Europe Trip 2007

Euro Trip 2007

Day 1 (Sat., Oct. 6) - US to London  ($600 ea)

10 am - Depart LAX

5:40 pm - Arrive Toronto

7:10 pm - Depart Toronto

Day 2 (Sun., Oct 7) – London to Dutchflyer Ferry ($109 ea)

Arrive London 7:30 am (Sun.)

7:30 am to 6:00 pm - Find something to do (day tour? sights?)

6:00 pm to 7:30 pm - get to Dutchflyer (stenaline.co.uk)

Dutchflyer/Stenaline overnight transportation

[Temporary review]    Very inexpensive way to get from London to Amsterdam.  2 birds with stone (transportation and lodging).  A few of the services provided include multiple restaurants (which do close early), shopping, full bar, buffet, movie theatre, slot machines, currency exchange,  and wake up service, just to name a few.  The room was very clean, practically new, it had bunk beds, a desk, small bench, and a full restroom.  The room is extremely small, maybe 15x8 ft (just an estimate).  I would most definitely recommend Stenaline and would not hesitate to use again.  I do have photos and will post later.

Reference #

Receive Ticket on Departure

Any ticket office at Liverpool station

Get there at 7:30

To Port of Harwich

            8:00 pm - London (Liverpool Street) – depart

            9:45 pm - Harwich International - arrive

            Overnight Stena Line ferry with outside cabin:

            11:30 pm - Harwich International - depart

Day 3 (Mon., Oct 8) – Dutchflyer to Amsterdam

7:30 am - Hoek van Holland - arrive

Local Sprinter train, runs every 15-30 minutes:

8:07 am - Hoek van Holland - depart

8:38 am - Rotterdam Centraal - arrive

InterCity train:

10:03 am - Amsterdam Centraal - arrive

Check rail station for available trains departing Oct 9 to Berlin (Train # 143)

Check into hotel at 3 pm

            The Times Hotel  (see printed booking confirmation) ($168)

- Phone - +31-20-3306030

                        - email – info@thetimeshotel.nl

                        - address - Herengracht 137, Amsterdam, 1015 BG, Netherlands

            (Breakfast not included)

[Temporary Review]    This was a very nice hotel.  It was only about a 5-10 minute walk from Amsterdam Centaal.   I do have photos and will post later.  The staff was very friendly and offered some great tips on exploring Amsterdam.  There is a coffee shop two doors down (if you're interested), which was open until 1 am.  The rooms were of decent size, were very clean, and were unique in decoration. 

Day 4 (Tues., Oct 9) Amsterdam to Berlin

Check out of hotel

Confirm rail to berlin

Amsterdam to Berlin by rail

Amsterdam CS 10:57AM/9 Oct    Train # 143

to Bad Bentheim 1:18PM/9 Oct     2hr 21min                  $36

Bad Bentheim 1:31PM                     Train # 143

To Berlin Hbf  5:12PM                    3hr 41 min                 $105

Or

Amsterdam Shiphol 2:51PM/9 Oct           Train # 145

To Berlin Hbf  9:18PM/9 Oct                     6hr 27 min     $153

Check into Private double room hostel at Circus Hostel Berlin upon arrival.

            Phone:            +49-30-28 39 14 33

[Temporary Review]    This place was awesome!! It is a hostel, but was the best place we stayed over our whole trip.  It was extremely cheap, but the rooms were huge, super clean, awesome view, very private and secure, good stuff.  The whole experience of the Circus Hostel in Berlin was amazing.  The first floor has a full cafe, which offers very cheap buffet breakfast.  They have multiple computers that you can use for a small fee, they also have rail passes that you can rent for a discount.  The bottom floor of the hostel is a full bar that does karaoke and you get two free drinks with your room purchase.  There is a rail stop just across the street along with a great doner shop.  I will post photos later.  Awesome place!!

