European tour

Journey through Europe and to England 23.03-07.04.2012

Kyiv-Uzhgorod-Bratislava-Vienna-Brussels-Calais-Dover-London-Paris-Liptovsky Mikulash-Uzhgorod-Kyiv.

These travelogues are incomplete, never going to be finished because I didn't intend to finish them. For all additional questions, please contact [email protected]

For those who do not like a lot of bukaf: the trip was a success, the impressions are the most positive, I will recommend it. I ask you to pay special attention to the fact that if Olga Alexandrovna Vodyanitskaya is your leader, then you are very lucky. Very knowledgeable and professional tour guide.

Note for parents sending their children themselves. Emphatically and clearly explain that they are responsible for themselves and their health. You should not eat seven packs of chewing gum, two packs of mentos, sweets to seize it with mezim. The situation is real, I'm not exaggerating. Freedom from parents is not given at McDonald's and RedBull.

I was going on a trip with my daughter and set several tasks for myself: to give an overview of Europe to the child, to prepare her for independent trips, to relax and have fun. The program of the tour, in my opinion, is suitable for these tasks. Five thousand kilometers by bus across Europe, England, language, excursions, Disneyland in Paris, water park. Subsequently, it turned out that wonderful views of the High and Low Tatras were added to this. I love mountains.

Training. I did not find any reviews on the Internet about the company Sant Valentin. There was one negative, but this is not an indicator. The company's website has a forum with reviews, but this is also biased. I only found out that the company was recognized as the best company for children's tourism in 2010. Along the way, I read what travel companies are doing with their customers. In general, there was no increase in enthusiasm. Okay, I thought, let's try.

When preparing for the tour, I will rate the managers 4+ out of 5. They informed me in full, contacted, called back / wrote to the mail if necessary. There are several rough edges associated with formal questions. Relationships are built on trust, so the contract, from a legal point of view, was not written in the interests of the tourist. Requests to change something caused a grimace of displeasure, complaints about penny incomes, and so on. nonsense from the director. But I asked if they were ready to listen to my complaints and received a negative answer. That's where the emotions ended. The agreement has been changed. Of course, I would rewrite a couple more points there, but okay, I think, let's see what happens from trust.

Another thing that bothered me was that the money had to be paid in advance. In case of illness or any other force majeure circumstances, I would have lost at least half (in case of refusal 10 days before the tour), or even the entire cost. But it worked out, everything is fine. How to deal with this moment in a different way, I do not know. It remains only to play roulette, making bets with the tour operator.

We got to Uzhgorod by train No. 99 Kyiv-Uzhgorod. Not very fresh cars, stuffiness, in general, as usual. We arrived. We boarded a 2005 Illiada bus, the drivers were Slovaks. We were also lucky with the drivers: calm, confident, experienced. How they drove around London with a left-hand drive is a must see.

Apparently, people are working at the border, which is why they are afraid that if the bus is released in less than an hour and a half, their work will not be seen. There was another bus in front of us, so we crossed the border in three hours. We got to Bratislava at 8 o'clock in the evening. Hotel City Hotel Bratislava (***).

We had four hotel stops on the tour:

City Hotel Bratislava

Primula (Troisdorf, Germany)

Hotel Ryad (Paris)

Sorea Jan Sverma (Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia)

Before the trip, I was worried about their quality. The hotels turned out to be, of course, not expensive, but they were clean, there was hot water and the Internet, the heating worked, they fed us breakfast. In general, it's okay.

The next day we went to the capital of Austria - Vienna. I will not describe the details of this and other excursions, see for yourself. I can only say that whether you like the tour or not, mainly depends on the guide. In Vienna, London and Paris, the tour was conducted by additional guides. London guide Michael is a very colorful person. It is an attraction in itself. I enjoyed his tours the most. It is very difficult to keep the attention of a group of children. He succeeded, because he tells very interesting things. But excursions in Vienna and Paris (especially) did not like.

We went to the British Isles by ferry. The ship impressed with its size, power and well-functioning procedures for loading and unloading vehicles. I wanted to go on a sea cruise. The road from Calais to Dover took an hour and a half.

The London families arrived late - after 22:00. The children were disassembled and taken home.

What should you be prepared for in a London family. The room is small, little space. English breakfast - toast, oatmeal, corn flakes, milk, tea. The rooms are cold, pajamas were not superfluous. The English heat for three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. On the second day, I asked the hostess to leave the heating longer, it became warmer. In the washbasin, the taps for hot and cold water are separate without a mixer, but the shower is normal. Soap is not washed off dishes. It is useful to read before the trip the book by Vsevolod Ovchinnikov “Oak Roots. Impressions and reflections on England and the English. Then the culture shock will not be so acute.

In the morning the children had English lessons. The group was divided into two parts of 20 people. Classes were held in the building of the sports club. Lessons, apparently, "ball". But I did not expect anything special: only three days of four hours and a large group. Upon completion, the children were awarded certificates of achievement. I hope this encourages them to learn the language better.

The excursion program included not only a cognitive part, but also entertainment. I really liked the Madame Tussauds wax museum with a cool horror room (we went twice). We watched a 4D movie. We were blown with air, splashed with water, slapped on our legs, and some things were poked in the back. Liked.

And of course, the highlight of the program is Disneyland in Paris. You can write a lot, but you can't convey it in words. My wife and I were there 15 years ago. This was our honeymoon. Even then, one day was not enough, and since then the park has grown, adding a Disney studio and a Disney village. People come for a week to try out all the entertainment. It is worth listening to the warnings regarding some rides. If a child has health problems (heart, spine, etc.), it is better not to ride extreme slides and warn accompanying adults about such restrictions.

Returning to Ukraine, as always, unpleasantly sobered. The Uzhgorod station is full of dirty gypsies, the killed fast (4 hours of stops in the schedule) Uzhgorod-Kharkiv train. At night, the conductor slept, did not drown. By 4 am there was a serious dubar in the car. As a result, my child caught a cold - a week of imprisonment at home. The train was 40 minutes late. Hello Ukrzaliznytsia. I love my homeland not because of, but in spite of.

In general, the trip was a success. We received a lot of impressions and positive emotions. For children, it was two weeks of learning about other cultures, countries and entertainment. They communicated, became friends, became more independent and responsible. I urge everyone to repeat our route, take a lot of photos to the envy of friends, colleagues and write your comment.

Comments (0) leave a comment

0 comments

Show other comments …