than anywhere else)
• Hong Kong to Perth: Economy reward fares with Cathay Pacific (I wouldn't normally use points for economy, but there is no direct flight back to Perth with a low cost carrier)

That route would set us back just over 850k points for the 3 of us. It would be just over another 100k for premium economy from Hong Kong, so there's still a chance we could manage that.

Assuming that we can only get the fares with the highest taxes, and including the cash we've spent on the top-up points, we'd still only be paying just over $3,700 each, which I still see as pretty good value for mostly business class. If we get the flights I want, we would only be paying just under $2k, which is pretty much the same as an economy fare. Fingers crossed!

 

[Steppesister]

HEY, HEY!! I'm first!

Sounds like things are coming together with already some serious thought into the routes and logistics. I wish I was as savvy as you with points so I could fly premium. Just don't have the foggiest clue out. At all.

Anyway, I'll sub in and follow along as best I can.

 

[pkondz]

Following along. I tend to not comment much on PTRs, but will read and toss in the odd comment.

 

[zanzibar138]

HEY, HEY!! I'm first!

Sounds like things are coming together with already some serious thought into the routes and logistics. I wish I was as savvy as you with points so I could fly premium. Just don't have the foggiest clue out. At all.

Anyway, I'll sub in and follow along as best I can.

Welcome!

I'm a little nervous about being able to get 3 x business class fares. Might still have to consider an indirect flight from Asia to be able to manage it. I'll be much happier about our plans once I've been able to lock those in!

 

[zanzibar138]

Following along. I tend to not comment much on PTRs, but will read and toss in the odd comment.

Welcome!

Honestly, I just enjoy being able to document how my trips come together, so won't be offended if no one comments I know it's a slow burn too still being so far away. Still, it was quite incredible how quickly the last trip rolled around!

 

[pkondz]

Still, it was quite incredible how quickly the last trip rolled around!

That does tend to happen.

 

[Steppesister]

Welcome!

I'm a little nervous about being able to get 3 x business class fares. Might still have to consider an indirect flight from Asia to be able to manage it. I'll be much happier about our plans once I've been able to lock those in!

I'm sure it may take some finagling. But I have strong confidence in your skilz!

 

[zanzibar138]

Core Locations​

DLP​

Let's be honest, this trip started as an excuse to visit DLP

I've been before (and did do a TR, but none of the photo links were working anymore, so I removed it from my signature), with my parents way back in 2013. We went in late February and it was still extremely cold and even snowed!







My parents have actually been back twice without me (they did the half marathon over there when it was still going), but I haven't been back to Europe since. They don't feel a strong desire to go back again, so will probably choose to explore somewhere they haven't been while we're visiting DLP. Grandma will also very likely stay with relatives in lieu of tagging along to DLP.

Although there was definitely something magical about seeing a Disney park dusted in snow, logistically it did make things a little more difficult. Many attractions and restaurants were closed, and the cold was difficult for us Aussies to deal with. Although sometimes winter nights get down into the 30's for us, day time temperatures rarely get below 60. As well as the lacklustre weather, we apparently had some crossover with UK half term holidays, which meant that it got quite crowded. I'll be honest, it wasn't my favourite Disney experience to date.

Here we are with all our layers on, which also included thermal leggings under fleece-lined jeans



I'm looking forward to giving DLP another try. September/early October should bring more pleasant weather and seems to be out of the peak season for crowds. I've checked the calendars and it doesn't seem to be close to any long weekends or school holiday periods for France or the UK, as long as we avoid All Saints in the second half of October. Access is available for even the lowest level of AP for every week day of September 2026. The calendar doesn't go as far as October 2026 yet, but for 2025, all week days are included until Friday 17 October. We'll also have Halloween time to enjoy (although it seems parties are only on for the 1 or 2 nights around actual Halloween).

