Jun 25, 2002
Paris - Lyon
Arriving in Paris in the morning and found the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. Had an overview of Paris from the Eiffel Tower (amazingly there is no single high-rise building in central Paris) and rushed to the train station to take the high speed train to Lyon. The train was very fast and arrived in Lyon in two hours.
I couldn't find a budget hotel in central Lyon and ended up spending 200 euro for a high-end hotel - room was very nice and tasteful though. In the evening, I had a big French dinner at a popular restaurant and I must say food was soooo delicious. Compared to those in Paris, I found people in Lyon very nice and speaking good English.
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| View from Eiffel Tower |
Jun 26, 2002
Lyon - Marseille - Cannes - Nice
I bought a 7 day rail pass and started using it on this second day of my trip. The pass allows foreign travelers to travel on any first class trains in specified countries during the period which is perfect for my express trip.
Heading south from Lyon, I stopped in Marseille briefly first. Marseille is ignored by many tourists but I found it interesting, with a noticeable amount of minorities.
Continuing east, I arrived in Cannes. The film festival was over last month but this little town is still worth visiting and very laid back.
Hopping on another train to the nearby Nice and calling it a day. Nice is much bigger with much more tourists. Its stone beach is also interesting. From the beach, you can see airplanes flying over almost every minute!
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| Marseille Port |
Jun 27, 2002
Nice - Monaco - Milan - Geneva
In Western Europe, there are no official passport controls between countries. On arriving in Monaco, I wasted no time climbing to the Prince's Palace of Monaco and felt like in the movies. It's definitely better the Nice!
On the train again and a few hours later I was in Milan. Although Italian food is famous internationally, there is a big MacDonald's at the train station. Perhaps for people in a rush, they still need "fast food". I admired Milan Cathedral and checked out Via Monte Napoleone for a couple of hours then went back to the train station.
Last train trip of the day was in the mountains into Switzerland. On the train, somebody checked my passport and that turned out be the only occasion where my passport was checked during my entire trip in Western Europe. On arriving in Geneva, I checked in a hotel near the train station. Surprisinly, the hotel clerk speaks Mandarin.
Jun 28, 2002
Geneva - Lausanne - Bern - Zurich
In the morning, I checked out headquarters of some famous organizations I knew about since I was a kid, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Lunch on the Geneva-Lausanne train was delicious - the Swiss way. In Lausanne, I only checked out the International Olympic Committee (IOC), then continued my journey east to Bern.
Bern is the capital of Switzerland but not boring. The trams are lovely and I saw many seniors in the city.
My last stop in Switzerland was Zurich. Zurich is famous for its banks so walking on Bahnhofstrasse Street downtown is not to be missed, though it's one of the most expensive cities in the world.
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| Bern |
Jun 29, 2002
Zurich - Frankfurt - Luxembourg
Arriving in Frankfurt by train, passing Frankfurt Airport, one of the busiest airports in Europe. Frankfurt is famous for its status as a transportation hub rather than a tourist destination. I just checked out the downtown area and continued my trip to Luxembourg.
The red train to Luxembourg is attractive, as well as the country itself. Surrounded by France, Belgium and Germany, Luxembourg is quite different from its big neighbors. The country is expensive but quite worth visiting, if only for the atmosphere. The most famous "site" is the Grand Ducal Palace.
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| Grand Ducal Palace, Luxembourg |
Jun 30, 2002
Luxembourg - Cologne - Amsterdam
Leaving Luxembourg, I entered Germany again and stopped over in Cologne. I only did one thing in the city - climbing to the observation desk of Cologne Cathedral. The view is fantastic.
Continuing my journey to the Netherlands, I arrived in Amsterdam at dusk. The Netherlands is a very low country and about a quarter of its land is under sea level. You can feel it when you look at the houses in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is famous for its "Red Light District" - properly named as each shop has a "red light" on it. The "district" is more like a "tourist" site with men and women from all over the world hanging around.
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| Amsterdam |
Jul 1, 2002
Amsterdam - The Hague - Rotterdam - Brussels - Paris
Leaving Amsterdam in the morning, I arrived in the Hague. A few international organizations are headquartered in the Hague, such as the International Court of Justice. But I found the trams in the city most charming.
A short train ride took me to Rotterdam, famous for its port. I actually took a "port tour" but unfortunately didn't find it very interesting.
Continuing southwest I entered Belgium and arrived in Brussels in the afternoon. Brussels is the headquarters of the European Union and NATO but the most famous sites of the city are the Royal Palace of Brussels and the extremely popular Manneken Pis.
After a couple of pleasant hours in Brussels, I used my rail pass the last time and arrived in Paris in the evening.
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| The Hague |
Jul 2, 2002
Paris
Since the Louvre was closed when I first arrived in Paris 8 days ago, I reserved half a day for the Louvre on my last day of this Western Europe trip. The Louvre is definitely worth seeing but very, very touristy. Two of the most famous artworks are perhaps Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Photos are definitely allowed and I saw many people having them taken with the artworks.
After visiting the Louvre, I went to Charles de Gaulle Airport and finished my 8 day express trip to Western Europe.
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| The Louvre |
Summary
Western Europe is definitely on the list of most travelers. This 8 day express trip to 8 countries in Western Europe was just an introduction to the region. For many countries, there is no doubt that I will visit again in the future. This trip is mostly for the "cities" of those countries. I had mixed feelings of France. People in Paris can be cold (they may speak English but are not willing to) while those in Nice may not speak English at all. The most helpful people I found in France are those in Lyon. Many people in Belgium speak English and they appear nicer. People in Switzerland may appear weird at first but I found them helpful even if they don't speak English. English is widely spoken in the Netherlands and Germany. The Netherlands is indeed very liberal and quite diversified from a tourist perspective. I only visited Frankfurt and Cologne in Germany and Milan in Italy therefore don't have an overview of those countries. The most interesting countries of this trip are the two small countries Monaco and Luxembourg. They are tiny but of great charm and shouldn't be missed.
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