Ahhh Paris!

We saw our companions off early the next morning after much hugging and kissing good bye, then we realised we were on our own for the first time in six weeks. We were a little "terrified" and a bit excited about the prospects. We left our 4-star hotel across from the Omnisports stadium where "Linkin Park" were playing the night before. This group is a big hit here...and I believe (cos I don't know who they are! Although David does!) they are well known internationally!!

We packed our bags, after a lesuirely breakfast and left the hotel and caught the Metro across town to our new hotel. The Hotel Marignan on Rue de Sommerand was recommended to us by our dear friends Greg and Judy. They did warn us that this was a cheap 1 or 2 star hotel, but as it was located in the Latin Quarter it was close to everything that we wanted to see in Paris. How right they were, although they did neglect to tell us that there was no elevator and our host "Paul" was quick to tell that we had our own balcony and toilet and then mentioned the shared shower and FIFTH FLOOR!!!!!!!! This meant a narrow spiral staircase and 92 steps (yes, I counted them - everytime I used them). David could make it in one go, but I could only make to the third or fourth floor before having to take a breather. Ahhh Paris!!!!

David in the cupboard that
is the toilet!

Our first thoughts were "Fawlty Towers" when we "took" in our room. The room was about the size of our bedroom at home, with a small double bed and a foldout single bed blocking the balcony. Oh yes the balcony was about 2 ft by 4 ft (huge!) The bathroom and toilet (which had a very squeaky door) was also in the room. David's knees were hard up against the toilet door when it was closed! THEN we had to wait nervously (spying out the door) for the shower room, then race across the hallway and slam the door behind. Coming out was even more hazardous!

Breakfast was included in the price of the room, and when we arrived we were led to a very small table and asked "en kaffee or chocolat?" Hmmm decisions? The very matronly French woman brought us a tray of goodies to eat including fresh bread sticks and butter, along with canned fruit salad, packaged jam, nutella and cheese. It went down a treat! (I ate the bread being Gluten free and all - isn't fresh white bread and butter worth the risk?)

We then spent the day wandering the Paris streets and found some wonderful shops...the display in the windows were amazing. Meats, cheese, marionettes, very stylish plastic chairs, parasols (I wanted one very badly), flowers, etc.  

A window of cheese..the one in the middle looks
like something that was left in the back of my
fridge for a few months!!

A feast for the eyes and nose (although the cheese shops smelt like "poo").


Ibu (African artefacts merchant
and his two young daughters.
Try to guess how old he is...

 We found a market with fresh produce, foie gras (we spoke to the producer "David" who said that his south eastern property has been featured on SBS Food Safari), wooden African artefacts (spoke to Ibu and his daughters - see photo) and a bakery of course! We bought a selection of cheese to have for our French lunch in the Menage (kitchen garden) of the Museum de Cluny with its Roman bathhouse ruins dating from the 1st century...very chic!

What a feast in the kitchen garden of the
Museum de Cluny...gorgeous!

The Paris streets of the Latin Quarter are fascinating and we spent quite a lot of time wandering. We frequented "our" Lebanese cafe a couple of times and enjoyed wonderful food and their own special tea: orange blossom, thyme and some other herb...very delicious. Ahhh Paris!

David and the Dame "Our Lady
of Paris"! Beautiful place of
worship and prayer.

We were staying two blocks from Notre Dame. What a beautiful church! We delighted in her architecture, and I think I took pictures of every angle. We also spent an hour or so sitting inside marvelling at her beauty...and pondering the souls that had worshipped in her grandure and prayed for our loved ones (inlcuding our dear friend Marlene facing chemo over the next six months - please include her in your prayers also!) We felt totally at peace in this wonderful place.

Next we took in the Orangery...a Museum which houses Monet's Water Lilies. I think David expected this to be a place outside where oranges used to grow...which is an easy mistake!! But we were delighted to wander around and around the beautiful Water Lilies and view these from every angle. We were also allowed to take pictures of the paintings but I found out that I cannot put these on the blog, so you will have to wait till I get home to have a look at them. There was also an exhibition of a photographer of the late 1800s - early 1900s, Heinrich Kuhn, whose works were stunning (Google him!). He used very advanced techniques to great effect. So, another delightful afternoon. We wandered home again through the streets...crowded but great for people watching. Ahhh Paris!

On our last day in Paris we wandered off to the Louvre, as one does! We travelled by Metro (even though only a few stations) and found ourselves in the shopping centre leading to the Museum and guess what? We found the little triangle meeting up with the big triangle and short queues into the Museum. This was a great start to our 8 (EIGHT) hour wander through the Louvre...oh yes, there is a lot to see in the Louvre...lots and lots and lots. (Statistics: if you look at everything in the Louvre for 30 seconds, it would take 3 months to get through everything there...scary!)

