If you look closely, in the middle of the water... that's Three Mile Island. :) (tmi...)
Monday, August 25, 2008
one more thing -- tmi
No, not that kind of tmi.
If you look closely, in the middle of the water... that's Three Mile Island. :) (tmi...)
If you look closely, in the middle of the water... that's Three Mile Island. :) (tmi...)
the last dance... munich
Our continental entry point and leaving point. Funny that, as we left Europe from Munich previously, and we each have 2001 Munich passport stamps -- the passport check guy laughed a bit when stamping.
We arrived late at night (train was 1:30 late) and rose up from the underground platform to see the town hall and the glockenspiel, there right before us!
I was so proud of myself. Bruce was complaining that he hadn't climbed a tower this whole trip, that there wasn't one in any of the cities we visited. Well... I did a bit of research to find that there WAS one in St. Peter's Church, a stone's throw from our hotel in Munich! :) I'm climbing the narrow passageway here...
From the top of the tower...
Town Hall, again
Other half of town hall
This is part of where the '72 olympics were held. Not that you'd know... it's kind of an odd area. There's a tower with an elevator where you can pay to get a view, there are a few little kids' rides, there's an indoor pool in one of these buildings, beer and sausage stands, and vendors selling everything from CDs to underwear (yes!) to t-shirts with German slogans...
BMW headquarters -- note it looks like four cylinders of an engine!
The Hofbrauhaus -- claims it's the largest beer hall in the world. This was our first of two trips there...
Isar River, not too far from the Deutsches Museum, where we spent a good deal of our last day (weather had been very rainy)
And our last dinner was back at the Hofbrauhaus... my "little" half-liter of beer looks so tiny next to Bruce's full liter!
Traditional band...
The Hofbrauhaus is full of communal 8-person tables, and without a doubt, most of the tables end up being international (with the common language of BEER!). Luckily, all at our table spoke passable English, so we were able to chat! The three on the left are Romanian, the couple n the middle is Armenian (and the guy is an MBA student at a university there!) and... then, there's me.
The next morning, after 2 months of being away from home, lugging bags, exchanging currency and dividing by various numbers, learning "thank you" in all sorts of languages, and drinking some of the best beer money can buy... we were ready to take off. Dorothy was right... there's no place like home.
We arrived late at night (train was 1:30 late) and rose up from the underground platform to see the town hall and the glockenspiel, there right before us!
I was so proud of myself. Bruce was complaining that he hadn't climbed a tower this whole trip, that there wasn't one in any of the cities we visited. Well... I did a bit of research to find that there WAS one in St. Peter's Church, a stone's throw from our hotel in Munich! :) I'm climbing the narrow passageway here...
From the top of the tower...
Town Hall, again
Other half of town hall
This is part of where the '72 olympics were held. Not that you'd know... it's kind of an odd area. There's a tower with an elevator where you can pay to get a view, there are a few little kids' rides, there's an indoor pool in one of these buildings, beer and sausage stands, and vendors selling everything from CDs to underwear (yes!) to t-shirts with German slogans...
BMW headquarters -- note it looks like four cylinders of an engine!
The Hofbrauhaus -- claims it's the largest beer hall in the world. This was our first of two trips there...
Isar River, not too far from the Deutsches Museum, where we spent a good deal of our last day (weather had been very rainy)
And our last dinner was back at the Hofbrauhaus... my "little" half-liter of beer looks so tiny next to Bruce's full liter!
Traditional band...
The Hofbrauhaus is full of communal 8-person tables, and without a doubt, most of the tables end up being international (with the common language of BEER!). Luckily, all at our table spoke passable English, so we were able to chat! The three on the left are Romanian, the couple n the middle is Armenian (and the guy is an MBA student at a university there!) and... then, there's me.
The next morning, after 2 months of being away from home, lugging bags, exchanging currency and dividing by various numbers, learning "thank you" in all sorts of languages, and drinking some of the best beer money can buy... we were ready to take off. Dorothy was right... there's no place like home.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
road trip!
At this point... after 7 weeks in big cities, I was craving something different. A reputable source led us to Johann, a driver you could hire for the day for 130 euros, for an 8 hour driving tour of the Wachau Valley outside of Vienna. We decided to go for it. What a great splurge this was... as he also came with us to all of the locations and was our personal tour guide, describing everything we were seeing, telling us key places to go, joking with us all the way. :)
First stop: the Abbey at Melk.
