Page 38 - Explore Magazine Autumn 2017
P. 38
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CASTLES, CHEESE AND
AMAZING MEMORIES
Visits to friends, family memories and sightseeing from London to Ljubljana made for a very memorable
eight-week European honeymoon for Karl and Caroline Watson, the son and daughter-in-law
of Liz Watts of helloworld Palmerston North, who organised their itinerary.
“Our European honeymoon started in London where our sightseeing
included taking in the famous sights of Big Ben and the Tower of
London from the top of a double-decker tour bus. Our next stop
was Paris via the Eurostar, a great way to travel. Paris was definitely
a highlight for us: a very beautiful city with so much to see. One of
the highlights was visiting the Eiffel Tower early one morning. The
views from the top were something that everyone who visits Paris
would enjoy and it was fun taking the stairs inside one of the legs of
the tower on the way down.
Next stop was Le Quesnoy, a small town on the Belgian border and
the scene of a famous event in WW1 when it was liberated by New
Zealand soldiers. My great-grandfather was one of the soldiers
involved so it was very special to see the memorial honouring the
New Zealand troops. The town of Ghent in northwest Belgium was a
stunning town to visit. We thought it was going to be a bit of a wild
card but it turned out to be another highlight of our trip, with lovely
medieval architecture and cathedrals and canals to explore.
Next was Amsterdam in the Netherlands where we explored the
city centre by bicycle during the day and walked beside the canals
at night. Then we flew to Copenhagen where we quickly fell in love
with the city. The waterfront areas were great to wander around,
and you shouldn’t forget to see the statue of the Little Mermaid,
which is so small that we almost missed her!
Berlin was next, where we met an old school friend who took us to
Tempelhof field, an old airbase that has been transformed into a
HELLOWORLD : EXPLORE : AUTUMN EDITION