On our last trip, we stayed 5 nights at a 'good neighbour' hotel, the Hotel l'Elysee at Val d'Europe. I got us all APs for park entry. It was about the right amount of time for me, but I'm hoping to experience it from a Disney hotel this time around. We both love the rustic style, so would love to stay at Sequoia Lodge if we can. We will want at least 4 nights though, which will be pricey, so will also consider Hotel Cheyenne. Staying onsite will mean we can just walk to the parks with no need for transportation. Plus, hotel guests get 'Extra Magic Time' (entry 1 hour earlier than regular park guests for both parks). The parks open at 9:30am every day that's currently available on the calendar (right through the end of peak summer time and into early September), with a start time of 8:30am for EMT, which I think would be manageable, even for us

I've done some figures based on random weekdays this September, and for 4 nights, the cheapest option is to get bronze APs and book the hotel on a third party website in AUD. Pretty sure the Disney packages used to come with FPs or something, but there no longer seems to be any benefit, so may as well go with the most cost effective option. Sadly, they have also wildly dialed back the perks for APs. There are no hotel discounts anymore, and the bronze pass doesn't even offer any discount on food or merch. Literally just park entry on selected days, and free parking. Also, park entry requires registration, with a limit of 3 bookings at once, and for your first visit, you can only book the first day and then register for the consecutive days once you have entered the park. Disney hotels come with guaranteed park entry, whether you hold a day ticket or an AP, so it won't be a huge concern for us, but another thing to have to fluff around with that we will take into consideration when doing the sums.

I always prefer to finish a trip with Disney so, even though we could possibly coincide it with my birthday if we went straight there, we will be planning to do this as our last stop before leaving Europe.

 

[pkondz]

Let's be honest, this trip started as an excuse to visit DLP

My parents have actually been back twice without me

How dare they!!!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more .

 

[zanzibar138]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more .

Welcome aboard!

 

[zanzibar138]

Core Locations​

Wales​

Well, I started drafting a little post to put up here and ended up just wasting hours going down the Pinterest rabbit hole... so in the interest of time I'm just going to keep this simple lol! I will include some pictures though to keep things interesting. All images borrowed from Google.

Grandma has always loved Wales. Hubby is a bit sketchy on the detail, but Grandma is from England (I assume near the Liverpool area where her family are), and it seems like his Grandad (who unfortunately passed away many years ago) was from somewhere in Wales. I will have to check the details with Grandma Hubby and Grandma have visited the UK a couple of times together, and spent some time in Wales on a bus tour. Grandma has been very keen to go back again though, and so a Wales road trip became the second core location for our trip. Mum and Dad were keen too - they have been to the UK a couple of times but never made it Wales.

I have never really taken any notice of Wales, but have since learned that it is a sparsely populated small country to the west of England. Cardiff, on the south coast, is the only major city. Wales is considered the castle capital of the world, slightly surpassed by Germany in sheer number of castles, but still the front runner for density. I started looking at road trip itinerary ideas through Pinterest (bad idea lol!), however for some strange reason, many of the itineraries are quite beach focused. As Aussies (and non-beachy Aussies at that lol!), beaches really won't be a priority for us in the UK. We're more interested in the amazingly long history and beautiful green rural landscapes. I've identified a few key areas of interest.

Brecon Beacons​

This area is mostly about the incredibly green mountain range and associated hikes. There are several of particular interest to me:

• Ystradfellte Four Waterfalls Walk: 8.5km circuit visiting (you guessed it) four beautiful lush-looking waterfalls, one of which has a path behind the falls.
• Sugar Loaf Mountain Circular: 6.9km circuit that summits Sugar Loaf Mountain in an area known for sightings of wild Welsh ponies. Having grown up riding Welsh ponies, seeing one in the wild would be amazing!
• Pen y Fan Summit Walk: 6.5km circuit that summits Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in South Britain. Since I am also planning to summit the highest mountain in Wales later in the trip, I'd be happy to ditch this one.

The hiking will keep Mum and I (and possibly Dad) busy for a couple of days, but hiking is not really Hubby's thing, and definitely not Grandma's thing. Other, less active points of interest in the area include:

• Tintern Abbey OR Llanthony Priory: Cathedral ruins among beautiful green rural landscapes. With limited time for this trip, we want to avoid too much duplication of similar attractions, and will likely pick the one that is either most appealing looking or closest to our intended driving route.
• Brecon Mountain Railway: Heritage steam train through a small part of the national park.
• Various villages with an array of historic buildings, gardens, canals with aqueducts/bridges and pubs/tea houses.
• Small selection of castles in varying degrees of disrepair, which may or may not be accessible for Grandma.

