In July 2006, Wilson and I joined 23 others, our tour guide Susanna, our driver Mark, and many new friends along the way for a 16 day Rick Steves' tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (GAS). This was my second Rick Steves tour, the first was in April of 2004 (a week in Rome with my daughter).  Rick Steves tours are about making memories.   The balance between organized time and free time is well thought out. The journey into each new town is always with a tour so you can be sure to see the highlights as well as giving you the chance to get your bearings.

I was never able to truly appreciate art until I had the pleasure of a local tour guide in Rome named Francesca.  She opened up a new world to me.  These are the type of local guides that you can expect to find.  A highlight of the GAS tour was our local guide Herr Jung in Bacharach.  His stories of childhood, war, and Americans will always be with me. What an honor to be able to cool off my feet with him in the Rhine. 

Here are some extras that we thought were worth paying for and doing in our own time:  Mozart Concert Dinner in Vienna, Schilthorn, Residenz Palace in Salzburg, and renting a boat in Hallstatt. 

Also now that airfares are so expensive, we extended our tour with going to Amsterdam prior to the beginning of the tour.  We also stayed one extra night in Vienna and went to Budapest on a day tour. The statues here were very interesting and gave me an appetite for seeing more of Europe. Don't expect the same level of quality as on a Rick Steves tour, but this is a quick, easy, and safe way to get to see Budapest. 

I hope you enjoy our photos and may they inspire you to create your own memories.

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