Ending our trip

All of us finally arrived back home in the USA-- most not without some trauma or another.  Weather on the East cost caused a number of delays for some of us.  Joyce actually thought she might have to spend the night in JFK airport, but was diverted on standby to Reagan and taxied to Dulles hotel where her car was located.

Bob probably had the most traumatic experience from Budapest to Indianapolis via Amsterdam and Minneapolis.  He came home early as his Mother was admitted to the hospital and eventually in ICU.  She never fully regained consciousness after he arrived June 5, and she passed away on June 11.  She was 90 years old and had struggled with failing health issues for several years.  We feel fortunate that Bob was able to be with her in those final hours.

Our trip was fabulous with great friends and family meandering the rivers of Eastern and Central Europe.  We probably wouldn't take the same cruise over again, but we are already thinking about another cruise, possibly through France as well as a road trip on our own through Germany. There are numerous companies offering the very same river cruises, but we are sold on Avalon.  If you want the particulars why we like this line over the others, contact us and we can expand our thoughts for you.  

Thanks for following along with us on the blog.  Modern technology has made blogging much easier than when we started travel blogging in 2008.  

                   

     

                                         River Cruising 2015

Prague Part IV

This is a view of Prague from the Prague Castle complex.

This is the Charles Bridge bisecting the Old Town. Joyce

and Lois' apartment was about the 2:00 position-- walking

distance to everything.  Pat and Joy were straight up at 12:00,

In the New Town, near the top of the photo.

You could definitely spend a week in Prague and never 

have to visit the same building or even the same street twice.

Food choices were excellent, tasty and very reasonable, as was the

wine.  Our driver to the airport said the next two months 

would see 250,000 tourists a week and they would be so

thick, you would be shoulder to shoulder.  OMG!  And we thought 

things were bad this weekend.  He said forget about

finding a seat at the patio dining areas.  We had many, many

choices even with a large number of tourists.

These are decorated gingerbread pieces, using

lace doilies or fabrics as the pattern.  Unbelievable.

Everything you see is edible.

Our apartment kitchen and living area.

Security for our apartment was incredible.  We

had to navigate three separate doors with coded

keypad entries before we could arrive at our 

elevator. This complex won an award  in 2008 for best 

renovation and it shows.

Prague Part III

Astronomical tower

Municipal House- reported to be the most beautiful building in Prague. The building was built from 1905-1912 and is an absolutely gorgeous example of Art nouveau style throughout the building.

  We ate lunch in this dining room and the photo

  comes up way, way short to illustrate the beautiful

  surroundings.  Food was delicious and reasonable.

Mucca Museum-  this museum is dedicated to the Czech-born Alphonse Mucca ( 1860-1939) who won acclaim for introducing French Art nouveau when he painted a poster for actress Sarah Bernhardt.  He went on to paint more posters, jewelry, furniture and many more items.  His final rendition was a 20 painting Slavic Epic which we had seen on a Rick Steeves special.  Unfortunately, the Slav Epic is now housed in the National Gallery in Prague ( closed for renovation ) Below are some of his posters.  Since no photos were allowed in the museum, these all came from the internet.

Prague Part II

After our Prague Castle trip, we treated ourselves to wine and snacks at the apartment where Lois and  Joyce are staying.  Great to just chill out a bit and regroup.  We had booked a Vivaldi concert at at nearby St. Clements Cathedral for 7:00.  The concert was magnificent in this lovely cathedral.  We had nearly front row seats and could see all the performers.  We heard Bach, Hayden, Schubert, Vivaldi and many others.

  Snack time and a cooling off and recharge time.

Prague Castle complex, St. Vitas Cathedral

St. Clements Cathedral where we had concert.

St. Clements is a Greek Catholic cathedral with

a cherub theme.  We couldn't begin to capture

all the lovely cherub sculptures throughout the 

building.  The acoustics are reported to be some 

of the best in all of Prague.

After finishing dinner, we wanted to experience the Charles Bridge at night.  We were delighted to see one of our concert performers playing along the bridge.  We told him we had just seen the concert, so he played several beautiful songs just for us!   We were smitten for sure.  Actually purchased one of his CDs.  It  was a magical finish to a long, exhausting day.

Visiting Prague

Prague has been one adventure after another with 4 women out on the town. Joy and Pat are in New Town and Joyce and Lois are in Old Town, about 5 minutes from Charles Bridge. The two placs are about 20-25 minutes apart.....all depending on how fast you navigate the tourist traffic and how many times you stop for gelato or trdelnik- a favorite Slavic pastry.

We have packed  two very full days and evenings and seen nearly everything we had on our list.  On Saturday, the heat was horrible, but nevertheless, we chose to head up the hill to the Prague Castle which really isn't a castle at all, but a series of buildings with St. Vitas Cathedral as a centerpiece.

After nearly 20 days of castles and cathedrals, we were numb, but this one was stunning and possibly the most beautiful.

We always managd to find little outdoor cafés for lunch as well as dinner.  Food and wine were great and we thought reasonably priced. This was our final evening in Prague.  The weather had cooled enough Lois had to cover up with a blanket.

Traveling to Prague

It is Friday and we are headed to Prague--Pat, Joy, Lois and Joyce.  It has been a long night as we received a call about 10:00 PM  Thursday evening Budapest time ( 4:00 PM Eastern) that Bob's mother had taken a turn for the worse and was being placed in ICU with a breathing tube.  Earlier reports had appeared less critical, but this time, we knew we needed to send him back to the states ASAP.  Thankfully, our wonderful friends ( and travel agents ) Chuck and Janice Maida kicked in to " super agent mode" and called the airlines.  Janice was able to convince Delta to get him on a plane, exchanged tickets, no charge with decent seats. He left Budapest at 6:00 AM this morning ( 12:00 midnight US  time ) He had no sleep as he had to depart for the airport at 3:15 AM.  He will arrive in Indianapolis this evening by 5:35 PM ( 11:35  Prague time).  All this in really just 17 hours elapsed time.

We are outside of Prague less than 2 hours and we have van problems!!  Oh, boy, another adventure.

We ended up over three hours to get a replacement van and driver.  They had to transport us to the next gas station and when we 4 girls climbed into the highway assistance truck and found an opened half consumed Corona beer, we dissolved into total hysteria.

The driver was not from Prague, so when we arrived he couldn't find our apartment.  After numerous failed attempts, we gave up and went to Joy and Pat's hotel where we checked them in, stored our luggage had a drink and dinner, then hired a local cab to take us to our apartment.

The apartment is beautiful, modern and spacious.  We are in the heart of the Old Town, just minutes from the famous Charles Bridge.

Budapest Continued.....

We purchased an additional tour for this afternoon in Budapest.  Our tour took us to the lovely Opera House, a Department Store which is now a Bookcafe and finally to the House of Hungarian Art Noveau.

          Above and below, Opera House

   

     Above and below, department store

   This was one of the desserts we were served 

    in the Bookcafe.  Totally awesome!

   House of Hungarian Art Nouveau, above and below.