Snowdonia​

This is the quintessential 'fairytale' area of Wales. There are LOTS of hiking opportunities in this area, from mountain summits to woodland streams to ice-carved lakes. I expect Mum and I will have to pick 1 or 2 favourites.

Other points of interest include:

• Welsh Highland Heritage Rail: Another heritage steam train through a national park. There's a few trains on the list, so we might not get to this one.
• Llechwedd Slate Mine OR Sygun Copper Mine: Both tours of disused underground mines (probably not suitable for Grandma). The slate mine has an underground lake (and an entire ropes course, but that is an entirely different beast!), and the copper mine has some beautiful stalagmite and stalactite formations. I'd probably lean towards the copper mine.
• Betws-y-Coed: Beautiful fairytale type village in the middle of the woodland. There is also the nearby Swallow Falls, which has a viewing platform (at the top level) that would be accessible for Grandma.
• Snowdon Mountain: The highest mountain in Wales, with a summit that is accessible by heritage train! We will likely all take the train up, while Mum and I might hike back down.
• Caernarfon Castle: Hubby and Grandma have already been, but there was a massive restoration project in 2023 which opened up whole new areas that were previously inaccessible to guests. As part of the restoration, they installed an awesome glass lift for full accessibility to the top level. Seems like something we could all enjoy.
• South Stack Lighthouse: This would involve a decent detour, but apparently the views from this lighthouse in the north west corner of Wales are unbeatable, particularly at sunset. The lighthouse is visible from the carpark, but there is a bit of a hike to get to it, so may not be suitable for Grandma (although she might enjoy the drive).
• Conwy Town Walls: While Conwy Castle is a paid attraction, the old city walls are free to walk around. The walk is a 1.3km one-way circuit along the top of the wall, which includes 21 towers and three original gateways. While the walk itself is level, it does require a bit of a climb to get to, so unfortunately not suitable for Grandma.
• Great Orme: A high limestone headland on the north coast, accessible by heritage tram or cable car (or road or hiking). At the top is a nature reserve, dotted with historic relics and a disused copper mine.

I expect we will need a few days to explore this area!

Dee Valley​

This area is all about the Llangollen Canal. Points of interest include:

• Pontcysyllte Aqueduct: The famous UNESCO World Heritage listed stream in the sky (pictured). Just one part of the Llangollen Canal, the aqueduct itself is 307m long and sits 38m above the River Dee below. The aqueduct can be crossed on foot or on a narrow boat. Grandma will need our help to get in and out of the boat, but I think she'd enjoy the cruise.
• Horse-drawn Boat: Also available is a horse-drawn narrow boat which takes the canal in another direction to the nearby Horseshoe Falls. As much as I wanted to avoid duplication of similar attractions, I would love to do both of these!
• Chirk Castle and Garden: Well-preserved medieval castle among beautifully manicured gardens. The castle has been fully restored and furnished to reflect the medieval period. It seems to be exactly what Hubby was hoping for from a castle, and looks like it should be accessible enough for Grandma to at least be able to enjoy the ground floor and garden areas.
• Llangollen History Trail: 10km hike that takes in most of the other sights of the area that I would have been interested in, including the Llangollen Canal, River Dee, Horseshoe Falls, Llantysilio Church, ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey, and remnants of Dinas Bran Castle.

Liverpool​

This will have us finishing up about an hour out of Liverpool, which is where Grandma has family that she'd like to spend some time with. We will probably hang out for the day for me to meet the family members, and then leave Grandma to it and head for London.

 

[zanzibar138]

Core Locations​

Vienna​

As soon as my parents decided to come along, I knew we'd have to add Vienna as a core location.

Spanish Riding School​

Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of taking Mum to see the Spanish Riding School. We didn't quite get there on our last trip to Europe, and this may be our last trip over that way, so it became a high priority.

We will definitely go all out for this one. Performances are only on at select times (seems to be weekends at that time of year), so we will make sure we time our visit appropriately. I intend to spend as much as I need to get the seats with the best view. We may also add a behind the scenes tour.

I would also love to go out to Piber to see the stud where the Lipizzaners come from, but it's quite a big trip from Vienna and difficult to get to on public transport, so may not get to do that.

