Day 11 continued.....
We hit another very similar restaurant last night, Hungarian music, local food. This time I wanted to go all out and ordered a whole perch grilled. Wow, it was huge, about 14 inches long and tons and tons of meat. Of course I had to fight through the bones but it was definitely worth it. And of course the music was great....a gorgeous night...no blanket needed this night, it was maybe 68 degrees. Being Sat. night the entire streets were crowded and music and young people everywhere. It was fun just being out. D had a Hungarian chicken dish and we both had white wine....local of course.
Justt a nice night.
Tomorrow our last day in Budapest.,
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Day 11
Another fantastic day in the city of Budapest. This trip has been to relax, enjoy and tour at our leisure. And today was no exception. Being Saturday, we headed for the huge market at the bottom of the city....southern end. The city is very easily walkable so getting there was a nice walk. The place is 3 floors of everything one could imagine. First the place was packed, locals and many many tourists. The bottom floor (basement) is mainly fish, exotic meats and wine and pasteries. The main floor is fruit, veggies meat and candy and etc. The top floor is crafts and souvenirs. Of course we headed there first and D went crazy. They had so many really wonderful things (not junk) besides the junk souvenirs, they had goregous leather things, linen sewn things, hats, scarfs and dolls and toys and etc. all very nice quality. I actually found a very neat iinsect sculpture....that makes 4 that Ihave found on the trip. All are quite interesting and different. We also found a nice Xmas decoration for our tree. The food was absolutely incredible...the visual was as delicious as the taste. We did buy a couple stuffed peppers for our lunch and a cream puff....will tell about that alittle later. It was just so much fun walking through the place. After we headed for the river for our lunch. We like to take some meat, cheese and fruit with us in a back pack and with the stuffed peppers and cream puff we had a fabulous lunch sitting on the wall over looking the river and city. The cream push was huge and had white cream, chocolate cream and CAKE in the center of this soft and delicious puff.....itt was the size of a giant hot dog bun.....and oh the taste!!!!!
That done we headed along the river to find the entrance steps or street to the castle area on the hill which overlooks the city on the left side. We found it and started climbing....when we hit the top....what a surprise but a huge carnival crafts and food exhibition on the grounds. They had live music, food, drinks, and every kind of food imaginalble. The place was packed!!!! It was a photographer's paradise!!!! We tookd hundreds of pics of the people, food, and being way up high we had some spectacular panaramic pics of the city across the river. We spent all afternoon walking around, sampling food and like I said, taking tons of photos. WE ended at the other end at a cafe for a nice beer and rest. It was too early to head home so we walked on into the church area which was simply incredibly beautiful So we too more pictures. Again the place was packed with tourists but we did not care....the views were so perfect and the sun was at our back.....mmmMMM..
I must mention this now before I forget. I have never seen as many Japanese (or Chinese) tourists EVER. They are everywhere and not the huge old people tour groups as I have seen many times before, be young couples and young ttour groups.....they were everywhere here.
Like last night I will close now and fill you in again on our upcoming dinner. I do hope it will be as memorable as last ngiths. We have been so lucky because we seem to hit the right days for good weather and each city has its own type of beauty.....I still have a favorite, Prague, for its really gorgeous cityscapes. But Budapest is gorgeous....along witth Vienna and Berlin.....each one has its own unique personality!!!
Will fill more in when we get back home and can describe and show pictures to show. The slide show should be really good.
Another fantastic day in the city of Budapest. This trip has been to relax, enjoy and tour at our leisure. And today was no exception. Being Saturday, we headed for the huge market at the bottom of the city....southern end. The city is very easily walkable so getting there was a nice walk. The place is 3 floors of everything one could imagine. First the place was packed, locals and many many tourists. The bottom floor (basement) is mainly fish, exotic meats and wine and pasteries. The main floor is fruit, veggies meat and candy and etc. The top floor is crafts and souvenirs. Of course we headed there first and D went crazy. They had so many really wonderful things (not junk) besides the junk souvenirs, they had goregous leather things, linen sewn things, hats, scarfs and dolls and toys and etc. all very nice quality. I actually found a very neat iinsect sculpture....that makes 4 that Ihave found on the trip. All are quite interesting and different. We also found a nice Xmas decoration for our tree. The food was absolutely incredible...the visual was as delicious as the taste. We did buy a couple stuffed peppers for our lunch and a cream puff....will tell about that alittle later. It was just so much fun walking through the place. After we headed for the river for our lunch. We like to take some meat, cheese and fruit with us in a back pack and with the stuffed peppers and cream puff we had a fabulous lunch sitting on the wall over looking the river and city. The cream push was huge and had white cream, chocolate cream and CAKE in the center of this soft and delicious puff.....itt was the size of a giant hot dog bun.....and oh the taste!!!!!
That done we headed along the river to find the entrance steps or street to the castle area on the hill which overlooks the city on the left side. We found it and started climbing....when we hit the top....what a surprise but a huge carnival crafts and food exhibition on the grounds. They had live music, food, drinks, and every kind of food imaginalble. The place was packed!!!! It was a photographer's paradise!!!! We tookd hundreds of pics of the people, food, and being way up high we had some spectacular panaramic pics of the city across the river. We spent all afternoon walking around, sampling food and like I said, taking tons of photos. WE ended at the other end at a cafe for a nice beer and rest. It was too early to head home so we walked on into the church area which was simply incredibly beautiful So we too more pictures. Again the place was packed with tourists but we did not care....the views were so perfect and the sun was at our back.....mmmMMM..
