Our Best & Worst of...

Wow, what a trip! Here´s a listing of Al & Locke's 5 best of and worst of in all of our activities to capture both the wonderful and most frustrating moments of our trip.

CITIES
Best 5
1-tie) Paris – so much to see, lots of good food & culture, great public transportation
1-tie) Vienna – two great palaces plus a wonderful pedestrian zone in the heart of the city
1-tie) Salzburg – lots of music-oriented events and a well-maintained city
4) Rome – lots to do and see and the bonus is the Vatican
5) London – lots to do and see, but very over-priced for the value
Honorable Mention
- Amsterdam
- Munich

Worst 5
1-tie) Florence – great culture, but the city itself is not planned or maintained well
1-tie) Venice – overrun by too many tourist this early in the season; hotels will gauge on room rates; several folks were just plain rude
3) Nice – ghetto-like away from the beaches and lots of construction
4) Geneva – hard to drive in old town; besides Lake Geneva, city is very clean and sterile
5-tie) Milan – another tough city to get around
5-tie) Naples – Italian driving at its worst

ATTRACTIONS
Best 5
1) Tower of London – Royal jewels are a MUST see
2) Keukenhof Tulip Gardens – acres upon acres of tulips in full bloom
3) Arch d´Triomphe – the view down to the Charles d´Gaulle circle & the 12 boulevards is worth the price alone
<<< 4) Sound of Music Tour – great tour of the Salzburg sites -- including the famous gazebo – and the fantastic Salzgammut countryside
5) Schonbrunn Palace – fabulous interior, well-maintained exterior, and a fun maze to boot
Honorable Mention
- Anne Frank House – a very poignant and emotionally-moving site
- Le Mont-St-Michel – an incredible island off the Normandy coast
- Phantom of the Opera – a 19-year classic still going strong
- Leaning Tower of Pisa – what a fun climb!
- Pompeii Ruins – best ruins site
- Hofburg Palace – Lipizzaner horses and nice silverware!

Worst 5
1) Westminster Abbey – unannounced early closure
2) Windsor Castle – unannounced early closure
3) Canterbury Cathedral – at 10 pounds ($19) per person, we opted not to go into this overpriced attraction
4) Prague Castle – besides St Vitus Cathedral's stain glass, rest of compound is boring
5) Residenz – besides Antiquarium & Gold Hall, rest of compound is boring

CASTLES, CHATEAUS & PALACES
Best Exterior Water Setting – Chateau Chenonceau in Chenonceaux, France
Best Exterior Land Setting – Nieschwanstein in Fussen, Germany
Best Ruins – Rheinfels in St Goar, Germany
Best Courtyard – Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin, Germany
Best Palace Grounds – (tie) Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France & Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Best Labryrinth/Maze – Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Best View – La Torre Guaita in San Marino, San Marino
Best Interior – Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria
Best Ballroom – Neues Palace in Berlin, Germany
Best Dining Set/Silverware – Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria
Best Jewels – Tower of London in London, England
Best Staircase – Chateau Chambord in Chambord, France
Best Stain Glass – St Vitus Cathedral/Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Rep
Best Artwork – Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Italy

DINING
Best 51-tie) Orangery, London England – English high tea and a wonderful lunch right by Kensington Palace
1-tie) Cafe Fouquets, Paris France – the best cafe on the Champs l'Elysee for a good reason!
1-tie) Deva, Amsterdam Netherlands – Rijkstaffel, Indonesian-style royal buffet
4) Taj Majal, Salzburg Austria – great Indian food in Austria!
5-tie) Lenz, Munich Germany – Thai chicken coconut soup is to die for!
5-tie) Cafe Luxembourg, Amsterdam Netherlands – wonderful outdoor cafe
5-tie) Kale de Grote Cafe, Amsterdam Netherlands – wonderful kabob & indian food
Honorable Mention
- Le C'amelot, Paris France (since closed)
- Caffe Martini, Milan Italy
- Hotel Primavera, San Marino San Marino
- St Stephan's Cafe, Venice Italy
- Cafe Europa, Vienna Austria