We took an audio tour to start with which took us past the important pieces eg Mona Lisa (I got a front row view of her and took her picture as well.) I think they have given up trying to stop people from taking photos in the Museums, but they do specify no flash..but even then people were using flash, which was slightly annoying! Anyway...what else did we see: Venus de Milo, Winged Victory (magnificent even without her head!), Hammurabi's Stone (Google!), Rameses II statue, lots and lots of magnificent statues...I do love the lovely "bottoms" on these statues, the French and Dutch masters...lots of paintings. We had to stop a few times. We had lunch in their very classy cafe and enjoyed a delightful meal with white wine...Ahhh Paris! (I haven't been able to post any pictures of the Louvre or the Orangery as the blog somehow or another censors these pictures and shut down the blog - I thought I had lost everything but was able to find it all again...very scary! So you will have to wait for these when I get home!)

We were foot sore to say the least, but decided to walk home along the Seine...and what a magical walk it was. The trees along the banks where lit up and looked stunning in their autumn colour. All the buildings along the way were also lit up including our lady of Paris...Ah Paris!


Paris at nightime...gorgeous!



Along the Seine...takes your breath away!



Our last view of the Eiffel Tower! Stunning!


As we were travelling down the escalators the next day on the way to Madrid, we looked at each other and declared our love for Paris (and each other!) and we promised to return one day...Ahhhh Paris!

One day in Paris!

For the last day of our Homelands Tour with our 42 companions we spent the day in and around the city of Paris, "as one does"! We all had a sense of foreboding as we felt sad that the trip was coming to a close yet happy that we were moving on to a new chapter of our trip and the others were glad to  be going home. Six weeks is a long time to be away from family and friends...so what about four months???!!!



Our amazing bus driver (for 5 out of six weeks) Silvia.

 So what did we do on our last day? Just a little aside here - Silvia our "larger" than life bus driver, who was sensational, funny and had amazing knowledge about every country we drove through. She could back that huge bus anywhere and everywhere. She took us through great big cities and tiny little towns all without any fuss or bother, she could squeeze the bus through gaps that I would have trouble driving my Subaru through (enjoy driving it to Sydney, Simon!) She only beeped the horn twice throughout the whole time she was driving...Silvia rocks.

Anyway, Silvia became our tour guide for the day and she drove us through Paris and around the Arc de Trompe three times so that we all had an opportunity to get a good look at it. She drove us around Notre Dame and we had time to have a look inside...what an amazing church built back in 1132. Stunning! Then we drove alongside the canal where the Louvre is. Huge! Then around Hotel des Invalides (where Napoleon is buried). Interesting! Then around the Eygptian thingy! Slightly boring! Except that David tried to use one the Frenchies fandangled toilets, but the door kept opening and closing on him, and I (along with many others) watched in delight as the door would open and there he was again...then he would disappear again as the door closed. He gave up trying to use the loo or close the door and had to "hold on" till another toilet opportunity came along...very funny! Then onto Sacre-Coeur. Very pretty! Then along the Champs-Elysees...where "the other half live". All of this and much more, but of course it was a cursory look around Paris, but it gave David and I a chance to decide which things we would like to look at in detail in our four days here.

Then Silvia dropped us off on the Seine for a canal cruise up and down the river. I find these cruises a great way to see the city, as there are unobstucted views to the important places and buildings with dialogue about each site. The weather was fine, (although a bit cold!) so we were able to sit up the top of the boat in the sunshine, which was delightful.

Then the "piece de resistance"! Yes, I know everyone and their dog has been to the Eiffel Tower, but...
You have to understand that I am terrified of heights, so what on earth was I thinking when I bought I ticket to the top of the tower??????????????????

We stood in line to buy the ticket for about half and hour which I didn't think was too bad. So far so good (although my bladder was suggesting that I should think about finding a toilet. Are there toilets at the Eiffel Tower, you ask...so did I. Of course, madam, there are toilets on every level. Huh????) So now I move into the line that takes you to the lift...still good! Now I'm on the lift, holding tightly the "one" pole in the middle of the lift car along with everyone else who were too frightened to look out the window. Still okay! Then the flipping lift started off at a great rate of knots, the ground disappeared and my stomach (and bladder) have an anxiety attack...but the lift kept going up without any regard for my feelings. Then it stops on the first floor and I thought about running out (to where I don't know) but couldn't prise the fingers off the pole...so had to stay on board. Not okay! Then the flipping lift starts again. Now I'm really really anxious...what was I thinking! The lift stops...David prises my white knuckled fingers off the pole and leads me out of the lift. Now what! Really, really not okay! I willed my legs into walking forward toward the railing...don't look down...down look down...note to self "DON'T LOOK DOWN". Then some bright spark says let's go to the top straight away! Sure...they all say...I'm doomed. What was I thinking?