I must mention this now before I forget. I have never seen as many Japanese (or Chinese) tourists EVER. They are everywhere and not the huge old people tour groups as I have seen many times before, be young couples and young ttour groups.....they were everywhere here.
Like last night I will close now and fill you in again on our upcoming dinner. I do hope it will be as memorable as last ngiths. We have been so lucky because we seem to hit the right days for good weather and each city has its own type of beauty.....I still have a favorite, Prague, for its really gorgeous cityscapes. But Budapest is gorgeous....along witth Vienna and Berlin.....each one has its own unique personality!!!
Will fill more in when we get back home and can describe and show pictures to show. The slide show should be really good.
Day 10 continued......
I wanted to mention dinner because it was truly incredible. We decided on a beautiful outdoor place right on the water just below tthe bridge. The lights were all on the buildings and bridge and it made for a gorgeous picture as we sat there. The food was Hungarian....D had stuffed peppers (Hungary is famous for its peppers (especially hot peppers)....did you know that Paprika is a hot pepper!!!!! I had a special goulash with lentils. But the surprise was a fabulous gypsy music group that played almost in front of us. They were just great and played all kinds of Hungarian gypsy music. Then after awhile they worked the room and went from table to table playing.....our request (believe it or not) was Country Road by John Denver. THE DID NOT KNOW IT.....but the guy at our next table spoke up and said, "I know that one"!!!! Speaking of.....it is truly unbeliveable that almost 100% of the people here speak English. No matter where we go, there are people who speak to us in English...not just the sales people or restaurant people. Also no matter what restaurant we pick they have English menus!! That is so surprising....and also there are so many signs here in English....truly remarkable.
So we lingered a long time at dinner, listening and having more wine and a beer after dinner....just could not leave the place. Then a nice walk home....also much mention that each day the weahter is simply gorgeous but when the sun sets, the temp drops like a lead ballon to the low50s.....so eating outside all the restaurants actually give you blankets to put around you or on your lap....really neat.
Tomorrow serious touring.
I wanted to mention dinner because it was truly incredible. We decided on a beautiful outdoor place right on the water just below tthe bridge. The lights were all on the buildings and bridge and it made for a gorgeous picture as we sat there. The food was Hungarian....D had stuffed peppers (Hungary is famous for its peppers (especially hot peppers)....did you know that Paprika is a hot pepper!!!!! I had a special goulash with lentils. But the surprise was a fabulous gypsy music group that played almost in front of us. They were just great and played all kinds of Hungarian gypsy music. Then after awhile they worked the room and went from table to table playing.....our request (believe it or not) was Country Road by John Denver. THE DID NOT KNOW IT.....but the guy at our next table spoke up and said, "I know that one"!!!! Speaking of.....it is truly unbeliveable that almost 100% of the people here speak English. No matter where we go, there are people who speak to us in English...not just the sales people or restaurant people. Also no matter what restaurant we pick they have English menus!! That is so surprising....and also there are so many signs here in English....truly remarkable.
So we lingered a long time at dinner, listening and having more wine and a beer after dinner....just could not leave the place. Then a nice walk home....also much mention that each day the weahter is simply gorgeous but when the sun sets, the temp drops like a lead ballon to the low50s.....so eating outside all the restaurants actually give you blankets to put around you or on your lap....really neat.
Tomorrow serious touring.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Day 9
Yesterday we repeated the leisurely touring of the city like the day before. We first slept in and just moved around the city at our leisure. We wanted to make sure we saw the old clock and its moving parts at noon and we did. We walked the pedestrian walkway and shopping area and bought a few things......we cannot buy much due to our small luggage.
WE visited St. Stevens church which was quite "goddy"....pardon the pun, but it was. We did get a nice free concert for a few minutes...the choir and organ were practicing.
We just walked around and tried to see places we missed before. The weather for the first time did nott cooporate....it drizzled and very cool most of the day but did not hinder our progress. As I have said, the weather has been spectacular every day, so one day we could suffer.
For dinner we decided we did not want the usual meat and dumplings so we decided on a Thai restaurantin the old market (we visited it that day and did buy some candy there). It was really good and quite cheap.
We had a very nice walk home and to bed early because we had to get up at 5:45 am for our trainto Budapest.
Day 10
Not a good start. Our train was cancelled and we were told (as we were at the platform) that we had to go to another station to catch it. We hired a cab and were off to the other station, once there we stood in line for about 15 minutes before we were told that we had the wrong stationand to go to yet another station and catch the 10:50 am train. We made it and had a nice trip (best train so far) to Budapest (3 hours). Once there we got a cab to the hotel and for a second time found out at the hotel that the taxi driver cheated us and charged almost 2x the price. WE got cheated also in Prague the same way. There was no way we would have know until we got to the hotel and asked and found out the truth. The taxi in Budapest even had a meter....so we have to be careful in Krakow or it may happen again. Luckily it was only 10 or so dollars more but it is the priciple.
