Istanbul - 26th to 28th of August 2011

Istanbul, the start of our week-long tour of Turkey. Well, when we finally got there that is, after being bumped by Emirates to the later flight. We only arrived at our hotel by early afternoon, were we met our buddy Nicola, who had arrived earlier in the day (without her bags). Not such a great start, and only time for a quick walk around and a local dinner.

With only two nights in Istanbul, we really only had one full day to explore. So we were up at a decent-ish hour to wander over to the Topkapi Palace, the official and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years from the 15th to 19th centuries. It sits on a great spot overlooking the Maramis and the Golden Horn, so got our first look at wider Istanbul, the joining place of Europe and Asia.

From there, it was around the corner to the Haigia Sophia, originally the cathedral of Constantinople when it was built in the 4th century, until it was converted into a Mosque in the 15th century.

And next door to the Blue Mosque, relatively new at only 400 years old. It's referred to as the Blue Mosque due to the blue tiles on the inside, although we thought it should be called the feet mosque due to the smell (they make people take their shoes off and carry them around inside the mosque, so it doesn't have a particularly pleasing aroma...)

After a full on morning we were ready for some lunch, and found some at the nearby Grand Bazaar. Its a very old indoor market, very colourful, and actually quite pleasant compared to some of the markets we've been through.

A few shawls and knock-off belts later, we got the tram over to the newer part of town for a walk down the main shopping strip. More sunglasses, shoes...Half way down the strip is the Galata Tower. Built in 1348 as part of the fortifications of Constantinople, its not the tallest tower in the world, but still offers great views back across the Marmara and Golden Horn to the many mosques of the Istanbul skyline. Back to our hotel to get dolled up before a gourmet dinner, followed by a few cocktails at one of the many rooftop bars that are the place to be in Istanbul.

Having spent a day and a half in Istanbul, we realised how crazy the drivers are. So it turned out very nicely that we weren't picking up our hire car in downtown, but rather out at the airport. No dramas in picking up our beast, we hit the road west around midday...

Ras Al Khaimah - 19th to 20th of August 2011

There was some serious regret when Warren woke up at 3.45am to get to Ras Al Khaimah ("RAK") in time for the 7am tee off with the boys. In hindsight, maybe not such a good idea...

We were playing at Al Hamra, which is just outside RAK. RAK is another emirate within the UAE approx 1.5 hours north of Dubai. Al Hamra is a golf and spa resort, and so we were staying right next to the golf course.

The golf was fun and we missed the worst of the heat, but the rest of the day was a bit of a write off next to the pool having met up with girls who drive up at a more sensible hour.A nice dinner and few drinks at the hotel bar, before Warren was up early again for a 6.30am tee off again on Saturday (never again). More snoozes in the afternoon before the 1.5 hour drive back south to Dubai.

Yas Island (Abu Dhabi) - 29th to 30th of July 2011

Kinda because we found a good voucher package deal, and kinda because it was Warren's birthday, we cruised back to Yas Island near Abu Dhabi for some fun in the sun. We were good boys and girls and hit the gym when we arrived in the morning, before spending the day in and out of the pool, few cocktails in the swim up bar....

Our package deal included massages for two, so we were feeling nice and relaxed by the time we made it for a few drinks, and a good steak for dinner.

Saturday was more pool time for most of the day, until about 3pm when we headed across the road to Ferrari World (our package included tickets). Ferrari World has some "worlds biggest" as well, namely the world's biggest Ferrari emblem and world's fastest roller coaster (240 kph). Other than that coaster, the rest of the place is interesting as a Ferrari fan without being spectacular for a fan of theme parks. We finished up about 9pm for the 45minute drive back north to Dubai.

