Today we reached Innsbruck where we had time to do a bit of shopping and visit more Christmas markets. Innsbruck looked amazing with huge mountains so close to the Main Street. Later we had a horse and sleigh ride through the snow with beautiful views of the mountains. That was followed by a warm drink at a little restaurant before Francesco drove us to our Hotel Bon Alpina in Igls.

Today we drove back in to Lucerne and took a cruise across Lake Lucerne to the base of Mt Rigi. Here we boarded a train which took us to the top via a rack railway. The scenery was picture postcard stuff of snow covered chalets and mountainous slopes. The trip back down via a cable car was just as exciting and incredibly steep. Francesco picked us up at the bottom and took us in to Lucerne for some shopping and sightseeing.

Today, we headed off early for Heidelberg where we were to visit the markets. Unfortunately, we were too early and the markets weren't open. However, we enjoyed a German Strudel in the town square and climbed a steep path to view the historic Heidelberg Castle. We then drove through the edge of the Black Forest to the Swiss border where a guard hopped in and examined all our passports. We stopped for a look at the beautiful Rhine Falls before reaching Luc...

This morning we started our new routine - up at 6, breakfast at 6:45 and on the bus at 7:30 ready to hit the road for Germany. We arrived in Cologne in the afternoon and had a Bratwurst and a nice potato fritter at the Christmas Markets. We also visited the gothic Cologne Cathedral which was very nice inside. After about an hour in Cologne, we drove to Boppard to enjoy a cruise along the Rhine. Francesco then drove us back to our accomodation called NH Hotel ...

Today we left on a 17 day Trafalgar Tour called European Cavalcade. We rose at 3am so we could be at the Travel Centre near Victoria Station by 5:30am. After meeting our tour guide, Calvin we were off on the bus to Dover where we hopped on a ferry to Calais. Then we boarded our European tour bus (left hand drive) and met our Italian driver Francesco.We drove through France and Belgium without really stopping until we reached Amsterdam, although much of it was a...