We arrived and immedately ate a wonderul Hungarian lunchof stuffed cabbage and goulash. We walked all over and walked thier pedestrian walkway and enjoyed the area. I kept asking if anyone worked because the area was very crowded with locals IN THE AFTERNOON. So now we are back at the hotel resting from our trip and getting ready for happy hour.
By the way, the weather here in Budapest if incredible......around 75 and not a clowd in the sky.
Also interesting enough but so far we have found that Prague is a much prettier city than Budapest. WE have been told by others that this place was their favorite but so far (just one day) Prague has it beat scenic wise. But tomorrow we start our serious touring, hitting the castle, the parliment building and other important places. Also getting around is somewhat harder here but again we will see tomorrow.
Vienna was gorgeous and very easy to get around but of cuorse we got lost a few times....our mistake of course. Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous too, so we will have a nice day to tour the city.
I will fill you in on dinner......we are trying to find a neat Hungarian restaurant to try tonight....of course after happy hour.
Yesterday we repeated the leisurely touring of the city like the day before. We first slept in and just moved around the city at our leisure. We wanted to make sure we saw the old clock and its moving parts at noon and we did. We walked the pedestrian walkway and shopping area and bought a few things......we cannot buy much due to our small luggage.
WE visited St. Stevens church which was quite "goddy"....pardon the pun, but it was. We did get a nice free concert for a few minutes...the choir and organ were practicing.
We just walked around and tried to see places we missed before. The weather for the first time did nott cooporate....it drizzled and very cool most of the day but did not hinder our progress. As I have said, the weather has been spectacular every day, so one day we could suffer.
For dinner we decided we did not want the usual meat and dumplings so we decided on a Thai restaurantin the old market (we visited it that day and did buy some candy there). It was really good and quite cheap.
We had a very nice walk home and to bed early because we had to get up at 5:45 am for our trainto Budapest.
Day 10
Not a good start. Our train was cancelled and we were told (as we were at the platform) that we had to go to another station to catch it. We hired a cab and were off to the other station, once there we stood in line for about 15 minutes before we were told that we had the wrong stationand to go to yet another station and catch the 10:50 am train. We made it and had a nice trip (best train so far) to Budapest (3 hours). Once there we got a cab to the hotel and for a second time found out at the hotel that the taxi driver cheated us and charged almost 2x the price. WE got cheated also in Prague the same way. There was no way we would have know until we got to the hotel and asked and found out the truth. The taxi in Budapest even had a meter....so we have to be careful in Krakow or it may happen again. Luckily it was only 10 or so dollars more but it is the priciple.
We arrived and immedately ate a wonderul Hungarian lunchof stuffed cabbage and goulash. We walked all over and walked thier pedestrian walkway and enjoyed the area. I kept asking if anyone worked because the area was very crowded with locals IN THE AFTERNOON. So now we are back at the hotel resting from our trip and getting ready for happy hour.
By the way, the weather here in Budapest if incredible......around 75 and not a clowd in the sky.
Also interesting enough but so far we have found that Prague is a much prettier city than Budapest. WE have been told by others that this place was their favorite but so far (just one day) Prague has it beat scenic wise. But tomorrow we start our serious touring, hitting the castle, the parliment building and other important places. Also getting around is somewhat harder here but again we will see tomorrow.
Vienna was gorgeous and very easy to get around but of cuorse we got lost a few times....our mistake of course. Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous too, so we will have a nice day to tour the city.
I will fill you in on dinner......we are trying to find a neat Hungarian restaurant to try tonight....of course after happy hour.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Day 8
What can I say, yesterday was incredible. We slept in....that is great....then we had the best breakfast since the start of the trip at our hotel. Then we just started walking....no itineray but just a map and ideas where we wented to go. It worked out soooo well. We just went from spot to spot, not getting lost at all and went around this gorgeous city. Seeing sites, buildings, statues and all. We did stop at one church and went to the top of the dome to see the city, the trip up the steps was the real part of the trip...one could look down as we accented and see how high we were.
Our main goal of the day was to end up at the Hofburg house. A huge complex of over 2500 rooms which are museums, office and part of the President's residence. We also got to see the famous horses practicing in a special exercise ring....really cool. We know are experts in Austrian nobility history.....not!!! It is true though that the Austrian royalty was one of the best known. Wealso got to tour the royal collection of silver and dishes, an experience that no one would ever forget. They evenhad several table settings as examples.
But that was not all, we came back to the hotel, changed and were off to the Kursalon fior a concert of Mozart, Strauss and others. We first had dinner in tthe theater's restaurant which was great and then it was off to the concert hall for the performance. IT WAS OUTSTANDING. We even had singersand dancers for the arias. Annnddd, we had front row seats which was great.....it was the first time I wanted to be 6 foot 7 to pay allthe tall people back over the years!!!!!
A very slow walk back to the hotel and bed...............it was quite a day.
PS...the weather was absolutely perfect....about 70 degrees and not a cloud. Today is quite different....we see clouds out our window so far.....and cooler. So we hope no rain.
Today we jusrt walk around again with a few new itineraries to see.....no rush. Tomorrow we are off to Budapest.....early!!!
