With less than two weeks until we get on the plane, I finally have some time to think about what we’ll do while we are away.

With my last assignment for this semester completed and my article for The Adelaide Review submitted its only a week or so more in the office and then on the plane.

I am slightly nervous about how the flight will go – a 2.10am flight out of Melbourne will make for a long night. Actually it will make that a very long night! Still we used frequent flyer points and booked late, so it’s not that surprising that our flight time isn’t the most convenient.

Our itinerary

has been locked in for a while. We had a bit of concern about Prague with the floods but it seems the damage was no great. Easy to say as a tourist planning to visit and not one of the many locals whose houses were flooded!

We have sorted out all of our trains with the last booking made this morning – Edinburgh to London.

I have started combing though the travel books and also the travel forums on Trip Advisor and also Frommer’s. Just typing in 3 days in Vienna or Prague gives a quick overview of the highlights.

I had hoped to use the Kindle versions of DK’s Eyewitness Top 10 series to avoid carrying more stuff? The books are fantastic and have been a constant companion in the past ,however the Kindle versions are really disappointing – no pictures and no real detail. Oh well, at least we have the books!

Also it has been good to talk to people about what they have liked and done. Our son’s recommendations on Berlin make it sound fantastic.

Our half day in Dubai as a stopover will be easily filled, if we are not sleeping! Then once we get to Germany and start our travel in Europe I suspect it will be nonstop.The opportunity to visit Edinburgh and see where our daughter stayed whilst studying and to be chaperoned by her former flat mate will also be fun!

Finishing with short stops in London and a visit to The London Museum, then Paris and The Shakespeare Bookshop before coming home will be great.

Can’t wait!