Product Description

Enthusiastic and adventurous, Samantha Brown is the perfect tour guide for the most exciting places in the world. Samantha interacts with the locals and discovers popular area landmarks many tourists miss while you explore exotic locales up close and personal as you may never have seen them. Meanwhile, Samantha amuses and educates as she discusses the culture and history of these intriguing areas in addition to sharing invaluable travel tips.

Featuring:

BAVARIA, GERMANY: Enter the fairy tale atmosphere of the Bavarian Alps, complete with a Cinderella-style mountaintop castle.

BERLIN, GERMANY: This bustling, energetic capital city will surprise and delight you! Experience the history of this great city, and feel its newfound freedom at the powerfully symbolic Berlin Wall.

MUNICH, GERMANY: Savor the party atmosphere at the world's biggest festival, Munich's Oktoberfest, featuring plenty of frothy steins and sausage!

INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA: So perfect for winter sports that two Olympics were held here! But this quaint city also offers gorgeous scenery, history and much, much more.

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA: Visit the landmarks you'll never forget from the one-and-only Sound of Music in this perfectly preserved Baroque city.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA: Your senses will be on fire as you experience this gorgeous city with everything from dancing horses to the unforgettable Vienna Boys Choir to a sumptuous royal ball.

INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND: The view is incredible at the "Top of Europe" as Samantha travels to one of the Alps' tallest peaks. Jump on for a dogsled ride, and explore a real ice palace!

ST. MORITZ: Take a peek into the privileged world of the rich and famous. Hit the slopes in high style, go luxury shopping and mingle with the elite over champagne.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Vacation in one of Europe's priciest cities where the streets are lined with shops brimming with the world's finest chocolates, dazzling jewelry and European charm.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13274 in DVD
• Brand: IMAGE ENT.
• Released on: 2007-08-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 198 minutes

Features

• Enthusiastic and adventurous, Samantha Brown is the perfect tour guide for the most exciting places in the world. Samantha interacts with the locals and discovers popular area landmarks many tourists miss while you explore exotic locales up close and personal as you may never have seen them. Meanwhile, Samantha amuses and educates as she discusses the culture and history of these intriguing areas

Customer Reviews

not as good as RICK STEVES or RUDY MAXA
This show is more lighthearted than Rick Steves or Rudy Maxa. Samantha Brown is just a normal girl having fun. She is not an intellectual, and I think that is the whole point.

The only problem I had with the DVD is that the bitrate is somewhat low. If you watch this on a standard definition TV you probably won't notice, but if you watch on your computer (which has superior screen) you will notice the lower quality video.

FYI you can get all 80 episodes of RICK STEVES EUROPE for only about 63 bucks here at Amazon, which is ridiculously cheap. I recommend getting that FIRST, then maybe getting this. You will learn a LOT more from Rick Steves and Rudy Maxa.

Decent Travel Video
I'm not much of a traveler but the three German speaking countries are the only countries (with the exception of Ireland) that I am determined to visit someday. This DVD reinforced my view that Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are among the most physically and culturally beautiful places on earth. The natural landscapes are absolutely breathtaking, and the small village settings that seem to be so prominent have always seemed idyllic to me. This DVD is a collection of episodes from the TV show, which features three episodes for each of the three countries:

Germany- Bavaria, Berlin, Munich
Austria- Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna
Switzerland- Interlaken, St. Moritz, Zurich

The show is hosted by Samantha Brown. She can be slightly annoying at times-picture an excessively bubbly, suburban American soccer mom-but she does a relatively good job at playing tour guide, and she's not bad to look at either. She takes the viewer throughout the chosen destinations, talks to locals, and highlights local attractions. She takes us to restaurants, cafes, hotels, resorts, hot spots, landmarks, public transportation venues, and the occasional oddity like a royal ball in Vienna. We learn the prices for comparitive venues, the best times of year to visit, local customs, etc. The whole thing seems a bit superficial at times, but if you can get past that, it's not a bad DVD. All in all, I would consider this a good warm up for anyone preparing to travel to these countries for the first time, or just an enjoyable viewing if the German-speaking countries interest you at all.

Major disappointment
I bought this DVD because I have been to Vienna and Salzburg, and miss them like crazy. I couldn't wait to see the Vienna episode, but I couldn't believe that it ended without ever giving the viewer half an idea of what Vienna is like! She spends WAY to much time on one topic (like Waltzing lessons) when she could mention some of the other stuff in the city. If you are a budget traveler (or a student like me) this DVD will give you an idea of everything you will NOT be able to afford in Vienna. She skipped all the art musuems, the wineries, the opera, the GORGEOUS architecture around the city, the Nachmarkt... everything I was anxious to see some footage of! Instead she awkwardly complains about eating a meal with lungs and heart. If you haven't been to Vienna, these details may not be as important, because you won't know what you're missing out on. But if you're buying a travel DVD because you miss Europe and this is the more economical choice than a plane ticket back to Vienna, than skip this DVD.