Heart of Europe Trip-Day 16 (Mon 10/9)

Today we wandered over to Naschmarkt, Vienna's public market place, before taking the subway to Schoenbrunn Palace. Above is just one of the many interesting buildings you find in Vienna.

Naschmarkt makes Seattle's Pike Place Market look small. It is a wonderful place to just walk through, even if you aren't looking for food items. There are also lots of great looking restaurants.

Schoenbrunn Palace was the summer palace for the Hofburg royal family. That dynasty, of course, ended with WWI, but the palace grounds remain. It is very similar in size and scope to Versailles in France.

Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside the palace. The grounds are huge, with lots of outside opportunities for pictures. Fall is in the air, and the grounds keepers were starting to remove the flowers.

This is our final posting. It was a great trip, but we are anxious to get home.

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Heart of Europe Trip-Day 14-15 (Sat 10/7-Sun10/8)

Our official tour is over, and now we are off to Vienna for a few days on our own. The train ride from Bled to Vienna is wonderful. The train follows a very picturesque route, taking about 4.5 hours with one simple transfer in Villach, Austria.

Vienna has lot's of interesting churches like Karls-Kirche.

Part of an unfinished mural by Gustav Klimt, a famous artist from Vienna.

Taking a Rick Steves' recommended walk through Old Town, we wound up at the Hofburg Palace, home to the family dynasty that ruled Austria for hundred's of years. It's beautiful grounds house a number of interesting historical buildings and museums, including home to the famous Lippizzaner Stallions.

We managed one museum (barely). The Kunsthistorisches Musuem houses the best collection of artwork in Vienna, and is massive. Above is Bruegel's "The Tower of Babel".

When I say massive, I am not exaggerating! Some rooms were stacked 3-4 deep with incredible paintings. The few hours we had available did not do it justice.

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Heart of Europe Trip-Day 13 (Fri 10/6)

Today we are in Bled, a beautiful Slovenian town situated on the shores of Lake Bled.

We started with a boat ride to an island in the middle of the lake. It wasn't in a gondola, but it was still in a beautiful wooden boat.

Bled is situated in the Julian Alps, which separate Austria and Slovenia. In fact, when we depart by train tomorrow for Austria, we'll travel by tunnel under those mountains. Above is pictured Beld's famous wedding church.

The groom is expected to carry his bride up the steps of the church. Supposedly, 4 out of 5 make it, although I would like independent verification.

Like many medieval towns in Europe, Bled has a castle. This one is situated on a tall rock and overlooks the lake below. We walked the 4 miles around the lake, but our knees didn't want to attempt all those steps up to the castle.

There were 28 of us on the tour. Tonight was our farewell dinner, and you are looking at one of three tables of our traveling companions. Peter, our guide, is in the front to the right. That big smile was always there and became infectious for all. What a great trip!

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Heart of Europe Trip-Day 12 (Thu 10/5)

Today we traveled to Slovenia and Lake Bled, stopping first in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Ljubljana is a wonderful little city with a large pedestrian only area along the river. It was voted Europe's greenest city in 2016 because of this pedestrian only area, a massive effort towards recycling, and free access to electric mini buses for those living in the no car zone. We spent about half the day here, and it was well worth it. Vera even found another fabric store.

An electric mini bus available free of charge to locals who happen to live in the no car zone.

A barrier post to keep the cars out. It automatically retracts into the street for authorized vehicles.

One of many colorful buildings in the city center.

A small river, complete with boat tours, meanders through downtown. Shops and restaurants line both sides. It's a good place for a stroll, or to enjoy coffee and/or a gelato. Located where it is, Slovenia has a large Italian and German influence.

Dragons, based upon Greek Mythology, make up the city folklore.

Impressive door on the Ljubjiana Cathedral. No, this is not an ancient door, but rather a commemoration to the 1996 visit of Pope JohnPaul II.

Picture take from a tower overlooking the city and medieval castle in the distance. You get this view for the cost of a cup of coffee.