What can I say, yesterday was incredible. We slept in....that is great....then we had the best breakfast since the start of the trip at our hotel. Then we just started walking....no itineray but just a map and ideas where we wented to go. It worked out soooo well. We just went from spot to spot, not getting lost at all and went around this gorgeous city. Seeing sites, buildings, statues and all. We did stop at one church and went to the top of the dome to see the city, the trip up the steps was the real part of the trip...one could look down as we accented and see how high we were.
Our main goal of the day was to end up at the Hofburg house. A huge complex of over 2500 rooms which are museums, office and part of the President's residence. We also got to see the famous horses practicing in a special exercise ring....really cool. We know are experts in Austrian nobility history.....not!!! It is true though that the Austrian royalty was one of the best known. Wealso got to tour the royal collection of silver and dishes, an experience that no one would ever forget. They evenhad several table settings as examples.
But that was not all, we came back to the hotel, changed and were off to the Kursalon fior a concert of Mozart, Strauss and others. We first had dinner in tthe theater's restaurant which was great and then it was off to the concert hall for the performance. IT WAS OUTSTANDING. We even had singersand dancers for the arias. Annnddd, we had front row seats which was great.....it was the first time I wanted to be 6 foot 7 to pay allthe tall people back over the years!!!!!
A very slow walk back to the hotel and bed...............it was quite a day.
PS...the weather was absolutely perfect....about 70 degrees and not a cloud. Today is quite different....we see clouds out our window so far.....and cooler. So we hope no rain.
Today we jusrt walk around again with a few new itineraries to see.....no rush. Tomorrow we are off to Budapest.....early!!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Dayt 7
Off to Vienna today, our train was great...no problems except the taxi had some trouble getting to the station. An accident blocked our way and our great cabby did get us there just in time to board. But the trip was great and the scenery was spectacular. One point that I must mention is that both CZ and AU both have gone green with many many wind turbines all along the route and both (especially in AU) had many solar energy elds along the route. It certainly makes the US look behind the times.
We arrived and as soon as we got to our hotel (a small, quaint hotel) we asked when was the next city tour and the hotel attendant said......10 minutes. So we did not even get to our room....stored the luggage and headed off to our city tour. Included in the tour was a tour of the famous Schonnbonn Palace (sp). It is about 15 minutes on the edge of the city, so taking a tour instead of metroing out there was a plus. Also, the guide gave us much more info that we could ever get ourselves. The place was fabulous, and learning about the family was soooo facinating. We did not get back to the hotel until after 6:30!!! So we got to our rooms, again dumped our stuff and headed to the nearby market for dinner. There were dozens of small quaint restaurants there and we tried to pick our favorite. I got my Vienner Schnizel while D got goulosh.....both of course with 3 glasses of beer.....WE DESERVED IT AFTER SUCH A LONG DAY. All was great and we had such a nice slow walk back to the hotel and to finally relax.
Tomorrow there is nothing special during the day to see, so we are relaxed and will just go with the flow. But tomorrow night is a big night....we have tickets for a special dinner and concert at the Opera House here.....a true landmark. The program is supposed to be Strauss night!!!! So I will close now and get some well worth sleep.
Off to Vienna today, our train was great...no problems except the taxi had some trouble getting to the station. An accident blocked our way and our great cabby did get us there just in time to board. But the trip was great and the scenery was spectacular. One point that I must mention is that both CZ and AU both have gone green with many many wind turbines all along the route and both (especially in AU) had many solar energy elds along the route. It certainly makes the US look behind the times.
We arrived and as soon as we got to our hotel (a small, quaint hotel) we asked when was the next city tour and the hotel attendant said......10 minutes. So we did not even get to our room....stored the luggage and headed off to our city tour. Included in the tour was a tour of the famous Schonnbonn Palace (sp). It is about 15 minutes on the edge of the city, so taking a tour instead of metroing out there was a plus. Also, the guide gave us much more info that we could ever get ourselves. The place was fabulous, and learning about the family was soooo facinating. We did not get back to the hotel until after 6:30!!! So we got to our rooms, again dumped our stuff and headed to the nearby market for dinner. There were dozens of small quaint restaurants there and we tried to pick our favorite. I got my Vienner Schnizel while D got goulosh.....both of course with 3 glasses of beer.....WE DESERVED IT AFTER SUCH A LONG DAY. All was great and we had such a nice slow walk back to the hotel and to finally relax.
Tomorrow there is nothing special during the day to see, so we are relaxed and will just go with the flow. But tomorrow night is a big night....we have tickets for a special dinner and concert at the Opera House here.....a true landmark. The program is supposed to be Strauss night!!!! So I will close now and get some well worth sleep.
Day 6
This day was for the Prague Castle......
This is a huge castle complex on top of the hill which overlooks the city. The complex is huge and has 2 churches, basilica, palaces, and homes for the common people way back to the 10th century. It took all day to review and examine. We first had to climb the steps to the entrance of the massive location......we figured about 200 steps. Not too bad!!! But it was really interesting to see centuries of occupation and royalty. The crowd was not too bad at all and one ticket could get one into all the buildings....we liked that. Also, we got to spend alot of time on St. Charles Bridge which is truly the most popular tourist area in the city. It is on the way back from the castle complex. There were millions of people all over the place enjoying the gorgeous day. The hawkers were all over but none were obtrusive. In fact they had some really nice stuff to buy....we were strong though. We did stop and buy a couple souvenirs but not too bad. Remember we have to bring this stuff back in our small bags....so we always have to be very observing on that.
