Well, Budapest is (for now) our new favorite city, just barely bumping Prague into the #2 spot. With Buda on the one side of the Danube and Pest on the other, it’s more like two cities. The impressive buildings on both sides of the river look ancient, but many are either relatively new – the Parlaiment Building – or reconstructed after war damage – Buda Castle. Hungary has a long and really interesting history and only became an independent democracy in 1989. Not sure about the rest of the country, but in 2017 Budapest is booming. Big time. Continue reading “Sept 24-28: Budapest”
Sept 20 – 24: Vienna, by Cathy
Ah, Vienna. Home of Mozart, Beethoven, Freud, Klimt, Niki Lauda (who knew?) and, for four days, the Jordan Family. Vienna (or Wien if you speak German) is also known as the birthplace of some of the world’s most famous pastries – Sachertorte, apple strudel, and the kipferl – a crescent-shaped pastry that, with a few changes after being brought by Marie-Antoinette to France, became the beloved croissant. In my Vienna Googling upon arrival, I discovered lots of historical big wigs who’ve called Vienna home. I think this article, about Vienna in 1913, is a good snapshot of the still-present cultural and political diversity of the city. Continue reading “Sept 20 – 24: Vienna, by Cathy”
Auschwitz: Humanity at its Worst, by Mick
In the mid-1900s, as you well know, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis waged a world war that killed millions. The Nazis saw people like Jews, Poles, the Roma gypsies, etc. as inferior, so they used them for slave labor or sent them to death camps, such as Auschwitz. The people that were too weak, too young, or otherwise proven useless were sent to gas chambers, and exterminated. The biggest of these death camps was Auschwitz, located about an hour out of Krakow, where we were staying. Continue reading “Auschwitz: Humanity at its Worst, by Mick”
Prague’s Museum Scene
If you like museums, Prague’s got something for everyone…
Sept. 19-20: Experiencing Technical Difficulties!!
Pictures missing from posts will (hopefully) return shortly. The site’s administrator, who will remain anonymous, removed all pictures from the blog’s “library,” not knowing that that would also remove them from the blog. Pictures will have to be downloaded from Shutterfly, uploaded to WordPress, edited and inserted back into posts. I feel really, really, really sorry for the poor schmuck stuck with that job.
Sept 17-20: Prague
The Prague-nostications were Correct, by Cathy
Prague is, as Mick would say, “Amazing!” Our first day in Prague started with our departure from Krakow – this time on FlixBus (affiliated with Polski Bus). We Ubered to the bus station and boarded the bus with time to spare. Wanting to get some more obwarzanki (like O-shaped soft pretzels) before leaving Poland, I took my change purse (small zippered pouch with my CA driver’s license, one credit card and some cash) out of the zippered pouch where it lives safely in my purse. Three obwarzanki in hand, I returned to the bus, all good. All good at least until we arrived in Ostrava (Czech Republic), where we had a one-hour wait for our train to Prague, and I discovered that my change purse was gone. Continue reading “Sept 17-20: Prague”
Sept. 13-16: Krakow by Jeff
Yes, this is my view above my pillow going to bed and waking up in our really cool house in Krakow. Not sure his name but we’ll just refer to him as “Horny”.
Sept 10-13: Berlin
Thoughts on Berlin from aboard Polski Bus, by Cathy
I’m starting this post from aboard Polski Bus – our tomato-red, double–deck bus (“It’s a coach, Mommy!) from Berlin to Krakow! The first two hours of our seven-hour trip were smooth and uneventful, but at hour three, Wham-O! If I could put a pen on paper right now, it would look like a compulsive liar’s polygraph test or perhaps a 10.0 quake and its aftershocks. Were we on an airplane, oxygen masks would have fallen from above and folks would be praying. Not kidding. Continue reading “Sept 10-13: Berlin”
Sept 7-10: Amsterdam
I AmSterdam by Cathy
Our feeling about Amsterdam can quite easily be summed up in two words: LOVE IT. The canals, the boats, the ornate old buildings, the bridges, the brick and cobblestone roads, and the BIKES! Oh my god, the BIKES! Bikes everywhere (helmets nowhere)!
The Gaelic Games, by Mick
The Gaelic or Irish games are Gaelic football and hurling. These games are exiting, but no one really knows about them outside of the country. Today I am going to tell you a little bit about these games’ history and how they are played.
