New Zealand-Dubai-Czechia

Our route around western Europe

After half a year at home in Wellington, New Zealand, it was time to head off to Europe again, for 6 months of travel in our motorhome, Vanni.

Our plan this year is to cover Western Europe, including the Czech Republic (Czechia), Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. 

We will enter Europe through Prague, the capital of Czechia. But it will take us three stops to get there.

Most international flights from New Zealand, depart from Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. And, because flights to Europe take in excess of 23 hours, we decided to have a layover in Dubai on the way, making it a three-stage trip (Auckland-Dubai-Prague).

Leigh with dear friend Joan

So, on the 16th of April, we began stage one, flying from Wellington to Auckland where we caught up with our longstanding friend Joan. We had a great day reminiscing, and sharing lots of laughter and good food.

We based ourselves at friend Dianna’s Parnell apartment so we could also catch up with our other Auckland friends.

We had a lovely time, and also managed to see the “Jersey Boys” at the historic Civic Theatre – a great show.

Soon we were into stage two, flying to Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dhows in Dubai Creek

Landing in Dubai, we were allocated a ‘women’s only’ taxi to our accommodation, close to the Dubai Creek with its plethora of dhows and water craft. It was also close to the souks (markets) of Dubai.

The Dubai Creek is a major waterway. It is used for transporting all sorts of products and material in and out of Dubai, and we regularly saw dhows (barges) sailing up and down the Creek and being loaded and unloaded. 

The Creek also divides Dubai into two main areas, the old and the new Dubai. 

On our first full day in Dubai, we concentrated our sightseeing efforts on the new part of the city.

Water taxi on Dubai Creek

We crossed the Dubai Creek by water taxi, which in itself was a lovely experience. You board, then pass your fare down the line of passengers to the driver, then if you need change, somehow the driver knows to give it to you and no-one else. 

Shortly after, we disembarked and walked around the Diera area. We made our first stop the Spice Souk. The spices smelled fantastic, and were colourful and beautifully arranged.

We wandered around several different souks and particularly enjoyed the Gold Souk. Dubai is known for its tax free, and good quality gold.

We found some beautiful rings there, and were enticed to purchase them. 

Our rings

We spotted one for Marg first – it’s a white-gold band with a rose-gold border and has 3 small embedded diamonds. Leigh’s ring was made to match but with the types of gold in reverse to match her other gold jewellery. 

After looking for matching rings for over a year it was great to find ones that we really liked.

Working on them to get them just right for us, the artist handed over our rings in a little ceremony – it was a lovely experience.

The next day, we visited the old side of Dubai. 

We found our way to Al Bastakia, where wealthy Persian merchants settled in the late 1800’s. 

Beautiful and artistic tiles on the Iranian mosque, Dubai

We saw several mosques there, but the beautiful, colourful, and artistic tile work on the Iranian Mosque really caught our attention. 

We also visited the Al Fahidi Fort which is now a museum, and enjoyed the look of the traditional courtyard houses with their wind tower.

This whole area is very charming, with narrow winding lanes fronted by reconstructed buildings in the traditional style, and plenty of cafes, museums and art galleries. 

The next day, we caught the metro to access the Jumeirah area of Dubai, where we saw the Trade Centre, Burj Khalifa the world’s tallest building, and the beautiful Dubai Fountain.

Marg with Burj Al Arab in distance 

We also saw the very interesting Burj Al Arab. The Burj is a luxurious 5-star hotel, built to look like the sails of a ship. It’s quite a stunning sight.

After a coffee, we walked to the Dubai Marina, and had a look around there, but it was difficult to get to without a taxi. By the time we arrived there, we were hot and tired, and so caught a taxi back to the hotel. Dubai is not a walkable city.

But we really enjoyed Dubai. It’s quite different to other places we have travelled to, the weather is extremely hot but not unpleasant, and it has an interesting mix of architecture.

After two days in Dubai, it was time for stage 3 of this trip, to catch a flight to Prague in the Czech Republic. 

This will be the first European stop on our 6-month tour of western Europe.