It is funny some of the thoughts that go through your head when you are in a stressful situation on your way up the Eiffel Tower:
What if terrorists choose today to blow up the Eiffel Tower?
Did they check the tower for stress fractures today? If so, what guarantees do I have that this tower will not fall down anyway?
What's holding the lift up? How does it work? How long ago did they check the lift mechanics?
I would be dead very quickly if it did fall down..wouldn't I? I wouldn't know anything...would I?
Is our life insurance in order?
And on and on...


The view as the sun was setting!



The line up to the top of the tower was very long and slow and "too" close to the edge for my liking. All the while, I had hold of David's jacket in a vice like grip which meant that when he moved...I moved. If I was any closer I would have been inside his jacket. Really really really not okay! The people moved foward into the lift well, I was pushed from behind into the lift well...there was NO going back...I was committed. (I was feeling like I might need to be committed, and my bladder was not happy!) Into the lift...no pole...what??? Hanging onto David like a limpet, eyes very very firmly shut, the lift took off...again without my permission. It was going up...fast! Cindi, dear Cindi was exclaiming "Oh, look it's beautiful out there. If you thought it was high before...just look...it's much much higher now." "Cindi - shutup" squeezed out of my clenched teeth.

 Finally, the interminable trip finished and we were at the top of the Eiffel Tower...David moved...I moved. Legs move...please! Bladder be quiet! I moved (no, shuffled) over to the edge (enclosed area) and looked out over the magnificent city of Paris. This wasn't so bad...remember earlier note to self re NOT LOOKING DOWN!

It was a stunningly beautiful view from all around. I was starting move more freely now and the feet were actually lifting off the ground...then someone suggested going up to the next level...what next level??? No, you can't be serious...they were serious! I had come this far and hadn't died yet so I guess it is in order to go to the next level. Steps (with gaps) led up to the next level which was an open air (agh!!!!!!!!!!!!!) area with only wire on the top half of the railing wall...agh!!!!!! David...where are you? David...don't move so fast...David wait for me...David don't go near the edge with the camera...David it's so beautiful up here. But finally my bladder could not be ignore any longer and yes I did use the toilet on the top of the Eiffel tower!! What a claim to fame!

The Tower all alight! Gorgeous!

More views! Stunning!

In the end it was easy "bubs" to be up there...I figured I wasn't going to die after all and I even opened one eye on the way down in the lift. We got out at the second level and had a cuppa (as you do!) and as the sun set over the city...suddenly the tower lit up like a Christmas tree. By this time I had adjusted enough (and the bladder was empty) so I could look up at the tower then suddenly the lights started to flicker on the tower...what a magnificent sight.

I didn't die...there were no terrorists...there were no stress fractures...my bladder was happy...and we have some wonderful memories!

David and I very much alive on the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Happy Birthday to me!!

We had arrived in Amsterdam the day before my birthday after travelling many many kilometres via the Zuiderzee from Hamburg. We were dropped off on the top of the dyke for a look around and once outside the bus our lives were in extreme danger...no not from marauders, murderers or traffic...but rather the gale force winds whipping up and over the dyke and making it very difficult to walk vertically.  

Brrr! on top of the dyke!

We had to go up and over the bridge to the other side (as you do when on the top of a dyke) and this was very difficult indeed, you had to hang on tight to the hand rail and pull yourself over the bridge. This wind would drive you mad very very quickly. It was truly good to be back on the bus! Yikes on the dykes - you can keep them!!

In Amsterdam we all had a "little" look around the red light district, which I believe you have to do when in Amsterdam. It was quite disturbing and unsettling and a bit sad, although David thought the girls looked "friendly". I can now cross this off the list of things to do. But what did amaze me was the huge church slap bang in the middle of the red light district. I don't know if it was operating but I trust that it provides solace and help where needed in that place.



Clogs at the clog museum - one has to see clogs in
Holland! Pretty clogs....



Don't you love these buildings??? They make me think of "Cat
in the Hat"!


 

Hundreds of boats along the canals. Great mode of transport!!