Vienna City Sights​

Vienna is a major cultural hub, and many of the 'things to do' articles are a laundry list of museums. We may be interested in a couple of museums, but mostly, they're not really our thing. Here's some things that I think may be of interest to us:

• National Library: Amazing looking Baroque library that would make Belle swoon with its ornately decorated bookshelves and ceiling frescoes. This is a definite must-see for me, and may require a village Belle disneybound
• Danube cruise: I think we would all enjoy a leisurely cruise along the Danube. This would be something highly suitable for Grandma too.
• Churches: There are a number of beautiful looking churches in the city. To avoid 'church burnout', we will pick one. St Stephen's Cathedral is the most famous. Other options are St Peter's and Jesuit Church, which are probably less impressive looking from the outside, but just as stunning on the inside.
• Palaces: I think it's worth making the effort to see one of the Baroque palaces in the area. Schonbrunn and Belvedere are the big ones with massive gardens. Hofburg is the famous winter palace. I've also read about a couple of smaller, lesser-known versions that might be nicer for us to have a quick wander.
• Music: Although we won't want to spend all our time touring museums or historic buildings, I think we will need to pick one music-related attraction to do. Options include the concert hall, opera house, music museum, and a variety of small museums based in the homes of famous composers (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert).
• Dance: I would have loved to have attended one of the famous Viennese balls, but we will be there at the wrong time of year. Given our background, we may have to find somewhere to take a lesson in Viennese Waltz.
• Coffee houses: One thing I didn't realise Vienna was famous for is coffee houses! I expect we will frequent several during our trip.
• Rooftop bars: There are several of these that would be of interest, perhaps for some pre-dinner drinks.

Day Trips​

I've always been fascinated by Austrian scenery, ever since I first saw The Sound of Music as a little girl. I had been hoping to squeeze in a couple of days in Salzburg on the way through to Vienna, but for this trip (particularly with Grandma), it's probably better to base ourselves somewhere for a few days rather than constantly travelling from place to place. Plus, my parents and I have already seen spectacular Austrian mountain scenery on our previous trip to Innsbruck. We'd still definitely consider at least one day trip from Vienna.

• Salzburg: If I really want to see Salzburg, it's still an option, about 2.5 hours by train.
• Bratislava: The city of Bratislava is just across the border in Slovenia, and an easy train trip from Vienna. I'd also investigate the option of cruising there along the Danube. Definitely more city than scenery-based though!
• Semmering Pass: Scenic mountain pass by train. As an aside, the Lipizzaner stud is out that way, so it may be possible to add on a visit there.
• Linz: A couple of hours out of Vienna along the Danube.

Sadly Hallstatt (the picturesque lakeside village pictured above) is too far for a day trip (roughly 4 hours).

Depending on where we end up flying into, we may have already done one of these train routes on our way into Vienna, so that will probably influence our decision on where we end up taking a day trip.

 

[Steppesister]

Cool pic, not one you'd see often, I'd think. At least not to us Yanks.

so a Wales road trip became the second core location for our trip.

Such a unique trip- looking forward to more!

We're more interested in the amazingly long history and beautiful green rural landscapes.

Huh, Wales has never really been high on my list, but sure might be after this TR!

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct: The famous UNESCO World Heritage listed stream in the sky (pictured). Just one part of the Llangollen Canal, the aqueduct itself is 307m long and sits 38m above the River Dee below. The aqueduct can be crossed on foot or on a narrow boat. Grandma will need our help to get in and out of the boat, but I think she'd enjoy the cruise.

Holy smokes, what a trip!

Spanish Riding School​

Freakishly beautiful.

Music: Although we won't want to spend all our time touring museums or historic buildings, I think we will need to pick one music-related attraction to do. Options include the concert hall, opera house, music museum, and a variety of small museums based in the homes of famous composers (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert).

I'd LOVE to see an orchestral performance in one of the big Austrian halls. Just wow!!!

Dance: I would have loved to have attended one of the famous Viennese balls, but we will be there at the wrong time of year. Given our background, we may have to find somewhere to take a lesson in Viennese Waltz.

You MUST!! I might have even prioritized this over the horses, but it'd sure be close. Both sound so amazing!!!