While over on the other side of the river, we found a great restaurant which we went back for dinner....a real CZ type so I had to order a pork knee or pork knuckle.....it is a huge joint of a pig...roasted to a perfection with a crispy skin and juicy, moist meat. D could not do such a thing and ordered chicken.
Tomorrow we are off to Austria....Vienna by train.
I must say that I really liked Prague. It was a smallish city which was quite laid back atmosphere. The beauty of the city is so apparent that one cannot resist taking as many pics as possible. I really did get some really beautiful pictures of the city.
This day was for the Prague Castle......
This is a huge castle complex on top of the hill which overlooks the city. The complex is huge and has 2 churches, basilica, palaces, and homes for the common people way back to the 10th century. It took all day to review and examine. We first had to climb the steps to the entrance of the massive location......we figured about 200 steps. Not too bad!!! But it was really interesting to see centuries of occupation and royalty. The crowd was not too bad at all and one ticket could get one into all the buildings....we liked that. Also, we got to spend alot of time on St. Charles Bridge which is truly the most popular tourist area in the city. It is on the way back from the castle complex. There were millions of people all over the place enjoying the gorgeous day. The hawkers were all over but none were obtrusive. In fact they had some really nice stuff to buy....we were strong though. We did stop and buy a couple souvenirs but not too bad. Remember we have to bring this stuff back in our small bags....so we always have to be very observing on that.
While over on the other side of the river, we found a great restaurant which we went back for dinner....a real CZ type so I had to order a pork knee or pork knuckle.....it is a huge joint of a pig...roasted to a perfection with a crispy skin and juicy, moist meat. D could not do such a thing and ordered chicken.
Tomorrow we are off to Austria....Vienna by train.
I must say that I really liked Prague. It was a smallish city which was quite laid back atmosphere. The beauty of the city is so apparent that one cannot resist taking as many pics as possible. I really did get some really beautiful pictures of the city.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Day 5
The weather is fabulous......every day is the same....around 60-70 and sunny, lots of sun.
We met our friends after breakfast and headed to the Jewish Quarter and themain square of the city. Being Sunday there were many familiesout and about with the kids and dogs and such. Entertainers were everywhere. The atmosphere was joyeous. WE visited a couple synogogues that dated back to the ea. Crly centuries. One was quite meaniful because it had all the names of the jews killed during the war.......over 500,000. Their names coated all the walls over the building.
After lunch our friends left fo anyr home and we were on our own to roam the city. The city.....it is simply a picture out of a story book. It is GORGEOUS. For me and my pictures, it was a candy store. I was so worried that they would not make outstanding pictures for a show or calendar but I am wrong. The beauty of Pragurule is overwheliming, especially with the sunny gorgeous sky to assist.
We roamed all over and spent alot of time on the famous St. Charles bridge. Many many peopleboth local and tourists were there oualont with all the craftmen.
The food is meat, meat meat. D actually had to order a spinach salad special to get any sign of a veggie. But the meat is truly outstanding, the pork, the vealand beef. The cuts are different and the cookinhe g is muchslower to make the meat so very tender. Thebeer is great too, anycolor or style, but what was surprising was the wine. We have had 3 bottles now and they are truly outstanding, not strong but smooth reds one after another.
Again staying on a boat has it advantages and disadvantages. Now we canclearlyhear our next door neighbors TV blasting, but it is almost 9:00 so we cannot complain.
Today is our last day so we are concentrating on the mountain castle area all day....the castle, churches and places on the other side of the river.
Tomorrow we are off early onstere the train to Vienna......so far the trip has been very easy and very interesting and fun. Iwould recommend this circle trip to anyone. Almost everyone speaks English, gettting around is easy and fun....and the cities are gorgeous.
See omyou tomorrow.
The weather is fabulous......every day is the same....around 60-70 and sunny, lots of sun.
We met our friends after breakfast and headed to the Jewish Quarter and themain square of the city. Being Sunday there were many familiesout and about with the kids and dogs and such. Entertainers were everywhere. The atmosphere was joyeous. WE visited a couple synogogues that dated back to the ea. Crly centuries. One was quite meaniful because it had all the names of the jews killed during the war.......over 500,000. Their names coated all the walls over the building.
After lunch our friends left fo anyr home and we were on our own to roam the city. The city.....it is simply a picture out of a story book. It is GORGEOUS. For me and my pictures, it was a candy store. I was so worried that they would not make outstanding pictures for a show or calendar but I am wrong. The beauty of Pragurule is overwheliming, especially with the sunny gorgeous sky to assist.
We roamed all over and spent alot of time on the famous St. Charles bridge. Many many peopleboth local and tourists were there oualont with all the craftmen.
The food is meat, meat meat. D actually had to order a spinach salad special to get any sign of a veggie. But the meat is truly outstanding, the pork, the vealand beef. The cuts are different and the cookinhe g is muchslower to make the meat so very tender. Thebeer is great too, anycolor or style, but what was surprising was the wine. We have had 3 bottles now and they are truly outstanding, not strong but smooth reds one after another.
