Vienna & Bratislava

Vienna is like the Paris of "Eastern Europe" - an absolutely beautiful city, with lovely architecture.

Enjoying our first Vienna sausage!

St. Stephen's Cathedral:

View from St. Stephen's Cathedral Tower:

Dinner at Griechenbeisl - the oldest restaurant in Austria...an amazing, traditional, Austrian feast!

Hofburg - complex of palaces where the Hapsburg emperors lived:

Mozart Statue

Spanish Riding School...home of the Lipizzaner stallions (we accidentally snuck into the riding school...oops!):

Schonbrunn Palace (Hapsburg summer residence):

A night at the Opera:

Champagne before the Opera!

Sacher-Torte after the Opera - the world's classiest chocolate cake (two layers of cake separated by apricot jam and covered in dark-chocolate icing) - delicious!

Bieber happened to be in Vienna as well...this was the scene outside of his hotel (the Sacher Hotel) throughout our entire stay...craaaazy, annoying fans!  Don't they realize he's going to sneak out the back?!

Vienna Easter Market:

Mulled wine...a staple during our trip!

Easter service with the Boys' Choir at the Imperial Music Chapel in Hofburg:

On our way from Vienna to Budapest, we stopped in Bratislava for the day.  With the combination of it being Easter and the fact that we were in the middle of a blizzard, it felt like we had the city to ourselves!  We all hope to return someday, preferably in the summertime, when Rick describes it as having a Mediterranean ambience.  

This is seriously how I looked throughout the majority of our trip...lookin' gooooooood, Kris.

Communist style "UFO" bridge

Bratislava Castle...in the distant background

Grassalkovich Palace, Slovakia's "White House"

Hviezdoslav Square:

Slovak National Theater

Fam in the Main Square

Whimsical statues dotting Bratislava's Old Town (they were apparently erected in order to entice locals back into the newly prettied-up Old Town):

Statue of a Napoleonic officer - with bare feet and a hat pulled over his eyes, it represents the Slovaks' revenge for the difficulties they faced at Napoleon's hands

Statue of Schoner Naci, who lived in Bratislava until the 1960s.  A poor carpet cleaner, he would dress up in his one black suit and top hat, and go strolling through the city, offering gifts to the women he fancied - cheering up the gloomy streets of communist Bratislava

This is Cumil ("the Peeper") - definitely my favorite of the statues - there's no story behind this one...the artist simply wanted to create a fun icon and let the townspeople make up their own tales.  The poor guy is constantly being run over though!

St. Michael's Gate - the last surviving tower of the city wall - zbohom Bratislava...onto our last stop, Budapest!

Eastern European Adventure - first stop, Prague!

Wow, what an adventure we had a few months ago over the Easter holiday!  We managed to fit in four countries in 9 days, and enjoyed every minute of it...the different currencies (yes, they each had their own currency), languages (again, 4 different languages), food & alllllllll the history.  And Kim & Scott were along for the ride as well, which made it that much better!

First stop...Prague!

We definitely lucked out in Prague...one of my sister's friends from college lives in Prague, and her and her family graciously agreed to take us around on the first day.  It was the perfect way to begin our adventure, accompanied by three locals.  We were fascinated by their stories of growing up under communist rule, and knowledge of the sights and history of Prague.  And most importantly, we got the inside scoop on what the best meals were - both in Prague, and in the other countries we were about to visit as well.  It was such a wonderful day, and we thank Petra and her parents for being such wonderful hosts!!!

We absolutely LOVED Prague!  It had so much to offer...the colorful and beautiful architecture, great (and very cheap!) beer and food, and friendly people.  

Our first traditional Czech lunch at Restaurace Mlejnice ("The Mill") - off to a great start! 

Powder Tower - the Gothic gate of the town wall, built to house the city's gunpowder.  This is the only surviving bit of wall that was built to defend the city in the 1400s



Municipal House - "pearl of Czech Art Nouveau"

Walking across Charles Bridge:

Views from the bridge:

Old Town Square - this has been a market square since the 11th century:

The crew in Prague's beautiful Old Town Square...since it was Easter, they had a huge Easter Market set up in the Square.  I think the mulled wine stall was definitely our favorite :)

Astronomical Clock - installed in the early 1400s...apparently created by a Hanus!  To say my Dad was excited about this is an understatement!

Views of Prague from the Clock Tower:

Prague Castle

Tyn Church

Another pit stop...hot honey wine - surprisingly tasty!

Tyn Church:

St. Vitus Cathedral inside Prague Castle:

Post exploration of Prague Castle:

Walking down Golden Lane

It was a tad bit chilly

Basilica and Convent of St. George

The beautiful streets of Prague!

Walk down Wenceslas Square:

St. Wenceslas Statue in front of the National Museum

Someone started a fire in one of the trashcans along Wenceslas Square...we definitely got in on this!  It was SO cold!

Mucha Museum:  Slav Epic; Alfons Mucha - the Art Nouveau poster artist and illustrator who created 20 large canvases celebrating the Slavic history

Old Jewish Cemetery - from 1439-1787, this was the only burial ground allowed for the Jews of Prague.  The tombs are layered seven or eight deep, and number close to 100,000

Taking a break from the Czech food...amazing pizza at Giovanni's!

Absinthe shots all around!  I think our photographer must have enjoyed a few as well before we asked him to take this picture...

Charles Bridge at night

Pivovarsky Dum ("The Brewhouse"):

Taste-testing a few of their beers...coffee-flavored, fruit-flavored, etc.

Our last meal, pork knuckle...the dish of Prague!

Next, we were off to Vienna & Bratislava!