It's always so nice to be home, regardless of how good the trip was. Getting home was a bit of a marathon thanks to Qantas. It just seems that every time we fly with them lately there's always a drama, particularly when it involves the Airbus A380. Some points from the tour: 1. While more people in the group mean that it was "merrier" (the more the merrier) it does remove some flexibility when booking accommodation. Smaller hotels or B&Bs in quaint villages are great but they are generally not geared up for eight people. 2. Following on from that; not everyone has to stay at the same place at the same time. Different people have different interests or different choices in hotels so the group could split occasionally and stay in various hotels to suit the situation. If that was the case each group would require its own comms and navigation. 3. Wendy and I liked the one country at a time concept (although we briefly entered Austria) but it did become a little repetitive occasionally. While the villages, towns and cities each had their unique features, some of the "stunningly beautiful" palaces and cathedrals in Bavaria started to look similar. Maybe at least two or three culturally different countries (Germany, Austria & Cekh Republic) would have improved that. 4. Getting in and out of Hervey Bay Airport with more than one bike box is problematic due to the small aircraft. Connecting flts are also difficult, resulting in long waiting times in Sydney or Brisbane. Much easier to drive to and from Brisbane and fly out/in there. It was ok when Qantas wasn't an airline of delays and missed connections. Amazingly we made our direct flight connection to Hervey Bay from Sydney, despite being 3 hours late out of Dubai. However by the time we had cleared Customs and Quarantine, rechecked our luggage onto domestic we had 15 minutes to spare before boarding. That is cutting it fine. Our good friend John was at Hervey Bay to drive us home; HOME SWEET HOME! A great tour made even better by the three other couples we were with. A big thank you to them all.