Happy New Year!!

Hi all!!

I know I said I wouldn't post again here but it turns out I am actually pretty good at the keyboard now - haha!

Since Monday, we went to Versailles which was beautiful but overtaken by Asian tourists who didn't appreciate its beauty - still loved it though!! We also went to Galeries Lafeyette and did some shopping. On Wednesday we went to the Louvre, we saw the Mona Lisa. It was pretty good but we found that the Louvre had too many religious paintings and were far more impressed with the Musèe d'Orsay which we absolutely loved!!

Today we went up the Eiffel Tower which was amaaaazing!! It was so foggy when we got off the train, but when the gates opened an hour later the clouds parted and for 2 hours Paris was filled with beautiful sunshine and blue skies! We were so lucky! I took the most spectacular photos. This weather also lasted for our trip to the Arc de Triomphe, so we had beautiful views there as well for about 10 minutes. After this the sky again turned grey, but we had used the good weather wisely! We walked down the Champs Elysèe which was beautiful, spent some time in the Tuileries Gardens and then headed back here.

Hope you are all well and Happy New Year to you all!! I will be sure to keep an eye on the clock and when it hits 2pm here will be excited at the prospect of a new year beginning in Melbourne!

Have a great New Year's Eve, love to you all, Claire xox

Paris, France

Hi all,
This is the only time I shall post from here because I have limited internet and i cannot type on french keyboards at all!!!

Paris is great ,uch friendlier than Berlin. We have seen and done a lot already, yesterday ze did a walking tour of the city and then one of montmartre at night. we are staying in montmrtre and the hotel is good.

we went up the notre dame today and also saw the pantheon, saint chapelle and the conciergerie. also luxembourg gardens and hotel les invalides.

lots to see and do we are glad we have a week!

miss u all, this keyboard is impossible! talk to u in munich!

happy new year,  versailles tmro,
love claire! xo

A luckier day

Hi all,

For the rest of our time in paderborn we went for a walk in the kurforest which was so beautiful! Then we went to church on Xmas eve with Constanze and her family. We loved it because it was such a great ezperience to see how different people celebrate. We sang silent night in German! Then we went home and sang carols around the real tree we had decorated and opened presents.

Today we are making our way to Paris, we are waiting at cologne hauptbahnhof at the moment. So far our train is on time (it comes in 2 hours). So today we have a little more luck!

Hope your Christmas was one to remember, I thought of you all!
Miss and love you all, Claire xox

Paderborn, Germany

Hello!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, and sorry for typing errors because this keyboard is weird!

We went to the East Side Gallery and then did some shopping on our last day in Berlin - was very interesting!

Then we travelled to Köln. Our train was cancelled so it took us 12 hrs to get there, not 4. But we made it. Although the stupid girl at reception had booked the wrong hotel so we had to book another one after searching for hours with no luck!!!

The next morning we explored Köln and went up the cathedral, it was truly spectacular! We also saw the Rheine, bought some souvenirs and just walked around the town seeing what we could see. I loved Köln, I liked it better than Berlin. It had a happy and happening atmosphere.

Our train from Köln to Hamm was cancelled but we quickly found another one and only ended up being 1.5 hours later to Constanze's town, Paderborn.

It's really nice here but the path is so slippery and it has rained a lot! But the town is very nice, and it will be good to spend Christmas here.

I'm not too sure as to when I will be on next, we are now going to Paris on the 25th (it will be 1am on the 26th your time when we leave for Paris). There is not internet at our hotel there, but I will check in now and then! After that I have free wifi in Munich.

Miss and love you all,
Fröhe Weinachten von Paderborn!
xoxox Claire

Hi everyone!!. We went to Potsdam yest but it snowed so heavily and was so cold that we were forced to go home. It was beautiful though! The zoo was nice too, was very different seeing animals in the snow - especially zebras! We loved the polar bears (Knut especially). The jewish museum was very interesting as well. Although by that stage we were very tired and so we looked at most things but not all. Before the Jewish museum we went back to the Reichstag because we didn't really get to see it on the walking tour. It was an incredible building!! 

Love you all, lots of love Claire Xoxoxox

Berlin, Germany - 17 dec to 21 dec

Hi all!!
I somehow got to berlin, I honestly don't know how. To begin with, transferring at frankfurt airport was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It is a maze. My shoes beeped so I had to be scanned with a hand scanner - lots of fun. Luckily I made a friend in the queue who showed me the area my gate was in. Nearly all flights were cancelled so there were hundreds of people everywhere, so after queueing for my boarding pass I had 5 mins to spare. My plane was one of very few that actually left, all the people whose flights were cancelled lost their luggage. I was very lucky. Arrived Berlin at 1am because of delays but finally made it.

It was -10 degrees here today. I wore so many warm clothes and was still cold. But the snow is so beautiful!!! We did a walking tour today and saw the Brandenburg gate, Reichstag, Jewish memorial, cathedral and much more. It was well worth it. We are both really tired so came home to our room early tonight.

Hope you are all well and I miss home terribly.
Love you all,
Love Claire xo

Ps I am having difficulty uploading photos but I will keep trying.

Doha, Qatar - 17 December

Hi everyone!

I am currently in Doha, Qatar waiting out an 8 hour stopover until I leave for Frankfurt. The flight was comfortable, I got some sleep and met some nice people next to me on the plane. I'm a little freaked out being by myself like this, but I'm hoping once I get to Germany I will feel better.

We had to catch a 10 minute bus from the plane to the airport, so I saw the city of Doha at a distance. It looks like I would imagine Dubai does - modern buildings in unusual shapes! We also passed a few souqs on the way, so we got a brief view of Doha which was nice!!

I should probably go as I'm in the Oryx Lounge and there aren't many computers, I should probably let someone else have a go!

But I just thought I'd let you all know I arrived here safely.

Miss you all,
Love Claire

Before I Leave

Just before I leave I'd like to say thank you for all the wishes, cards and gifts that people have given me before I go! It is all much appreciated. My plane leaves at 11.35pm on Thursday the 16th of December. I am flying Qatar Airways. The first leg of my flight is 15 hours long, then I have an 8 hour stopover in Doha, Qatar, followed by a 7 hour flight to Frankfurt, another stopover but this time of 3 hours, then a 1.5 hour flight to Berlin.

Upon landing in Doha I will be in the Qatar Airways Lounge with internet access so I will post then.

Again, thank you everyone!

Love Claire xo