Again we keep traveling on our journey. Today's column has just come out in the paper so please click on at the bottom for the column. It has been great fun writing back and forth with my editor about my trip.
Here is a video of our Christmas Evening in Budapest with the Gipsy Band! The column will explain it all!
We are off to London this a.m. for a week in England with my mum! It will be a wonderful week and another adventure!
Lou Ann
The Gipsy Band at the Black Raven Restaurant on Christmas Day.
When I was a little girl my dad and I would play the song, The Blue Danube. It is a wonderful waltz tune. I have been on the Danube before when I was in college and traveling in Europe, the way it should be done...no money and one train ticket!
Yesterday Philip and I climbed up (no, we did not take the bus) Gellert Hill where Bishop Gellert (years past) was rolled down that hill into the Danube for trying to bring Christianity to Budapest. He was dead upon his arrival into the river.
Here is a photo of the Danube River from part way up Gellert Hill.
So, we are now packing, having our last breakfast in Budapest in our little flat and flying off to England for yet another adventure! Stay tuned!
Lou Ann
The Blue Danube River
Sorry for all this space below....couldn't get rid of it!
I have taken hundreds of photos and have memories and stories for a lifetime. It is difficult to find time to post while enjoying everything, but I do like you coming along with us. Here are just a few photos and a fun video from the trip. I imagine I will be posting about this trip for another month! As always, thanks for following us. I hope your Christmas was joyful!
Lou Ann
I took this photo on Christmas Day evening. It was foggy all day so all my photos are gray. But in the evening we were walking at dusk back to St. Matyas Church, and I thought it was so stunning. It almost doesn't look real! This was in Budapest.
Everywhere we go there is hot wine...on street corners, in shops, outside of restaurants (help yourself kind of deal), so we always stop. Here we are on Christmas Day at the Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest trying to get warm!
This is the top of of another church! I didn't have to convert to black and white, that is the color of the sky! Budapest.
Philip took this photo of me at the entrance of the Charles Bridge in Prague. I have noticed that all the photos of us look like we have gained the 10 pounts of Eastern Europe travel. I think it is due to layers of clothing and pastport/money bags hanging around our necks under our winter coats!
This is a church in Mor in Hungary. This has been the ONLY morning that we have seen blue skies for the entire time. Ah, the sun does shine in Easter Europe.
This week's article focusing on the first week of our trip and a train adventure to the Bone Church in Kutna Hora. It was an amazing experience. Please enjoy the photos and video as well, all were taken inside the Bone Church! As always, Lou Ann
Dear Friends, We have spent the past two days in Prague. We drove into the city, parked, and spent two days walking and traveling on the Metro system. Most of our time was spent on the Old Town Square with thousands of other folks enjoying the Krist Kindle Market in preparation for Christmas. I have attended these markets in Chicago, but I was not prepared for flocks of folks from all over the world, the scents of mulled wine and roasted almonds, and the architectural beauty. Above is a short video of the Astronomical clock. You might need to see it a couple of times to catch all the movements! We also listened to Old World Music at St. Martins in the Wall Church. Of course, the old (1300s) church was all stone and very cold. We sat in the middle of the front row and listened for over an hour to the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, and other composers. When the music of Albinoni began I burst into tears and did not stop until the piece was finished. I was the first up on my feet for the standing ovation at the end of the concert. The evening ended in a small cafe for a late supper, a walk on the St. Charles Bridge where St. John of Nepomuk was thrown overboard (and drowned) as he would not tell the Queen's confessions. We walked over to the square for one more hot mulled wine and another look at the clock! As always, thanks for reading and watching!
The Charles Bridge late into the evening.
Here I am rubbing the belly of St.John of Nepomuk on the Charles Bridge. This is where he was thrown into the Vltava River. Although I am not sure that rubbing his belly is a good thing as he drowned!