Again staying on a boat has it advantages and disadvantages. Now we canclearlyhear our next door neighbors TV blasting, but it is almost 9:00 so we cannot complain.
Today is our last day so we are concentrating on the mountain castle area all day....the castle, churches and places on the other side of the river.
Tomorrow we are off early onstere the train to Vienna......so far the trip has been very easy and very interesting and fun. Iwould recommend this circle trip to anyone. Almost everyone speaks English, gettting around is easy and fun....and the cities are gorgeous.
See omyou tomorrow.
Day 4
I am writing this on day 5,we are up and ready to move on to the city again. Yesterday, day 4, was a travel day mostly and we were up and out early to catch the train from Berlin to Prague. The ttrip was 5 hours but very nice. We go to meet a couple from Australia who were traveling all over Europe following the WWII sites....concentration camps, troops areas and cities hit hard by the war with their monuments and such. It was weird but interesting to listen to them. Also met anothger couple from Texas who were going to Prague just to seethe sights like us.
We arrived around 1:00 and taxied to hotel.....a boat. Yes, a boat. we chose a floating botal hotel on the river because of the uniqueness and fun. One boat is the hotel and a second is the restaraurnt. It is so cute and small, and fun so far really neat idea. Last night we met friends fromEngland that we planned to meet here and went to a concert......Mozart, Vilvaldi and Pachabel. Really really professional. The concert was att the St.George Cathedrial on the hill overlooking the city....really spealbinding. Walked back into the city and went to a fabulous restaurnt which speciallized in pork belly....yep......and it was wonderful. And we had a CZ wine that was exquisite. Then walkedhome wihile the youngpeople partied and celecbrated Sat.Night. Did not get to sleep until after 1 but could sleep inuntil 9. Today we are off to the city to sightsee and take some ppics.
The city is absolutley gorgeous and nothing like any onther city we have been to. Berlin was modern and efficient, this city is slower and older and the building are just magnificent. We are off to the old city after breakfast.
Eating, we have eatenmeat meat meat. no veggies but sour kraut and maybe a few carrets. Dumplingas area must while beer is a necessity. we have tried mayb e s 10 different beers so far and many more to try. They are stronger but with great flavor. Much betttean the rth US beers.
I am ttrying to upload a short video on youtube on the concert to give you an example of the concert and location but having problem.....neverhave done one before. It may r neverget up there.
Off to the old city.
I am writing this on day 5,we are up and ready to move on to the city again. Yesterday, day 4, was a travel day mostly and we were up and out early to catch the train from Berlin to Prague. The ttrip was 5 hours but very nice. We go to meet a couple from Australia who were traveling all over Europe following the WWII sites....concentration camps, troops areas and cities hit hard by the war with their monuments and such. It was weird but interesting to listen to them. Also met anothger couple from Texas who were going to Prague just to seethe sights like us.
We arrived around 1:00 and taxied to hotel.....a boat. Yes, a boat. we chose a floating botal hotel on the river because of the uniqueness and fun. One boat is the hotel and a second is the restaraurnt. It is so cute and small, and fun so far really neat idea. Last night we met friends fromEngland that we planned to meet here and went to a concert......Mozart, Vilvaldi and Pachabel. Really really professional. The concert was att the St.George Cathedrial on the hill overlooking the city....really spealbinding. Walked back into the city and went to a fabulous restaurnt which speciallized in pork belly....yep......and it was wonderful. And we had a CZ wine that was exquisite. Then walkedhome wihile the youngpeople partied and celecbrated Sat.Night. Did not get to sleep until after 1 but could sleep inuntil 9. Today we are off to the city to sightsee and take some ppics.
The city is absolutley gorgeous and nothing like any onther city we have been to. Berlin was modern and efficient, this city is slower and older and the building are just magnificent. We are off to the old city after breakfast.
Eating, we have eatenmeat meat meat. no veggies but sour kraut and maybe a few carrets. Dumplingas area must while beer is a necessity. we have tried mayb e s 10 different beers so far and many more to try. They are stronger but with great flavor. Much betttean the rth US beers.
I am ttrying to upload a short video on youtube on the concert to give you an example of the concert and location but having problem.....neverhave done one before. It may r neverget up there.
Off to the old city.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Day 3
Wow, double wow, Potsdam was fabulous. We got there by bus and took a bus tour of the city....yes, city, big city. It is definitely an upper class suburb city to Berlin. There were so gorgeous homes and apartments there. And of course King Frederick's palaces. He had several built on this huge plot of land and each was different and had a separate purpose. We got to tour one of them, probably the biggest. It was quite different than others, like the one we saw yesterday, the Charlotte Palace in Berlin. Potsdam is about an hour's drive from the city through more like a suburban landscape than pretty land.
One interesting thing that happened on the way was that the bus was stopped by the police for causing or nearly causing an accident. It seems the driver cut someone off and they called the police who came and stopped the bus. We were on the side of the road for abut 45 minutes as the participants ironed it all out. That had never happened before.
