Vienna!

After our time in Hungary (see previous post), we sped off to Vienna, Austria!

One of our first stops was to Hotel and Cafe Sacher,

Home of the famous Sacher Torte!

Lest you think this is all we ate, I assure you, we brought plenty of snacks. We needed the energy to help with our planning/map reading!

Close by, was the famous Opera House

where apparently you are not allowed to camp!

We then journeyed to Albertina Platz which houses the original quarters of Duke Albert and his wife.




On one corner of this square is an exhibition about the dangers of power. However, we discovered it was being remodeled.




The Kaisergruft Church was our next stop. The crypt of this church is the final resting place for at least 138 members of the Habsburg family. The tombs vary from the very elaborate




to the more simplistic coffin of Franz Josef.




We then moved on to the gigantic Stephansdom (St Stephen's Cathedral).




Initially constructed in the Middle Ages, it has been considered a spiritual focus of the Viennese people and is considered a symbol of endurance. It has undergone many periods of reconstruction due to damage by the Turks, the Napoleonic French and the Allies.

Inside was an incredible display of Gothic and baroque works!




No visit to Vienna would be complete without a trip to the Hofburg which was the Imperial Palace of the Habsburg dynasty (sorry about the dark picture!).




We toured portions of the Palace, saw the crowns of the Holy Roman Emporers and learned much about the life of Sisi (Emperess Elizabeth). Apparently Sisi did not like the confines of being an Emperess!

After a long day, we relaxed at the Prader Amusement Park! We took a trip on the Riesenrad (Ferris Wheel) and enjoyed the sites.




The next morning, we woke bright and early to see the famous Lipizzaner Horses (famous white horses).




Needless to say, Jennie was very happy!

Before we left Vienna, we needed to stop by Parliament,




the Rathaus,




and Wien (Vienna) University where we determined Jackie should go to school. (Good luck footing the bill Mr and Mrs Cain!)




After a whilrwind day and a half tour, we boarded the train and were off to Prague (next)!

Budapest!

The fact that my friend, Lynn, blogged from her hospital room a few hours after giving birth convinced me that it's time for me to actually post about recent events. So here goes!

In March, my sister, Jennie and her friend, Jackie, came to visit me in Germany. We traveled to Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; and Prague, Czech Republic. It was a whirlwind tour!

Our early morning start!

The easiest way to get from place to place was via train. There is a great train system in Europe! Our first trip was on an overnight train from Kaiserslautern to Budapest. I felt like we had crossed over to the Navy based on the submarine sleeping conditions!

When we arrived in Budapest the next morning, we were going to take the tram up to Castle Hill. However, the tram wasn't working.

We got lots of exercise though and beautiful pictures of the Danube River!

Here are some of the amazing sights we saw!

Inside the Matthias Church:

Moving the statues (apparently the statues aren't as stationary as I thought!):

Behind the Church is the Fishermen's Bastion with beautiful views of the Danube and Parliament.

Jennie and Jackie at Parliment!

As it was the week before Easter, we got to learn a bit about Easter eggs of the Croatian tradition (if you enlarge this picture, you can really read it!)

Here is another church we visited, St Stephan's.

I'm constantly amazed at how ornate the churches are!

We had a beautiful view of the sunset by the river! (Yes, that's actually a glass of wine in my hand!)

Before we turned in for the night, we hiked up Gellert Hill passing Independence Monument

to reach the Citadella. The Citadella was a fortress erected to defend Budapest after the 1848 revolution, but it was actually never used for this purpose.

We had a long (and somewhat dirty) hike back down!

All in all it was a great day! And we definitely got our exercise!

Stay tuned...Next up....Vienna!