Walking toward the abbey entrance (with all of the other tourists)
Overlooking the town of Melk.
the abbey library
The library globe, showing my home state separated off into the ocean. :)
The church itself. So much to take in...
The countryside view from the back of the abbey
Small town and wine terraces across the Danube
We took this same car ferry across to the other side of the river. It took 5 minutes to get to the other side; it was not motorized, only used the current of the river as its force. Ropes were used as guides.
One of the cute towns we drove through.
The town of Durnstein, where we walked around for a while. We also bought a small bottle of a local apricot liqueur (region is known for apricots). Said bottle caused me to check my bag on the way back home, bag was delayed at point of US entry (DC) for additional TSA inspection, and didn't make it onto our flight -- got home the next day. This apricot liqueur had better be as good as I remember! :D
Next, we hiked up to a castle ruins up on a hill high behind the town. We encountered this flower on the way up there.
We hiked pretty far up in a very short amount of time (steep paths)...
And some among us felt the need to climb to the tippy-top....
Looking down from the top level of the castle
We didn't do anything wrong, though! What happened???
Johann eventually bailed us out, and we made it back down the hill into town.
or... 80.2 mph, taking the unit conversion into consideration...
None of this would have happened without our fabulous guide Johann -- friendly, hilarious, a wealth of knowledge about the area. I highly recommend a day with him if you are in the area!
First stop: the Abbey at Melk.
Walking toward the abbey entrance (with all of the other tourists)
Overlooking the town of Melk.
the abbey library
The library globe, showing my home state separated off into the ocean. :)
The church itself. So much to take in...
The countryside view from the back of the abbey
Small town and wine terraces across the Danube
We took this same car ferry across to the other side of the river. It took 5 minutes to get to the other side; it was not motorized, only used the current of the river as its force. Ropes were used as guides.
One of the cute towns we drove through.
The town of Durnstein, where we walked around for a while. We also bought a small bottle of a local apricot liqueur (region is known for apricots). Said bottle caused me to check my bag on the way back home, bag was delayed at point of US entry (DC) for additional TSA inspection, and didn't make it onto our flight -- got home the next day. This apricot liqueur had better be as good as I remember! :D
Next, we hiked up to a castle ruins up on a hill high behind the town. We encountered this flower on the way up there.
We hiked pretty far up in a very short amount of time (steep paths)...
And some among us felt the need to climb to the tippy-top....
Looking down from the top level of the castle
We didn't do anything wrong, though! What happened???
Johann eventually bailed us out, and we made it back down the hill into town.
or... 80.2 mph, taking the unit conversion into consideration...
None of this would have happened without our fabulous guide Johann -- friendly, hilarious, a wealth of knowledge about the area. I highly recommend a day with him if you are in the area!
Friday, August 22, 2008
vienna
was our only repeat city of the whole trip. We were there in 2001 as part of our honeymoon, and had to go back, we liked it so much!
The first thing you see when you walk out on the main plaza... the Stephansdom. Original design on the roof, as well, but bombed out during WWII and reconstructed.
Inside Stephansdom
Horses/carriages lined up -- selling rides around Stephansplatz
More detail on the outside of the Stephansdom
Ausgang... Notausgang... which is it?!?!?!?!
Actually, this is both the ausgang (exit) and the notausgang (emergency exit). You quickly learn that "not" in front of something in German means "emergency"...
As also seen here in the "notlight" in the hotel hallway. :)
The Graben, street leading off of Stephansplatz with a view of the Plague Monument
Hapsburg Palace
Across from the palace, a bank designed by the more simplistic architect Adolf Loos -- he thought ornamentation was a waste of the builders' time. (Note: yes, Loos did design public bathrooms. They are on the Graben. I know you were waiting for it.)
We walked around the Stadt Park, just outside the main city ring. And we found Strauss! (for the rare split second that he wasn't surrounded by tourists)
Nice blue urns on the edges of the Vienna River. You don't actually see the river because it was hardly more than a trickle. (However, there were major thunderstorms the next day -- I wonder how things changed!)
Karl's Church -- the large spiral poles making this design unique
Gorgeous residential building
Decorative stairs at the end of a street
The next day, we visited the Schloss Schonbrunn (royal palace) not for a tour of the palace itself (too expensive) but to see the grounds -- which we've done before, but they are outstanding. Last time, it was hot and humid; this time, misty and cool.