The day today and the last several days since we have been here have been perfect travel days, about 60-65 degrees and sunny. A bit breezy but with the sun it was perfect for touring and perfect for pictures. Speaking of, I first thought that I would not get good scenic pics for a calendar or show, but to the contrary, some of the abstract building pics and some near art pictures from ``the wall" really came out nicely. So I am much more encouraged about my pictures, especially if the weather holds up as it is.
Tonight we go to a real beer garden for dinner.....the BrauHouse and famous one near our hotel. We tried last night but there were no tables available. So tonight we feast on more meat and beer. AGain, speaking of food, we had a traditional German lunch with a sausage, a french bun and a good pilsner. Sitting outside next to the gorgeous palace.
Also, taking the bus to Potsdam, we got to see several parts of the city that we missed so far. So it had a double purpose.
Tomorrow we leave for Prague and so tonight we say goodbye to Berlin.
WE are off to Prague early by train.....see you later.
Wow, double wow, Potsdam was fabulous. We got there by bus and took a bus tour of the city....yes, city, big city. It is definitely an upper class suburb city to Berlin. There were so gorgeous homes and apartments there. And of course King Frederick's palaces. He had several built on this huge plot of land and each was different and had a separate purpose. We got to tour one of them, probably the biggest. It was quite different than others, like the one we saw yesterday, the Charlotte Palace in Berlin. Potsdam is about an hour's drive from the city through more like a suburban landscape than pretty land.
One interesting thing that happened on the way was that the bus was stopped by the police for causing or nearly causing an accident. It seems the driver cut someone off and they called the police who came and stopped the bus. We were on the side of the road for abut 45 minutes as the participants ironed it all out. That had never happened before.
The day today and the last several days since we have been here have been perfect travel days, about 60-65 degrees and sunny. A bit breezy but with the sun it was perfect for touring and perfect for pictures. Speaking of, I first thought that I would not get good scenic pics for a calendar or show, but to the contrary, some of the abstract building pics and some near art pictures from ``the wall" really came out nicely. So I am much more encouraged about my pictures, especially if the weather holds up as it is.
Tonight we go to a real beer garden for dinner.....the BrauHouse and famous one near our hotel. We tried last night but there were no tables available. So tonight we feast on more meat and beer. AGain, speaking of food, we had a traditional German lunch with a sausage, a french bun and a good pilsner. Sitting outside next to the gorgeous palace.
Also, taking the bus to Potsdam, we got to see several parts of the city that we missed so far. So it had a double purpose.
Tomorrow we leave for Prague and so tonight we say goodbye to Berlin.
WE are off to Prague early by train.....see you later.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Good morning everyone.
Yesterday we started our journey in a complet day. We got a very good night sleep after that long first day and we were off to the Chrolettesburg Palace. That was the summer home of Queen Charlette and the king in the 1700s. `it was a very nice copy of Versaille but not quite as opulent as the Russian Czars in St. `Petersburg. The rooms were very nice and the grounds of course stretched all over with are now common parks for the public. There were very few people touring so it was really nice. AFter we had lunch at the most famous deli in Germany Ragardi's ````````````(sp). `it has everything, every kind of smoked fish one could think of, same goes for the meats. We picked out our choices and ate outside at their tables.....quite nice. Then it was off to what `i was really excited about the `'house of horrors`'. An exihibit on the history of the Gestopo and the SS in `Nazi Germany. The museum is on the same land that the building was on which was torn down immediately following the war. It also gave a good history on the rise of Hitler and his Nazi party. Wow, it was quite interesting how the people actually voted him in and wanted someone to be a dictator and destroy other religions and ethnics.......sounds quite like some of the groups we have in the US now. After we were back at the hotel to meet relatives who came from England to meet us for a couple days. We had dinner at a wonderful German restaurant on the river (Spree) with alot of beer drunk. We all tried several kinds and ended up with a home made brew from the restarant. Walked back to hotel and to bed.
Today we have Potsdam tour all day. We will take the bus there and meet the tour.
Now more insight on the country and people. `like I said before, so far the people have been really incredible. `i would guess that 90% speak English, no matter where we went we had no trouble getting or buying what we wanted. Also, strangers would help us on the street if we looked like we needed it.......and several timnes we did. We took the U subway for the first time yesterday and it was fantastic, fast, easy and cheap. `not like the S line which is more complex and more expensive. But I can truly say that getting around Berlin is quite easy once accustomed to it. It is large and diverse with gorgeous apartment neighborhoods and shopping areas. `it is very modern with very few older buildings. There is a tremendous building boom here and it shows. `modern stuff all over. The streets are not crowded with autos as other cities but still not empty. We have not trouble getting around on the streets and interesting enough NO ONE J WALKS....NO ONE. So we have to go with the flow. frustrating sometimnes but safer.\\
Anyway, enough for now. my 20 minutes are up so `i must get off. We are off to `potsdam in a few minutes.\
Bye.
