Munich

The city of beer gardens, beer halls, lederhosens and surprisingly hot summer weather - yes, you're guaranteed really scorching hot weather in Bavaria's capital with temperatures hitting the 30'C and forcing the old men to go nude at the English garden and teenagers to brave the icy cold water of the Isar River.

And no this is not the German stereotype by the way. This is not how Germany wants us to know about them or stereotype about them. After all, Bavaria is really an autonomous state on its own that never signed the national constitution like the other 15 German states as reiterated many times by award-winning tour guide, Ozzie.

Yes, if you ever go to Wombats hostel in Munich, make sure you do a tour with Ozzie - it's an experience in itself and he does do a very good and informative tour about Munich, Bavaria, Germany and the Middle East.

I've never seen Munich in hotter weather or seen more beer gardens - although was getting a bit weary of the heat especially at night when there are no fans - even if a lot of the well known buildings like the Frauenkirche and Residenz were covered in scaffolding - grr.. But Munich's always a nice place to go and get hungover on the first night..

Innsbruck & Stubai Valley

This place is beautiful.. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.. But all I can say is that I have definitely got my mountain biking fix in Europe now. By the way, got some shots of Innsbruck too.

I'm Halfway There! Time to Chill (in the middle of Tyrol!)

As of 26 June, I have symbolically reached the halfway point of my European trip - and actually more than halfway through my round-the-world trip too.

It definitely feels like I've reached the halfway. I feel I've hit a slight flat patch in terms of motivation and energy - not surprising after a month that has been like an exponential curve heading upwards and upwards with every new city and experience.

It has been one heck of a trip; one that started with a bang with one of the best decisions I've ever made yet: starting the tour in Bern after catching the train from Frankfurt that morning.

Since then, I've been to Interlaken, Lucerne, Zurich, Como, Milan, Florence, Siena, Rome, Verona, Venice, Vienna, Krakow, Oszwiecim, Warsaw, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Salzburg, Mondsee, Innsbruck & now Fulpmes, a little village in the Subital Valley in the Tyrol.

And there's still a month ago.

I guess it's apt that halfway through my trip really feels like halftime - people don't really come to Fulpmes for the nightlife so it should be a quiet two nights before going back to the bright lights of Munich.

My highlight so far? I think going to Krakow and then seeing Oszwiecim where the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps are located has been the highlight of the trip in a light or heavy hearted way. Going to see the concentration camps is an experience I'll never forget. Thankfully, the people at the hostel - guests or staff - and the experiences there certainly more than lifted the mood. Krakow itself is a pretty cool city and a pleasant bargain that still isn't too touristy just yet.

Of course there have been plenty of other great highlights.

Plenty of good kebabs too - best one for me was Mustafa's in Berlin's Hackescher Markt. There was some pretty good Asian too in Berlin I might add. Italy was definitely the best place for food - budget or premium.

Best trains? Still the Germans & Austrians although the Italian high speed trains are pretty good now. Polish trains were definitely the worst for facilities as we're the Czech trains. Although there is something romantic about being in your own cabin in a train.

Surprise of the trip? Finding out how cheap Poland is. You can live like a queen easily here if you come from
a country with a strong currency especially with beer at the supermarket sold at an equivalent of €0.80.

Anyway here are 20 of the best pictures so far. Who knows what this next month will hold - there's Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Bruges, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon still to come..

Salzburg

Salzburg is one very lucky place. There is always something or someone from there that makes the place an attraction. First it was the medieval castle, the oldest of its kind. Then a young composer called Mozart was born into this world in little old Salzburg. Then after recovering from the war, Rodgers and Hammerstein decide to make a musical out of the story of a singing family that escapes from Austria during the war, and the musical becomes such a hit that they make a movie that becomes an even bigger hit and now has become a staple economy in the Salzburg region.

And then there's the beauty of the place of course. And its fine beer, probably the purest kind you'll ever find - originally brewed by monks.

Yes, I may have been to Salzburg before but it's nice to come back. And at least now I can say I've done the Sound of Music tour.. and it's not bad actually.

Prague - Summer is Here

It's official. Today the weather in Prague on 22nd of June 2012 has been the finest I've ever experienced. Good excuse to go camera crazy and take those shots of the castle, river and city that I've always wanted to take.

It's been great being in Prague, a city I love and have seen most of on my last visit. Therefore, I could go easy and relax. I've done the usual sightseeing but haven't really spent too much money doing museums or churches other than for the Charles Bridge Tower - IMO the best views of Charles Bridge and the Castle combined - and the actually-rather-good Museum of Communism, aptly located behind a McDonald's. In fact, I have done a few more parks on this trip, i.e. the wonderful Vysherad and Letna.

I can't believe I've been travelling for nearly a month in Europe just looking at my photos stretching back to Bern - yes nearly a month ago I was in Switzerland. Hard to imagine. In fact, the photos on my card currently stretch back to Singapore which was about a month ago. Wow.

Anyway, here are my prized shots of Prague on this lovely summer's day.