"What are you guys doing on a tour with all of us old folks?"
Jokingly, someone came up to me and asked me that right when we arrived at the orientation... But he had a point -- everyone was considerably older. We expected that to an extent (Central Europe, Auschwitz... not exactly vacation hot spots for people our age), but no one else on the tour was less than 40-50 years old. The average age, around 60. We weren't really sure how we'd be accepted, and whether the age difference would be an issue.
In retrospect, we had a great time on the tour, and really enjoyed getting to know several people. We learned a lot from them too: the old British couple, maybe the oldest people on the tour, always holding hands... The way they always looked out for each other. Also, no matter what age, man can some Aussies DRINK. And, sitting with various people at meals, hearing their stories about how they met, their families, and their careers. It was a valuable learning experience that we won't soon forget.
Therefore, there were mixed emotions over the final days. We were tired and ready to get some extended rest sans wake-up calls, but were really enjoying getting to know people and hanging out with many of them.
On the second-to-last day, we made our way from Prague to Munich. Unfortunately, we got to spend only one night in Munich. We arrived in the late afternoon and got a brief tour, then decided to part ways with our group to explore the town a bit on our own. The weather was great again, the autumn colors were beautiful, and the air that day was super fresh and clean. We walked around Marienplatz, the central city square, and took in the fun little meat and charcuterie shops and food stands. Initially I was a bit bummed to find out that we missed Oktoberfest by a couple days, but it ended up working out for us (as you'd expect, there's an influx of tourists, but apparently the city becomes very overwhelmed and prices go up by a lot). We were able to get a nice table outside before sunset to try a couple Bavarian wheat beers. Overall, we got a great vibe from the people and city, and definitely want to go back someday.
End of the Romantic Road...
On our way back to Frankfurt on the last day, we drove up the "Romantic Road" with stops in Nordlingen and Rothenburg, quaint and charming towns straight out of a fairy tale.
After our last group dinner in Frankfurt that night, we kept the party going at the hotel bar downstairs. It was great to finally hang out with Orsi and the tour's party crew (we had skipped the optional all-you-can-drink dinners to save money, but heard a lot of spirited morning-after stories). We'll miss a lot of people from our tour group!