Yesterday we started our journey in a complet day. We got a very good night sleep after that long first day and we were off to the Chrolettesburg Palace. That was the summer home of Queen Charlette and the king in the 1700s. `it was a very nice copy of Versaille but not quite as opulent as the Russian Czars in St. `Petersburg. The rooms were very nice and the grounds of course stretched all over with are now common parks for the public. There were very few people touring so it was really nice. AFter we had lunch at the most famous deli in Germany Ragardi's ````````````(sp). `it has everything, every kind of smoked fish one could think of, same goes for the meats. We picked out our choices and ate outside at their tables.....quite nice. Then it was off to what `i was really excited about the `'house of horrors`'. An exihibit on the history of the Gestopo and the SS in `Nazi Germany. The museum is on the same land that the building was on which was torn down immediately following the war. It also gave a good history on the rise of Hitler and his Nazi party. Wow, it was quite interesting how the people actually voted him in and wanted someone to be a dictator and destroy other religions and ethnics.......sounds quite like some of the groups we have in the US now. After we were back at the hotel to meet relatives who came from England to meet us for a couple days. We had dinner at a wonderful German restaurant on the river (Spree) with alot of beer drunk. We all tried several kinds and ended up with a home made brew from the restarant. Walked back to hotel and to bed.
Today we have Potsdam tour all day. We will take the bus there and meet the tour.
Now more insight on the country and people. `like I said before, so far the people have been really incredible. `i would guess that 90% speak English, no matter where we went we had no trouble getting or buying what we wanted. Also, strangers would help us on the street if we looked like we needed it.......and several timnes we did. We took the U subway for the first time yesterday and it was fantastic, fast, easy and cheap. `not like the S line which is more complex and more expensive. But I can truly say that getting around Berlin is quite easy once accustomed to it. It is large and diverse with gorgeous apartment neighborhoods and shopping areas. `it is very modern with very few older buildings. There is a tremendous building boom here and it shows. `modern stuff all over. The streets are not crowded with autos as other cities but still not empty. We have not trouble getting around on the streets and interesting enough NO ONE J WALKS....NO ONE. So we have to go with the flow. frustrating sometimnes but safer.\\
Anyway, enough for now. my 20 minutes are up so `i must get off. We are off to `potsdam in a few minutes.\
Bye.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Well, we made it, we are now in Berlin Germany. We left at 4:00 pm yesterday and arrived here at 7:30 am. `nice flight, no problems, especially on registering and all. The lines were nonexistant and even with the plane being full, it was very smooth. Most were German, just a couple of us tourists, and several kids....under 3 can you imagine.
`of course we could not get our room so we dumped our stuff and took off. `our first stop was the Brtandonburg Gate......quite impressive. ````````````````it was so neat to walk back and forth from east Germany to west and back. Also what was really cool, was that they lput brick markers for the wall was. So it moved through the city, street by street. And we went to the only place where the wall still exists...about a mile long art gallery, called the East Side Gallery, which had many murals some old some new. `it was a photographers dream. We also visited the Reishstag, the congress of Germany. They changed the government location to Berlin in the late 1990s and built all these gorgeous new style architecture buildings to house all the government parts. The Reishstag is the `parliment and it is brand new and we could tour the dome. `it is commpletely glass and metal and really cool. We also got to ride the S trains in the city....really nice but I could not believe that there are no signs in the stations on stops. `you just have to know or as we did......ask alot of people., Everyone is soooo nice so far and everyone speaks English, at least broken English. `our lunch was 2 different sausages and sour kraut and of course beer. `i had a wheat beer while D had a pisner. `mmmmmm. `now we are back at the hotel got our room and we are on our way to the bar before dinner....and bed. We tried to find Charlie's Gate but it doesn't exist anymore. `one thing we did really notice is the building that is going on all over the city. The cranes are everywhere and construction blocking streets all over. `Ther is no recession in Germany~!!!!
So `i better close now.,.....`i only have 20 minutes to write the blog free.
Tomorrow, we meet our relatives who are coming from England and on to other sites and sounds of Berlin.
`opf course we also bought some souvenirs already and `i found an insect already......yahoo.
`of course we could not get our room so we dumped our stuff and took off. `our first stop was the Brtandonburg Gate......quite impressive. ````````````````it was so neat to walk back and forth from east Germany to west and back. Also what was really cool, was that they lput brick markers for the wall was. So it moved through the city, street by street. And we went to the only place where the wall still exists...about a mile long art gallery, called the East Side Gallery, which had many murals some old some new. `it was a photographers dream. We also visited the Reishstag, the congress of Germany. They changed the government location to Berlin in the late 1990s and built all these gorgeous new style architecture buildings to house all the government parts. The Reishstag is the `parliment and it is brand new and we could tour the dome. `it is commpletely glass and metal and really cool. We also got to ride the S trains in the city....really nice but I could not believe that there are no signs in the stations on stops. `you just have to know or as we did......ask alot of people., Everyone is soooo nice so far and everyone speaks English, at least broken English. `our lunch was 2 different sausages and sour kraut and of course beer. `i had a wheat beer while D had a pisner. `mmmmmm. `now we are back at the hotel got our room and we are on our way to the bar before dinner....and bed. We tried to find Charlie's Gate but it doesn't exist anymore. `one thing we did really notice is the building that is going on all over the city. The cranes are everywhere and construction blocking streets all over. `Ther is no recession in Germany~!!!!
So `i better close now.,.....`i only have 20 minutes to write the blog free.
Tomorrow, we meet our relatives who are coming from England and on to other sites and sounds of Berlin.
`opf course we also bought some souvenirs already and `i found an insect already......yahoo.
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