Final stop, Amsterdam. But first we spent a night in St Goar.

St Goar is a beautiful town in the Rhine Valley.

Home to these beautiful beer steins. Also home to the cuckoo clock and some very sweet wine.

On the way to Amsertdam we stopped at Edam.

We had a lovely cycle tour and got to taste cheese (of course).

We also got to see a clog being made, very fun.

Then it was on to Amsterdam...

The first night we participated in some of the nightlife that Amsterdam is well known for.  We saw a sex show and then chilled at the Bulldog, one of the most well know coffee shops in the city (and no coffee is not the main item on the menu ;))

Day two we went for a beautiful canal bike ride, the best way to see the city in my opinion.  The downpour of rain only enhanced the experience ...well sort of.

I spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of Amsterdam before jumping on a canal cruise and then onto the final Contiki group dinner.  The night was completed by watching the Netherlands beat Costa Rica in the football.  The game went to sudden death, but boy was Amsterdam thriving.  A great night to be out in town.

Now I am sitting at Heathrow airport saying my final goodbyes to a trip of a lifetime. It has been a blast.  I have loved immersing myself in the British culture and Contiki was an absolute joyride.  If any of the fanastaic people that I have shared the journey with are reading this, thanks for the good times.  Now I have to dry the tears and say the last adieu.  To those of you back in NZ I look forward to seeing your beautiful faces again.

This will be my final post, so goodbye and thanks for preserving :)

Next stop is Switzerland, home of watches, Swiss army knifes and yummy chocolate.

Our first stop was this statue. It is absolutely stunning, carved into the surrounding rock face. The lion is meant to represent the Swiss Gaurd who fought to the death defending the French royal family when they had already left through a back door during the French Revolution.

This is the pretty town of Lucerne where we looked at lots and lots of very nice (but expensive) watches. This bridge has a chapel midway across.

The beautiful Swiss alps

We went up the Jungfrau, the highest rail track in the world. At the top was plenty of snow and mountains.  A snow fight ensued, of course

The weather was unfortunately not in our favour. The top picture is what we should see, the bottom is the view I got.

We also visited the Snow Palace, a room made out of ice and hosting a whole range of sculptures. This is me with Sherlock.

The snowman's name is Nutty. The birds loved the dried fruit and nuts that we attempted to use for nose and mouth.

And we found this, a €37,000 watch :O

All in all a very good day in the snow!