The missus and my trip to Eastern Europe was one I've anticipated for a long time. I think mostly because I've been fascinated with Austria, the Danube, Vienna (a skyline shot is above), the Strauss family, Mozart for a long, long time. But I discovered other sites that made the trip darned interesting. I'll be brief here, and share the highlights.
First, we arrived in Munich on November 4th - voting day in the U.S. It took a day or so, but the President-elect's picture was everywhere. I'm still wondering why the overwhelming fascination. Maybe it would have been the same if John McCain had won - I don't know. More likely, I suppose, the world was breathing a sigh of relief that the current administration's tenure would soon be over. Poor Bush. I think he's probably a nice fellow, and there were elements of sincerity and that common touch the U.S. so admires in his eight years. He just wasn't presidential caliber, and the fellows behind the scenes took too many liberties with the man's authority.
But I digress.
Actually all my dreams came true in one day in Vienna. We docked near the Innere Strasse. Despite an intestinal plague, we had a fine meal, managed a drive to one of Vienna's gilded palaces, aka the Old Stock Exchange, to hear a chamber orchestra play an hour of Mozart and Strauss. One of the most splendid music performances I've ever experienced, sick or no.
But before that we had visited a little known city in the Czech Republic, Cesky Krumlov, a quaint place on the Vltava River (picture below).
Our next stop was Budapest, a city one could wander for a month without losing interest. Sadly, we had only a few hours there. (A picture of the Hungarian Parliament - on the Danube's banks - follows.)
Finally, just as we were getting into the rhythm of touring mode, we came to our last port of call, Bratislava, in Slovakia. It's
THE urban center of that nation, but more quaint than Vienna or Budapest. It reminds a bit of Paris, the old, romantic arrondissements (below, a pair of street scenes near the Danube.)
I'm still digesting the experience, of course, and there's much, much more to tell than blog interest likely allows. What I discovered from this experience is how vital that area of Europe has grown since their Soviet overlords backed away. The people are proud of their nations, their cities, their accomplishments of the last decade or so. Their enthusiasm is innocent and yet infectious - we couldn't help but be excited for/with them.
I likely won't make such a trip again - it's too hard on these bones of mine, but I still recommend taking such a boat ride. History - at least the locales where it took place - are best experienced first-hand.
The missus and my trip to Eastern Europe was one I've anticipated for a long time. I think mostly because I've been fascinated with Austria, the Danube, Vienna (a skyline shot is above), the Strauss family, Mozart for a long, long time. But I discovered other sites that made the trip darned interesting. I'll be brief here, and share the highlights.
First, we arrived in Munich on November 4th - voting day in the U.S. It took a day or so, but the President-elect's picture was everywhere. I'm still wondering why the overwhelming fascination. Maybe it would have been the same if John McCain had won - I don't know. More likely, I suppose, the world was breathing a sigh of relief that the current administration's tenure would soon be over. Poor Bush. I think he's probably a nice fellow, and there were elements of sincerity and that common touch the U.S. so admires in his eight years. He just wasn't presidential caliber, and the fellows behind the scenes took too many liberties with the man's authority.
But I digress.
Actually all my dreams came true in one day in Vienna. We docked near the Innere Strasse. Despite an intestinal plague, we had a fine meal, managed a drive to one of Vienna's gilded palaces, aka the Old Stock Exchange, to hear a chamber orchestra play an hour of Mozart and Strauss. One of the most splendid music performances I've ever experienced, sick or no.
But before that we had visited a little known city in the Czech Republic, Cesky Krumlov, a quaint place on the Vltava River (picture below).
Our next stop was Budapest, a city one could wander for a month without losing interest. Sadly, we had only a few hours there. (A picture of the Hungarian Parliament - on the Danube's banks - follows.)
Finally, just as we were getting into the rhythm of touring mode, we came to our last port of call, Bratislava, in Slovakia. It's THE urban center of that nation, but more quaint than Vienna or Budapest. It reminds a bit of Paris, the old, romantic arrondissements (below, a pair of street scenes near the Danube.)
I'm still digesting the experience, of course, and there's much, much more to tell than blog interest likely allows. What I discovered from this experience is how vital that area of Europe has grown since their Soviet overlords backed away. The people are proud of their nations, their cities, their accomplishments of the last decade or so. Their enthusiasm is innocent and yet infectious - we couldn't help but be excited for/with them.
I likely won't make such a trip again - it's too hard on these bones of mine, but I still recommend taking such a boat ride. History - at least the locales where it took place - are best experienced first-hand.
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