We spent all day Sunday (yesterday) traveling by train from Budapest to Munich. Saturday was a clean and pack day, punctuated by going out to find ways to use up the rest of our Hungarian forints, the local currency. So, our last sightseeing day in Budapest was really Friday, the day after our boat ride … Continue reading
Summer has definately arrived in Budapest. In fact, when I checked the weather reports on my iPhone on Thursday, I saw that it was hotter here (88°F) than in the Keys. When it gets hot in Florida, you can always cool off on the water, so that’s what we decided to do here in Hungary. … Continue reading
The morning after our boat ride, we walked across the Chain Bridge to see Buda Castle (Budavári Palota), the historic castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, first completed in 1265. Even before we got across the bridge, however, we could tell that the palace that currently adorns the top of Castle … Continue reading
We went for an evening river cruise Tuesday aboard the Danube Legend. The boat leaves its dock from the Pest side shortly before the Golden Hour, that time just before sunset when the lighting is softer and shadows are longer. It’s the perfect time to take photos. After making a short loop downriver, the boat … Continue reading
On Monday, we walked over to see Váci Street (Váci utca) which is supposed to be the most beautiful shopping street in Budapest. Not being an expert shopper, I can’t really say one way or the other if that claim holds water, but having handled my share of public works related cases, I can say … Continue reading
We left Prague Thursday afternoon and spent Friday in Vienna cleaning house, doing laundry and repacking. Then on Saturday, we left early by train for Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Budapest is divided by the Danube River (Duna in Hungarian) which runs north-south through the city. The hilly, west bank of the river was formerly … Continue reading
To finish out our time in Prague, we returned to the Old Town Square to see the medieval astronomical clock known as the Prague Orloj (Pražský orloj) located on the lower, southern wall of the tower of the Old Town City Hall. According to Wikipedia, “the clock was first installed in 1410, making it the … Continue reading
The Vltava River runs north through Prague, dividing the city between Staré Město and Nové Město (Old Town and New Town) on the right bank; and Hradčany (the Castle District) and Malá Strana (Little Quarter), on the left bank. Eighteen bridges span the Vltava River in Prague, but the most famous is a pedestrian crossing … Continue reading
We arrived in Prague (Praha in Czech) in the mid-afternoon and once again decided to walk to our accomodations, the approriately named Old Prague Hotel. Prague is to Bohemia what Brno is to Moravia, the capital of its respective, ancient kingdom. The only difference is that Prague continues to be the capital of the Czech … Continue reading
We arrived in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic by both area and population (pop. 400,000), early Sunday afternoon. Brno is a college town, but it has a reputation as being pretty sedate, which was fine with us. It was certainly quiet when we arrived. From the train station, we walked the … Continue reading
Besides the opera, another excursion that Dale had planned in advance for us was a visit to the Punkva Caves in the Czech Republic which can only be seen as part of a scheduled tour. The Punkva Caves are a popular destination for Czechs and Austrians, so reservations were necessary and ours were for Saturday, … Continue reading
The Road Less Traveled 