Our Last Day in Prague and in Europe!

Hi all,

We walked around the Jewish Quarter this morning. We saw the High Synagogue, Pinkas and Old-New Synagogues as well as the Jewish Town Hall and the Rodolphinium, which is a place for concerts. It was wonderful walking in my ancestors footsteps.

The day was gorgeous! Blue skies and cool temperatures. We were bundled up, but comfortable. Colleen had her requisite Starbucks while I printed out the boarding passes for tomorrow's flights.

My impressions of Eastern Europe are mixed. I loved the cities. The architecture was phenomenal everywhere! We have nothing to compare with in the cities of the States. The history too, is longer than ours by many centuries, so there are more stories to relate.

I was disappointed in some of the people and their treatment of women. Men do not open doors nor do they move out of the way or assist the fellow humans. The smoking is terrible. Everyone smokes outdoors.

But all in all, we had a great time. I loved having Colleen as a traveling companion. She went everywhere I wanted to go and she never complained. We'll almost never!

So we are going for a much needed massage later today followed by Hooters to end the evening. Hope you enjoyed us traveling through Europe!

Love,

Kerry and Colleen

Prague Day 3 and the sun is out!

Hi everyone,

Today was a great day as all the rest have been. We walked across the River and the day was so clear you could see the Castle and the Gothic spires on the churches very clearly. We went up Petrin Hill in a funicular and then continued to the Hunger Wall, named because one of the Kings built it to help feed the masses. We continued on to the Petrin tower and went to the top for spectacular views of Prague. We visited the Stravhov Monastery, where in the library, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was filmed. Very cool! We saw the Loreta and the Capuchin Monastery which were built in the 1200's. We finally walked down the hill and saw the John Lennon Peace wall where we left messages of peace for all the crazy wars that still go on around the world. We crossed the Charles River Bridge, which is a pedestrian way and statuary is on both sides of the bridge. As we crossed, we saw the little island, called Kampa with adorable houses surrounding a park.

Today's photos:

See you tomorrow, our Last day!

Love,
Kerry and Colleen

Prague Day 2 and the rain has come again!

Dear everybody,

Today the day swung between rain, clouds and sun. We persevered though and saw some outstanding sights. We stayed on the east side of the river and went to The Dancing House, a modern design, Charles Square and the Tower, the New Town Hall and a local brewery.We eventually made it to Old Town Square where we gazed at the Old Town Building with its clock and calendar, the Church of Saint Nicholas and our Lady of Tyne with its gothic spires, The church of St. James, with an  impromptu organ concert and the Kinsky Palace. Wonderful scenery! I am continually amazed!

After we saw the man having the "fish pedicure", we  decided to try it before we went back to the states, so we shall try it tomorrow!

Love,
Kerry and Colleen

Prague, Day 1

Hi all,

We left Budapest at 4:30 AM to catch a train to Prague and arrived around 1 PM to our apartment on Wenscelas Square. We ate and took a tram across the Vltava river to the top of the hill, and walked around the Royal Palace grounds with the magnificent St. Vitas Cathedral. ST. George's Basilica was on a smaller scale, but still beautiful. I have loved seeing the architecture of all these Eastern cities. The Royal Gardens were awash with flowers. Short day out, capped by a visit to the grocery store.

Love,
Kerry and Colleen

Final pictures from Budapest

Dear friends and family,

I finally have access to a computer in Prague, so here are the last pictures from Budapest and then I will post from Prague. All the cities have been wonderful.

Love,
Kerry and Colleen

Budapest - our Last Day!

Dear friends and family,
Today was our last day to see this Hungarian city. Colleen and I have loved the convenience of this city as well as its openness. We took a boat up the river to Margaret Island. It is north Budapest so we went on the Danube and when we arrived we walked from one end of the island to the other and back again. There were various stops along the way- ruins, 11th century monasteries, beautiful gardens, a theater attached to a Moorish water tower, an olympic training center for swimmers and polo players, paths with memorial busts along the way and a huge hotel where we had a lunch buffet. We spent 3 hours on the island and it was beautiful!

When we returned to the city, we took and underground train to a phenomenal square with horses, gladiators and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Across the street was an old castle with influences from the Moors, Baroque and Gothic styles. It had a moat around it so I could get reflection pictures.

I do apologize for the lack of photos, but tomorrow when we go to Prague, hopefully I can find a place to upload them so you can see all these beautiful places we visited in Budapest. Till Prague then.....


Love,
Kerry and Colleen

Photos from Budapest

Hi. I am posting multiple photos of Budapest as it is near impossible to find a computer that I can upload them from. So it will all even out, but here are the photos.

Budapest Day 2

Today we walked up Gellert Hill to the Citadel, the history of  Budapest inscribed on its walls. The views were incredible. You could see for miles up and down the Danube River. We walked all over the top of this area near the bunker and sidewalk vendors selling their wares up and down the hill. Very impressive.
We walked across the Elizabeth bridge where I broke my camera lens. We figured it was time to eat, and afterward, we headed for, where else, the Mall! I bought another lens and we headed out to see the Rock Church. A mass was in progress, but at least we got to see this natural wonder. Neat!
After walking around part of downtown Pest on Vaci Ut ( street), we were tired, so we headed for the thermal baths. - Rudas Baths are the oldest in the city and we donned suits and soaked our tired bodies in differing temperature thermal baths. Colleen was in for a surprise, when she dumped the contents of a large bucket on her head only to find out that the water was freezing!
We finally returned home and started to unwind before dinner.
Again, no pix, but soon.

Love,
Kerry and Colleen

Budapest, Hungary

Well, we arrived in Budapest very early and took a taxi to the apartment. The views from Buda to the other side of the Danube River to Pest are incredible. We are in an area called Tabin on the west side. It is very hilly! We walked to Buda Castle ( also called the Royal Palace) to look around. There was a  food fair when we arrived. They would make the different foods like veggies or potatoes or pork or chicken in huge vats and we had some veggies/potatoes/chicken ( for Colleen). We went under the Lion Gate which was the entrance and into the interior courtyard. We toured the National Gallery with works by Renoir, Monet and Chagall. Fabulous! We climbed up the Fisherman's Bastian which was fairly high and looked over the Danube toward Parliament with its spires and maroon colored dome. Below us was St. Anne's Church and  the Calvinist temple. Who knew there were so many churches in Europe.

We took a tour of the Hospital In The Rock. This was used during the early part of the 20th century as a hospital and later set up as a nuclear bunker, just in case. We walked to Matyas church which had amazing designs on the roof.

Yes, I know there are no photos, but I have been having a bit of a problem finding a computer to use in Budapest. As soon as I find one,I will post them on this page.

Love,
Kerry and Colleen

Our Last Day in Vienna!

Dear Friends and Family,

Today was our last day in Vienna. We went all over the city to see the places we had missed. We went to Maria Treu Church and there were children celebrating International Peace Day. They made a cloth dove and were giving everyone the doves that they made in paper. Next we went to Lange Gasse and saw some cottages that were tucked away. Our next stop was Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens where we stopped to have lunch under the trees. The oldest church in Vienna is St. Rupert. We couldn´t go inside and there were police everywhere. I think this was about the fighting in Syria. We went to the architecural marvel, Hundertwasser Haus which was a colorful reminder that people should be creative where they live. The roof was a garden with courtyards and trees. Amazing for Monica! Our last stop was the Prater, an amusement park with a large ferris wheel. We of course went to the top and view was phenomenal. The whole city was visible.
Tomorrow we will be going to Budapest, so stay tuned for our furter adventures!

Love,
Kerry and Colleen