Munich - 8th to 9th of July 2011

Only an hour from Garmisch, we trained up to Munich mid-morning to complete our tour of Germany. After dropping the bags off at the hotel we went for a walk through town, via the main town square and rathaus.
Try keeping Ange away from the nearby markets...
...and me from the Hofbrauhous, the most famous beer hall in Germany. We both finished our steins, impressive for Ange who normally isn't a beer drinker.A walk through nearby Englisher Garten, a huge central park larger than Central Park or Hyde Park. It has a stream running through the middle of it, on which a standing wave has been created for the local surfers.
Our destination in the park was the Chineseturm, basically another beer garden. This one was huge, and very busy - we were very impressed by the way the Germans loved to sit outside when the sun came out and drink beer!
On the way back to the Metro we came across a cocktail and sheesha bar, so our last night on tour was spent re-aclimitising to Dubai life!

Having ticked off most things we wanted to the previous day, and with a full day in front of us before our late night flight back to Dubai, we took it easy. We made it to the northern 'burbs for a look around the BMW museum, since we hadn't gone to Stuttgart to see any of ther others. Unfortunately most of it was closed, but we still had a quick look around.Over the road to the site of the 1972 Olympics - pretty awesome construction considering they are 40 years old!Back into town to see the Beer and Octoberfest Museum. We were keen to do Germany around September so we could go to Octoberfest, but unfortunately the timings didn't really work for us, so this was as clase as we got (other than all the beer drunk of course)After chilling out in the park for a bit, we got the train out to the airport (just) in time for our flight back to Dubai. Holiday over :(

Garmisch Partenkirchen - 7th to 8th of July 2011

Nearly 2 hours on the bus around the base of the alps from Fussen to Garmisch Partenkirchen. Originally two towns, they were forced to join by Adolf Hitler for the 1936 winter olympics, and remain so today. Another town that you feel would be absolutely buzzing in winter - very much the place to be seen by well to do Munich-ers.

We arrived late afternoon and having had a very early and busy morning in Fussen weren't up to doing much. Thankfully there isn't much to do as such, other than wander around both town centres, stopping for beers along the way.
We ended up in an awesome German bar complete with oompah loompah band and dancing - we find the bars recommended in the lonely planet a bit hit and miss, but this one was top notch - it felt very German and we looked like the only tourists in there.

Fussen - 6th to 7th of July 2011

Travelling between small towns by public transport clearly isn't that easy in Germany, another 4 trains and 5 hours of our lives from Rothenburg to Fussen. We headed almost directly south, Fussen is on the edge of the alps, and has several ski runs that are open during winter. But it's main attractions are its castles, in particular the fairytale castle built in the 19th century by an eccentric king of Bavaria.

Arriving in Fussen early afternoon we checked into our hotel and hired some bikes for a cruise through the meadows and out to a cable car that goes up the side of the mountain.Back into town via a supermarket for a few drinks and a picnic dinner (more ham) to enjoy lakeside.A very early start the following day to make our 8am booking for the castle tours. There are actually two castles almost right next to one another, the first original one, Schloss Hohenschwangau, which the King grew up in, and his pet project, the crazy disney fairytale castle Schloss Neuschwanstein. We still had our bikes for the 20 minute cruise out of town to the base of the castles and a quick walk up to the first castle, Schloss Hohenschwangau, stopping off on route for a picnic breakfast next to the lake.Looking up at the fairytale castle from Hohenschwangau.A wander back down to the base before getting a minibus up to Schloss Neuschwanstein (very thankful for the bus!). We had little guided tours through both castles, which gave us some insight into the mind of the deranged king, King Ludwig II.
Quick ride back into town to drop off the bikes and pick up our bags before getting the bus out of town.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber - 5th to 6th of July 2011

What a mission! It took 4 different trains and nearly 5 hours to reach Rothenburg, but man was it worth it. Arguably our favourite spot in Germany, its a picture perfect town fully enclosed by walls. Similar to lots of other towns we've fallen in love with (think St Gimignano in Italy or Carcassonne in France), but distinctly German. We wandered through and around the town before finding some wine and sitting down with a book outside one of the town gates, an amazing afternoon.

Heidelberg - 4th to 5th of July 2011

An hour 40 minutes after leaving the Rhine Valley we were in historic Heidelberg - famous for its university, castle and old town. We had a quick look around the city before walking (ok geting a cablecar) up to the castle for great views of the city. We were pretty beat, so had an early wine and cheese night in our hostel with our books and got a good nights sleep.