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Heart of Europe Trip-Day 11 (Wed 10/4)

Finally, a day on our own! We are staying near the resort town of Rovinj, a small Croation town on the Adriatic. To be more specific, we are staying in a beautiful resort hotel situated on a small island a short 20 minute boat ride from town. To quote our President: "This is an island surrounded by water..." The mammoth all-you-can-eat buffet we had last night included self serve beer and wine taps. The Adriatic coast of Croatia escaped the war, and it shows. The area reminds us of Italy, which makes sense, as Italy is just across the bay.

After a huge breakfast at our hotel/resort, we took the short boat ride to Rovinj. Its narrow colorful alleys with laundry hanging from the windows were just two reminders of Italy.

Figs in the local market place.

Lots of little surprising views of the water.

Rovinj is right on the Adriatic. The water is crystal clear. In the summer, the weather is hot and a major attraction for tourists wanting to take a dip in the warm water. Even now, there were a few brave swimmers.

Never too old to go on vacation!

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Heart of Europe Trip-Days 9-10 (Mon-Tue 10/2-10/3)

Monday and Tuesday were both travel days, ending on the Adriatic coast of Croatia in Rovinj late Tuesday evening. Along the way, we were given a brief history of Croatia and the surrounding countries that made up the former Yugoslavia. This part of Europe is made up of a complex mix of cultures, with ties to the West via the Roman Catholic Church, to the East through the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Middle East through Islam. Croatia and Slovenia, which we are visiting, have historical ties to the West. Today things are peaceful, but as recently as the 1990s there was a terrible civil war going on as Yugoslavia dissolved into the countries that exist today. Some of the atrocities, although not as large, remind you of what went on in WWII. Explaining it all is beyond my ability. Bullet holes can still be seen in some of the towns we drove through on our way to the coast.

Yes, those are people on the walkway in the left hand side of this picture. One of the highlights of our trip was the stay in Plitvice Lakes National Park. 

If this remarkable park is not on your bucket list, it should be. The park consists of a series of lakes separated by a cascade of waterfalls. The ground is limestone, and the water has carved a path down, around and through the landscape. We got to walk along the water's path as it made its way down the canyon, momentarily stopping at numerous crystal clear lakes before plunging down to another lake many feet lower. Absolutely remarkable; pictures cannot describe it!

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Heart of Europe Trip-Day 8 (Sun 10/1)

Today we visited the Buda side of the river. This is an old Soviet era statue commemorating WWII, and facing Moscow. After the fall of the U.S.S.R., most of these statues, rather than being destroyed, were moved to a statue park. Hungary was "liberated" by the Soviets, but their occupation is not remembered well by the Hungarians. Remember my story about statues and Hungary. Hungarians kept this particular statue, but changed the wording to turn it into a memorial for those who died in the war. Maybe the U.S. could learn something from the Hungarians and put some of our Civil War memorials into a better contextual framework.

All the bridges crossing the Danube were destroyed by the retreating Germans at the end of WWII. They were later rebuilt, sometimes using scrap material from the remains. This is the Liberty Bridge, which we walked across to reach Buda. It was an easy ride up the funicular to reach Buda Castle on the hill you see in the distance.

In the background you can see the beautiful Matthias Church. Hungary has had a very turbulent history throughout its 1000+ year history. In modern times, it reached it's peak at the end of the 1800's as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There was an incredible building boom, especially as part of the 1896 World Expo celebrating Hungary's 1000 year anniversary as a country. This church and surrounding area was part of that massive restoration. It went again through major reconstruction following WWII.

Probably not original, but impressive nonetheless.

Our tour guide gave us a special treat where we got to climb down to see some of the original structures sandwiched in between modern buildings.

The views looking back at the Pest side of the river are phenomenal!

Most of the structures are not original or even old by European standards, but the trip up the hill to visit the castle and Matthias Church area are well worth it.

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