A tree "tube" in the gardens
Overview of the main part of the grounds -- the palace is behind you
View of the palace and the city from atop the colonnade
"Ruins" which were built on the Schonbrunn grounds in the 1700s. Ironically... they weren't maintained, and today, they actually look more ruined!
Moving on to the City Opera House... this is the ceiling of the lobby. This is a tour we took in 2001, and it was very well-done -- we had to do it again. But Bruce got a student discount this time!!
Another room in the Opera House. Busts of famous opera writers have scenes from their various operas overhead; if you look carefully here, Rossini has The Barber of Seville above.
The next day, we were back for more photography in the Stephansdom.
The saint at the top, he never forgets where his arrows are, eh?
I remember really liking this stained glass last time, and I really wanted a digital image. However, now, you have to pay to get into the center part, and any side view of the glass is obstructed by the organ. Oh well... we bought a postcard.
Back outside... the infamous Mozart, not under construction! Last visit, I'd heard about this statue with the treble clef in the garden, sought it out for a picture, and... Mozart was under scaffold. I took a picture, anyway. But this time -- no scaffolding! (However, we had to wait quite some time for the tourists to clear, so I started referring to them as "tourist scaffold". Which is worse...)
One of Bruce's favorite plazas, behind the Hapsburg Palace
Wishing you a Good Journey as we move on to the next location... :)
The first thing you see when you walk out on the main plaza... the Stephansdom. Original design on the roof, as well, but bombed out during WWII and reconstructed.
Inside Stephansdom
Horses/carriages lined up -- selling rides around Stephansplatz
More detail on the outside of the Stephansdom
Ausgang... Notausgang... which is it?!?!?!?!
Actually, this is both the ausgang (exit) and the notausgang (emergency exit). You quickly learn that "not" in front of something in German means "emergency"...
As also seen here in the "notlight" in the hotel hallway. :)
The Graben, street leading off of Stephansplatz with a view of the Plague Monument
Hapsburg Palace
Across from the palace, a bank designed by the more simplistic architect Adolf Loos -- he thought ornamentation was a waste of the builders' time. (Note: yes, Loos did design public bathrooms. They are on the Graben. I know you were waiting for it.)
We walked around the Stadt Park, just outside the main city ring. And we found Strauss! (for the rare split second that he wasn't surrounded by tourists)
Nice blue urns on the edges of the Vienna River. You don't actually see the river because it was hardly more than a trickle. (However, there were major thunderstorms the next day -- I wonder how things changed!)
Karl's Church -- the large spiral poles making this design unique
Gorgeous residential building
Decorative stairs at the end of a street
The next day, we visited the Schloss Schonbrunn (royal palace) not for a tour of the palace itself (too expensive) but to see the grounds -- which we've done before, but they are outstanding. Last time, it was hot and humid; this time, misty and cool.
A tree "tube" in the gardens
Overview of the main part of the grounds -- the palace is behind you
View of the palace and the city from atop the colonnade
"Ruins" which were built on the Schonbrunn grounds in the 1700s. Ironically... they weren't maintained, and today, they actually look more ruined!
Moving on to the City Opera House... this is the ceiling of the lobby. This is a tour we took in 2001, and it was very well-done -- we had to do it again. But Bruce got a student discount this time!!
Another room in the Opera House. Busts of famous opera writers have scenes from their various operas overhead; if you look carefully here, Rossini has The Barber of Seville above.
The next day, we were back for more photography in the Stephansdom.
The saint at the top, he never forgets where his arrows are, eh?
I remember really liking this stained glass last time, and I really wanted a digital image. However, now, you have to pay to get into the center part, and any side view of the glass is obstructed by the organ. Oh well... we bought a postcard.
Back outside... the infamous Mozart, not under construction! Last visit, I'd heard about this statue with the treble clef in the garden, sought it out for a picture, and... Mozart was under scaffold. I took a picture, anyway. But this time -- no scaffolding! (However, we had to wait quite some time for the tourists to clear, so I started referring to them as "tourist scaffold". Which is worse...)
One of Bruce's favorite plazas, behind the Hapsburg Palace
Wishing you a Good Journey as we move on to the next location... :)
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