Worst 5
1) Schloss Heidelberg Cafe, Heidelberg Germany – poor cafeteria quality
2) Domus Carmelitana, Rome Italy – worst breakfast & service of all the hotels
3) La Baita, Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany – not a good Italian joint
4) Jade Imbiss, Frankfurt Germany – not a good Chinese joint
5) Old Castle Inn – Vaduz, Liechtenstein – basic food that was way over-priced

HOTELS
Best 5
1) Relais Merascu, Capri Italy (A+)
- beautiful views, wonderful rooms, best breakfast (creme and chocolate filled croissants!), reasonable prices, easy access to boat dock and funincular to Capri, nice staff
2) Hotel Primavera, San Marino (A)
- nice hallway, great room, excellent breakfast, nice staff
3) Britanny Ferries, English Channel (A)
- wow, what a surprise! Nice view, beds and shower to boot!
4) Hotel Uhland, Munich Germany (A)
- nice room, good staff, internet access, excellent breakfast
5) Bergland, Salzburg Austria (A)
- excellent room, excellent breakfast, nice staff, parking under a tree
Honorable Mentions
Hotel Hilleprandt, Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany (A-)
- nice room, beautiful view of the Alps, good breakfast; staff could be friendlier
Domus Carmelitana, Rome Italy (A-)
- nice lobby, very nice room, great parking and location in city; breakfast could use some help
Hotel Austria, Vienna Austria (A-)
- good room, beautiful staircase; a little difficult for cars to get to
Tyr Prague, Prague, Czech Rep (A-)
- good room, nice breakfast; some minor street noise

Worst 5
1) Hotel Gallini, Venice Italy (F-) – claimed to not have our reservation; when we displayed e-mail copy a bunch of excuses were made; they then booked us into another local hotel that was very poor quality and we were expected to pay for their mistake. We will ripped them to shreds on all of the internet reviews.
2) Overnight Train Berlin-Frankfurt (D) – tough to sleep on a bench
3) Caswell Hotel, London England (C) – dirty carpets, shower that was half-functional
4) Hotel Adam, Florence Italy (C) – first room lock didn't work; second room had a storage staircase in it; location was difficult to get to by car
5) Van Ostrade Hotel, Amsterdam Netherlands (C+) – steep steps, funky room decorations

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Best 5
1) Paris Metro – with Moblis Carte, you have unlimited access for a cheap price to all of Paris´subways and trains – a great way to get around the city
2-tie) Vienna U-Bahn – simple, yet effective urban transit system
2-tie) Munich U-Bahn – straight-forward U- (underground) & S- (street) Bahn system
4) Amsterdam Tram – excellent network of street trams, but construction caused reroutes
5) London Underground – great subway system, but very pricey

Worst 51) Florence – city buses only, which were constantly crammed with too many folks; no readily available info to determine routes
2) Nice – city buses only
3) Rome – too few subway lines for a such a large city
4) Pisa – great parking area, but no linkage to the Leaning Tower
5) Venice – gondolas and water taxis are expensive; alternative is walking or slow ferries that make many stops

DRIVING
Best 5
1) A95 Autobahn from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen – got up to 133 mph before the speed governor kicked in – this car rocks!
2) A7 Autostrada from Milan to Genoa – lane markings disappear and with a very curvy freeway the road becomes a racing strip – everyone was doing it!
3) Simplon Pass at Swiss/Italian border – incredible view at 2005 meters (6000 feet) with the high Alps surrounding you >>>
4) England – can´t help but feel a little exhilarating driving on the other side of the road!
5) Amalfi Coast – the drive between Sorrento and Positano is incredibly beautiful

Worst 5
1) Florence – roads become small alleys that are nearly impassable for cars; not enough parking lots
2) Pompeii/Torre Annunziata - ghetto towns with little signage for the ruins
3) Portofino – town is great, but the narrow road leading to it has too much traffic -- including tour buses and mopeds – and blind curves
4) Nice – too much construction and parked cars
5) Geneva – old town is too complicated to figure out how to get around by car

CARS
Al's nomination for "Dud of the year" – Fiat Punto
Locke's nomination for "Dud of the year" – Fiat Panda

-- Al & Locke