 

[pkondz]

Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of taking Mum to see the Spanish Riding School. We didn't quite get there on our last trip to Europe, and this may be our last trip over that way, so it became a high priority.

Then this is an absolute must.
I've not been to Vienna, but my sister went to the famous Zacher Hotel and had a slice of Zacher torte before strolling around the corner to the opera.

I wasn't envious in the least.

I've always been fascinated by Austrian scenery

I took the train from Munich to Venice and the Austrian scenery was... spectacular.

Salzburg: If I really want to see Salzburg, it's still an option, about 2.5 hours by train.

Now there I've been. But a loooong time ago.

 

[zanzibar138]

Core Locations​

There are a few European cities that we just want to 'tick off' while we're there. We won't plan to spend very long in each, so I'm just going to lump them all together.

Paris​

Ben has never been to Paris, so this is one to 'tick off' for him. He pretty much just wants to see the Eiffel Tower. I did get to Paris on my last trip, and didn't love it, so I'm not keen to spend too much more time there. We will most likely just have one full day, so won't be able to do too much, but I'd like to focus on things I haven't seen.

What I did last time:

• Notre Dame Cathedral: Just the actual cathedral part - we couldn't be bothered lining up to go up the tower.
• Champs Elysees: Wandered along the street, stopped off at the Disney Store
• City tours by horse-drawn carriage and pushbike: Really just going past the main points of interest with a bit of commentary.
• Eiffel Tower: Although I did have a tour booked to go up the tower, it was closed due to snow. We did hang out at the bottom for a bit, and we also went back in the evening to see the light show.
• Arc de Triomphe: Since we couldn't go up the Eiffel Tower, we decided to go up Arc de Triomphe instead for the view of Paris.

Possible points of interest for this trip:

• Eiffel Tower: I do feel like I have unfinished business and would like to go up, at least to the second floor if not the top. Ben is keen too. I'd love to go at sunset. Ben will love the light show too.
• Museum: Ben is interested in visiting The Louvre, however with such little time, I don't feel like it would be worth it. I'm more interested in Musee d'Orsay, which is in a very nice looking converted train station and has a great collection of Impressionist art. Having said that, my opinion isn't that strong, so if Ben really wants The Louvre, we'll just go there.
• Church: I've already seen Notre Dame, but I am interested in Saint Chapelle, which looks like it has amazing stained glass windows.

That's probably enough if we only have a day!

London​

This is one that Ben has been to, but I haven't. I've never had much interest in London as a city, so hadn't been planning to spend much time there. There aren't any specific attractions I really want to do, although Dad says we should visit the Tower of London. Ben didn't get there on his last visit, so that would be new for him too.

The one thing that I really want to do in London is to visit the village where my grandparents lived and where Dad was born. Looks like it's about an hour out of London on the train, right near Stanford-le-Hope, which is apparently a very historic village.

Venice​

I'm not sure if this really belongs in the 'Core Locations' section, however, it's probably the other European city that Ben frequently expresses interest in, so if we can manage to swing by without too much inconvenience, I think it would be worth it. Ben really just wants to do the gondola ride, so we won't have to be there for long.

 

[pkondz]

Ben has never been to Paris, so this is one to 'tick off' for him.

Heh. Maybe the people will tick him off.

He pretty much just wants to see the Eiffel Tower.

That's all???

Museum: Ben is interested in visiting The Louvre, however with such little time, I don't feel like it would be worth it.

I've been to Paris a couple times and have yet to visit for just this reason.

I'm more interested in Musee d'Orsay

I've heard very good things... but also haven't been.

I am interested in Saint Chapelle, which looks like it has amazing stained glass windows.

St. Chapelle is stunning! Go!

London

No comment. Last time I was there, I was 10 years old (or thereabouts.)

Ben really just wants to do the gondola ride, so we won't have to be there for long.

Do wander the city. Just... get lost. Seriously. Wonderful place. Just... if you're going to do a gondola ride, avoid the hordes around Piazza San Marco and instead... wander. We found a few gondoliers hanging around waiting (as opposed to you doing the waiting) at Ponte San Moise just a few steps away. And for much less! (This was a few years ago. YMMV)