Monday, March 14, 2011

road trip- part 3


The last few days of our trip we really slowed the pace down and enjoyed Austria.
(Sorry if the spacing is weird, the computer was fighting with me.)

Charlotte proclaimed Hallstatt to be "better than all those other places" and Rob and I really had to agree. It was so nice to be in a small town after so much city touring. This is the MAIN road through Hallstatt. I know the photo is blurry, but I had to show you this road. We (and by that I mean Rob) drove our minivan down this road. Insanity.

The entire town is clinging to a mountain on the edge of a lake.
Gorgeous.


Just one more view of Hallstatt.
We only stayed here for lunch and some much needed fresh mountain air, but it was a highlight of our week.

Then it was time for the last stop on our road trip- Salzburg, Austria.
This is our one and only family photo from the trip.


Mirabelle Gardens with the Hohensalzburg Fortress in the background.
Doesn't it just make you want to sing, "Do, a deer?" (The Von Trapp family was from here, and they filmed parts of the Sound of Music movie here.)

Charlotte and Toby knock on the door to see if anyone is home at the Mozart Geburtshaus.
Rob and I found this museum interesting, but the kids only liked the little violin, and getting to watch bits of opera on TV screens.
The Salzburg Cathedral.
It's kinda like a Cadbury creme egg-- It doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside was delicious! It would have been incredible to hear Mozart perform here as a young boy.


One teeny little part of the ceiling inside the Salzburg Cathedral.


I had every intention of us attending a marionette show while in Austria, but it didn't happen. (Combination of cost and length of performances, told us it was really not for kids.) Our kids posing in a cut-out will have to suffice.
Toby listening to the "children's tour" of Hohensalzburg Fortress. (I listened for a minute of it, and it was really boring, but he liked holding his own "phone.") Also, notice his Spongebob watch? He got that in a kid's meal like a year ago and wears it almost every day now because it is "just like daddy's." :)
"The hills are alive...."
So, here's a fabulous thing that happened. I really talked up the FUN-icular ride to the fortress to the kids. So of course, it was closed for repairs. So the four of us hiked up the extremely steep hill (with no stroller) to the fortress. (Allen, do you remember how steep this was back in 2004? ) After touring the fortress, we headed out (per Rick Steve's advice, and with a map) to walk around the top of the hill; planning to head down to the parking deck at the other end of the trail. This would have been great, if that route down the hill hadn't also been closed. So we made a big loop, stopped for an ice cream (which we totally had earned at this point,) and made the best of it by picking flowers and singing songs. It was not the plan, but it was a quiet and nice way to end our sightseeing. :)

One last photo shout-out from Rob to a special sister.
And that wraps up our road trip blogging!
Hope you have enjoyed seeing some of our photos. ;)

road trip- part 2

On to Budapest!

The Great Synagogue in Budapest.

Hungary's Parliament building.

The Great Market Hall.
This was one of our favorite spots in Budapest. We browsed crazy meat, gorgeous veggies, and incredible assortments of paprika.

Toby joining Hungary's top dogs in Heroes Square.

This is a reproduction of a Transylvanian castle in the city park. A lot of "original" historical buildings in these countries were damaged or destroyed by the Nazis or the Communists. I gotta tell ya, by the time we visited Budapest our enthusiasm was waning. We were pooped. Big dirty cities, tricky metro systems, and Hungarian was the most challenging language to decipher of all. It was a struggle.

Must be time to move on to Vienna!
Rob and the kiddos in front of Hofburg Palace.
This is one of the few appearances of our stroller on this trip. Mostly, we made the kids walk... part of that was because we backed over the stroller with the minivan on the first day of the trip and it was kinda broken for the rest of the trip. It has been laid to rest since we got home.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is just gorgeous. I love that colorful tiled roof!

Inside St. Stephens.

This is a photo shout out-- you know who you are. ;)

We toured the royal apartments of Hofburg Palace. This is part of the silver museum there. There are about 40 rooms full of dishes. It's insane. Charlotte and I were fascinated by the Empress Sissi. We both agreed with her love of ice cream, but her vanity and 3 hours a day spent on doing her hair were what convinced Charlotte that princess life was not for her.


The Opera House in Vienna.

We toured inside the opera house, but several of my photos did not turn out very well. I have never been to an opera house before, and thought it was very impressive. Rob was apparently feeling inspired by the surroundings as well, as he began singing the marriage of Figaro on our way out. :)

ROAD TRIP!

One day while looking at a map of Europe, I had the "brilliant" idea that we should drive a loop around Eastern Europe and see some of the cities that we might not have a chance to again. The plan grew and grew until it included 7 cities in 8 days. We covered nearly 1500 miles and spent about 23 hours in the car. Here's our route if you're curious. And now for the photos-- I promise to share only the highlights, or this could go on forever. ;)

Our first pit-stop was Nuremberg, Germany. We strolled the old town for just an hour or so and then grabbed some lunch. (Note: Throughout this trip there were many WWII and Communist memorials and museums that Rob and I normally would have been very interested in seeing... however, with 2 small children, we could not possibly go to places like the "Nazi Documentation Center" or the "House of Terror." I'm sure you can understand.)

Rob and I liked the Nuremberger-- 3 little brats on a roll with senf (mustard.) They say in Nuremberg that it's not the size of the sausage, but the flavor that counts. Yum.

After lunch, it was on to Prague.
Charlotte and Toby in front of the chapel at Prague Castle.

Charlotte enjoyed trying on some princess-wear... but a few days, and a few castles, later she told me that she definitely does not want to be a princess. Me neither. She's a smart girl.

On the Charles Bridge with Castle Hill behind us.
There are statues lining both sides of the bridge, and I kept Charlotte entertained on the walk by making up stories about each of them. She walked pretty much this entire trip!

Downtown Prague is very picturesque.
I love the towers with all the mini-turrets.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, dating back to the 1400s. There may be as many as 10,000 people buried here, as the graves are stacked on top of one another due to limited space. We also visited the Old New Synagogue-- completed in 1270, and Europe's oldest active synagogue. (No photos allowed inside.)

Castle Hill at sunset.
I think our favorite meal of the trip was at Colosseum Pizza in Prague. We thought it would be an "easy out" with the kids, but it totally surprised us. There was a guy playing guitar, candlelit tables, and best of all- a kid's corner! Our kids played while Rob and I had a lovely dinner.
The next morning we headed out to Bratislava, Slovakia.
The old town was teeny, tiny and very cute. They have several of these humorous statues around that the kids thought were fantastic.

We strolled to Michael's Gate (built around 1270) and had lunch in an Irish Pub.

Say "cheese."

Is that a UFO behind me?
No it's just a goofy example of Communist era bridge architecture.

We were told by a friend that we HAD to stop in Kaffee Mayer in Bratislava and have a piece of cake. This was Charlotte's choice-- and she LOVED it. :)