Beautiful Prague...

After 5+ hours on the train from Vienna to Prague, we were happy to depart the train.  It rained the whole way.  We walked to our hotel (in the rain) which was about 5 or 6 blocks away.  Once we were settled in, the rain stopped.  Oh joy!

We're in the Old Town - not far from the Astronomical Clock Tower which we climbed and took these our first pictures of Prague.

View of rooftops...

Belfries of the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

Everyone we met on this trip has told us how beautiful Prague is.  We are believers - it is magical.

A straight line...

We visited the Hundertwasser House here in Vienna.  Architect/Artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.  I love this guy!  He says "The straight line is alien to mankind."  We couldn't actually tour the inside of the house since it is now divided up into residential apartments.  The outside decor is amazing.  Across the street is Hundertwasser Village - which is basically a tourist trap filled with the usual things you would expect to find there.  The WC was an experience - so colorful.  I love the fact that he created art everywhere inside and out - it just makes me happy.

We also visited Belvedere Palace- filled with totally different art - but I'll save that story for another day.

Linking to:

Friday My Town Shoot Out
Friday Finds
Friday Photo Journal

Photo Story Friday 

rainy day in Vienna

It's been raining all day.  Everyone is out and about wearing rain gear.

We slipped into the "White Chimney Sweep" restaurant for a quick bite - very tasty!

I hope it clears up soon.  This is our last day in Vienna.  Tomorrow we train to Prague.

We have tickets for a classical concert tonight.  I'm looking forward to that.

Budapest 2

I am way behind in posting to my blog.  We've been very busy and having a great time.  The internet connections have been sloooow making blogging a chore.

We joined a walking tour while in Budapest.  Our guide Julia told us that tradition says if one rubs the balls of the Hadik Andras statue, it would bring one luck and good fortune.  Despite the fact that I was the oldest woman on our tour, I was the only person willing to climb the statue for a rub.  It must have worked because things are going along quite nicely on this trip!

Saturday is a big wedding day at the Basilica - we saw at least 4 bride and grooms parading around the square.

We attended a performance by the Danube Symphony Orchestra.

Waked from the Pest side over the White Bridge up a gazillion stairs and winding paths up to the Citadel.

Half way up...

View of the Pest side - you can see the White Bridge below us.

This monument sits atop the Gerard Hill with the Citadel behind.

Budapest has so many things to see and we hope to see them all...

Budapest

Buda and Pest are fantastic places to visit.  We didn't have as much time to see all there is to see because of the flight problems we experienced getting here.  Alas, we leave tomorrow for Vienna.

This photo shows the view from our hotel of the sunrise here in Budapest.  You can see St. Stephen Basilica in the background.

We have walked miles and miles here, eaten well and enjoyed concerts too.  I'm still uploading photos to Dropbox and plan to post more about our journey here...once we return home.  I've already lost track of what day it is - how is that possible?!

a walk on the beach...

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.”

--Isak Dinesen

Original photo edited in Adobe Lightroom; Topaz Lab filters; texture and brushes added in Photoshop Elements 11.

"Frosted" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen.

Linking to:

Texture Tuesday
Sweet Shot Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
Tuesday Texture Twist
Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday Bloggers