2008 July | Chris Khalil's Musings

Rhyl to Sydney (Via Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg)

Christopherkhalil | July 17, 2008

Got back last week from a month long visit to the Old Country. It’s been 3 years since I last returned to the UK. It was an opportunity to see my family again and catch up with old friends.

The first weekend was spent recreating the madness of student days at an old friend of mine - Kevin’s wedding. The old crew was re-assembled in the relative calm of Ross-on-Wye (near Gloucester). We celebrated Kev and Liz’s wedding Loughborough style! Plenty of drunken shenanigans I can tell you.

The next few weeks were spent lazing at home in Rhyl (North Wales), eating my Mum’s delicious food and walking down the beautiful beach. It was so fantastic to spend a bit of time with my parents and sister.

Rhyl doesn’t seemed to have changed all that much since I left. Curiously and rather sadly many of the favourite drinking haunts seemed to have closed down. Still, I think Rhyl gets a bit of bad rep, but for me it has just so much potential. The beach and surrounding area are truly spectacular; it’s close to Chester and Liverpool. I hope over the next few years the area will be much rejuvenated and gentrified.

North Wales has so much beauty and history it’s a fantastic place to spend some time. We took a few days out to visit places like Dyserth Falls, Conwy Castle, Llandudno etc. Captured some of these moment on my photos page.

Whilst being in the Northern Hemisphere, I thought it would make sense to head to Europe for a bit of an odyssey into the classical architecture and countryside of Central Europe. Followed the route below:

<a style=”color: #0000ff; text-align: left” mce_href=”http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=110324088214329490535.0004564e25252d8f7ee86&ll=47.776252,16.072998&spn=5.169286,9.338379&z=6&source=embed” xhref=”http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=110324088214329490535.0004564e25252d8f7ee86&ll=47.776252,16.072998&spn=5.169286,9.338379&z=6&source=embed”>View Larger Map</a> The journey began in Budapest, an attractive city with plenty about it. The Danube dissects the city with the baroque and Gothic architecture of the Castle district in Buda, and the cultured shopping areas of Pest. A pleasant few hours were spent here, even finding time to indulge in some of the amazing spas.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;We then headed down the Danube for 6 hours on a hydrofoil to Austria. I cannot recommend this method of transport enough. The scenery meanders with occasional glimpses of stately houses, churches and castles along the sweeping banks of the Danube.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;So, to Vienna, truly one of the most beautiful cities you could hope to encounter. Every turn around a corner affords another picture postcard view. Words cannot do it justice, check out some of the pictures. One thing I would note about Vienna is they have a public transport system par excellence. The combination of overground trams and underground trains make it a cinch to get pretty much anywhere. The food is uniformly excellent, although prepare Veggies watch out, this is the land of the Schnitzel and Sausage. We stopped at a great place for dinner Weiner, the food was sensational.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;From Vienna we hired a car, and set forth into the countryside towards Salzburg. The drive is one of Europe’s most underrated routes. Firstly following the Danube, through vineyards and passing fairytale castle to the mountainous Alpine region.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Finally, we reached Salzburg, the home of Mozart, and don’t you know it! It’s a lovely little town, but you can never forget Mozart was born and lived here. Salzburg really is worth a visit should you get the chance.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Finally, headed back to Rhyl to spend the last few days with my family. Before I knew it the month was up. It was with great sadness that I left my family to make the long journey back to Sydney. I don’t think I’ll wait 3 years again before I go home again.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;You can see photos of my trip to Europe on the &amp;lt;a xhref=”http://www.chriskhalil.com/photogallery/album/Budapest_Salzburg_June08/” mce_href=”http://www.chriskhalil.com/photogallery/album/Budapest_Salzburg_June08/” &amp;gt;Budapest to Salzburg Photos Page.&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Photos from my stay at home are on my &amp;lt;a xhref=”http://www.chriskhalil.com/photogallery/album/RhylJune08/” mce_href=”http://www.chriskhalil.com/photogallery/album/RhylJune08/” &amp;gt;North Wales Photo Page.&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;