deutsche moment: June 2006

vienna

landed in vienna.

mom (and bill's) dream come true.. horse carriage ride around the town

suess!

city hall built around the year of 1900

cityscape as scene from the stefan's dom tower

every window in this apartment building is different

for those who appreciate giger

the scultpures show the horses with out reins to illustrate how the people want to be guided but not forced into one direction or the other.

sunset, carriage ride, vienna, it was a good moment

we listened to the resident chamber orchestra. they played the best of Mozart and Brahms, soprano, tenor, and ballet dancers included!

bratislava

we're heading north again. our first stop on the return trip is bratislava.. the capital of slovakia

skyline seen from the castle

well, it's a well. this one, located in the castle basement, goes down 100's of feet to the danube

roman ruins in front at the castle. laying here in the grass, in the shade, is one of my favorite moments of this trip.

passageway.

i adore the shutters

a fun and artsy city with a sense of humor.

the book said, "if you haven't a picture of yourself with the sewer worker, then you haven't been to bratislava" and here's bill

the national theater. ironically the independent "underground" theater is located next door.

felines

knee of the donau

on the afternoon of our second day in budapest we were given a choice.. be trapped on the ship.. or travel in a bus across the knee of the danube. we chose the latter. so we rode through the suburbs of budapest.. on the side of pest. we passed roman ruins and visited 2 towns and castle. the names of everything escape me at the moment.. so for the geography people.. check back in a few days.. and it'll be updated.

if i understood and remember the german tour.. this town.. which is an artist colony has a population of 5 thousand or so, and 12 churches. of these buildings, today only a few operate as churches. this is one of them.

a tree! i like trees a lot

we traveled to a castle ruin. here is the knee of the danube.

more roman ruins as seen from the castle.

castle wall

restored castle tower

while walking around this site i heard flapping and distressed chirping coming from the bushes. i look over the wall to see a cage that housed pidgeons. inside was in process of capturing one of the birds.

a basilica

walking about budapest

we have a free morning and walk across the river to buda

this church is carved from a cave in the mountain.

st michael and pony. he's the man who converted hungarians to christianity

mother mary as seen from entrance of cave

church interior

no scantily dressed women allowed.

this fancy hotel houses a thermal bath. the bath itself remains a publicly owned and managed. this thermal bath has been used for centuries.. corporate control would surely cause uproar

pest evening

we walked the pest side of the river. on the way home, the day's last light and remants of moisture from a late shower cause light to glow. below are some attempts to capture this moment. i think i found some success. walking though this city at this time, with this light, and moisture made me feel human again.

at this square a hungarian church group sang gospel. the flowers are beautiful, the music enthusiastic, but not exactly good. well, and really.. to those who say there's no such thing as mediocre music, it's either really good, or terrible, i guess this music fell on the terrible side.. with all respect to their energy and effort.