(See Berlin Itinerary)

Day 5 (Wed., Oct 10)        Berlin

2nd night at hostel above

Day 6 (Thurs., Oct 11)      Berlin

3^rd night in Berlin

Day 7 (Fri., Oct 12)  Berlin - Munich

Berlin to Munich by Air                                                            $121.5 ea

Depart Berlin-Schonefeld (SXF) 10:25AM 12 Oct                      Conf #  

Arrive Munich (MUC) 11:35AM 12 Oct                           Flight #  10:25

Munich city center can be reached by the Munich S-Bahn lines S1 and S8 which take approximately forty-five minutes and cost about €8.80 one way

Check into Tryp Hotel Munchen: Paul-Heyse-Strasse 24 

[Temporary Review]  This hotel was nice.  The loby is like any hotel you would find in the states, with a restaurant, bar, business center, and great customer service.  They provide maps and information, and are glad to help in any way.  Room purchase includes 1 drink at the bar.  The room was ok... nothing special.  The bathroom was a bit dirty, and the plumbing had flaws.  It definitely needed a facelift.  The beds were clean, but not very comfortable.  I would stay again unless I could find something comparably priced.  I will post photos later.  Breakfast was included.

Dachau Memorial Tour

- open from 9 am to 5 pm – audio tour                                         3 euro

Spend remainder of day in Munich, possible tours…Haufbrauhaus

Dinner and return to hotel

Day 8 (Sat., Oct 13) Munich

8:30 a.m. Day Trip to Neuschwanstein Castle

Mikesbiketours.com                                                                                    35 euro ea

011 49 89 255 43 987

Meet at 8:30 a.m. sharp outside of YORMA´s Sandwich Shop at Track 26 in the Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof) (make sure you eat first, it's a long ride)

Full day

7 pm - Grab a slice of pizza before the Pub Crawl!

8 pm - Pub Crawl – (€10 ­ includes min. 5 free shots, free food 1/2 through, and

drink specials all night long!)

-Meet at Ca’Doro restaurant, across the street from Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), on the corner of Senefelderstr.

Day 9 (Sun., Oct 14)                   Munich - Florence

Have breakfast

Munich to Florence by Rail

Munchen Hbf 9:43AM/14 Oct     train # 85

Firenze S M N 5:53PM/14 Oct      8hr 20min                                         $46 ea

            Order #  XXXXXX   ID Form – XXXXXXXX Visa Credit Card

Hotel Leonardhouse (see map and e-mail)

            Tel:+39 055-285477

            Cell:+39 335-404039

            Address - Via Trebbio, 4, Firenze 50100 Italia

[Temporary Review]    Hotel Leonardhouse is anything but a hotel.  First, the good things.  It was in a good location, just a few minutes walk from Firenze SMN.  Leonard himself was a nice guy, and helpful.  He gave a great restaurant recommendation (I'll post that info later).  Other than that, this place was terrible.  They claimed to be a clean and comfortable hotel, but ended up being a whole in the wall with a few rooms for rent.  The rooms were unbelievably horrible.  The beds were hard as a rock, and the sheets were not very clean.  The walls were peeling, and there were even holes in some places.  The window did not shut completely, and the toilette in the bathroom would not keep quiet.  The shower head was rusty and dribbled with hardly any heat.  The second night, we were moved to a smaller room with a shared bathroom.  This room was even worse.  There was no lock on the door, and we had the same problem with the window.  There were wires hanging from the ceiling, and the wall paper was falling off.  Overall.... DO NOT STAY HERE.  I will post pictures later.

Day 10 (Mon., Oct 15)       Florence

Second day in Florence, same hotel

Get Dinner

Day 11 (Tues., Oct 16)       Florence – Cinque Terre

Eat breakfast and go to Monterosso

Check in to hotel Punta Mesco info@hotelpuntamesco.it

            Tel - 39 0187 817495

            Address - Via Molinelli, 35 Monterosso al Mare (SP) Italy

5 hour hike through Cinque Terre’s 5 cities

Rail from end city back to Monterosso

Spend the night

Day 12 (Wed., Oct 17)       Cinque Terre - Rome

Get to rome

Check into Independence Square B&B (see conf.)

Day 13 (Thurs., Oct 18)    Rome

2nd night same place

Day 14 (Fri., Oct 19)                   Rome

Go to new hotel @ Euro House Inn  in PM(see conf. for info)

Day 15 (Sat., Oct. 20) Rome to London to US

Get Shuttle from hotel to Airport

Flight Info - Alitalia record locator: XXXXXX                                         $171.12

Ticket type requested: electronic (e-ticket)

CheapTickets record locator: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Airline ticket number(s): XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX

Carry on bag limit 21.7 x 9.8 x 13.8

7:50 am – Depart Rome, Italy via FCO – Flight 200

9:35 am – Arrive London, UK, via LHR

1 pm - Depart London, UK – Flight 77W

3:35 pm - Arrive Toronto

6:10 pm - Depart Toronto – Flight 320

8:35 pm – Arrive Los Angeles