 
But...what a lovely day I had for my birthday (22nd October). If started with a canal cruise around the habour then into the little canals that surround the inner city of Amsterdam. It was a delight to see the many different boats that people use along the canals and the beautiful buildings (although slightly skewed - because of unstable foundations?? - buildings leaning percariously with windows out of whack! Very cute!)
 
This cruise lasted about an hour and dropped us off near the Rijk's Museum. What a wonderful array of artworks...HEAVEN for us! Rembrandt and Vermeer were my favourites with the Night Watch being the piece de resistance. Stunning, although it was a little disturbing that at some time in the 18 century this painting was reduced in size by cutting off bits so that it would fit in a particular place.  Aghhhh!!! Vermeer's beautiful work with light astounded me...as you moved further away from the painting the brighter it became! HOW DO THEY DO THAT!! Rembrandt with his little touches of white paint on collars and sleeves make them come alive. Gorgeous!

Birthday lunch alongside the canal...in the freezing cold. Although as one friend keeps reminding us..."the only problem with the
weather is what you wear"! This is me and my $50 Aldi Down Jacket which is as warm as toast, not even the gale force (below zero) Zuiderzee wind could get through this baby.




One of the many bridges over the canals...very pretty!



Anyway, after the museum (it was hard to leave even after three hours!) and find a place for lunch. We wandered the lovely little lanes along side the canals and finally found a little (Italian) cafe down some very narrow steps. We chose our meals, (non) gluten spaghetti for me (I'm okay!!) and gourmet sandwich for David. The waitress asked if we would like to sit downstairs or upstairs (gorgeous little spiral staircase!)  but we wanted to sit outside alongside the canal. She laughed and said okay. We didn't understand why she laughed..until after we had been sitting there for a while and people were looking at us funnily, we twigged that people who live in Amsterdam do not sit outside in the freezing cold to eat lunch. It was cold but we persevered and had a lovely lunch. We then wandered through the streets of Amsterdam and back to the pick up point to go back to the hotel.



It was delightful...and a memorable birthday.



Poland "the surprise package"

We've been everywhere (in Poland!) man! We have managed to criss cross much of Poland in search of our family's villages, and seen some amazing countryside and lovely towns and villages. I (Chris) have loved Poland and have been surprised at it's beauty. We even got up to the Baltic Sea at one point visiting (our) most northern village of Kamein (I'll have to check the spelling as I have put my Polish maps away)!

One of the loveliest cities we spent time in was Poznan (Posen in German - many of our forebears came from around this area). With its little town square (the steps of the town hall being the scene of the 1988 (?) worker's revolution) with its gorgeous buildings of one window wide. These were the houses of the poor who could not afford to build homes of more than one window - two windows was for the wealthy??!!??

It doesn't take long to wander around the square but around every corner there is something wonderful to see.



Some of the beautifully restored buildings in the town square of Poznan.
These buildings are one (or two if they were wealthier) window wide
and multicoloured.



The worker's revolution on the steps of the town hall in Poznan!

The town hall where all the action happened!

More of the town square..we were there early in the morning
and found the cleaners cleaning up from the big night before!

A Long Way from HOME!

We have now started the "business" of this trip over the past few days. We have started visiting the HOME villages of our companions of which most are in Poland. We arrived in Poland on Wednesday and have been hard at it visiting every town that people have had relatives come from.

I (Chris) have had more history lessons than you can poke a stick at lately! And now it is the Polish history that I am trying to get my head around.

Polish to German to Russian back to Polish. (Briefly!)

Whist German there were many Lutheran churches around, but once back in Polish hands, all traces of German people and their "stuff" have been obliterated, and most of the churches (once Lutheran) are now Catholic.

We visited a number of villages. This is Mazurowice (Polish) or Maserwitz (German) which is where the Winter family orginated from (on the Rohde side). Nothing to look at except a (modern) sign, but looking around the town you can "sort of" imagine what it might have been like a couple of hundred years ago. Many of the buildings have not been repaired for many decades and there are newer buildings of course, but many a time there are old buildings in the back yards of these newer buildings and they are used for stables, barns, chook sheds etc.

My great, great grandmother's (on Dad's side of the family) home town!

 We also visited Lisowice (Polish) or Leschiwitz (German) which is where the Pfitners (also on the Rohde side of the family) originated from.

It is quite sobering to be made aware of the journey that our forebears made to come to Australia. They left behind family and homes and made the arduous journey across Poland (get out a map!) from a little port just out of Zielona Gora (Grunberg/German) and got onto barges which travelled along the Oder River under a bridge where people threw rotten tomatoes at them (why??) travelled through the spreewald (Spree River) and across the country of Germany on the Elbe River and caught ships out of a port in Hamburg. Then travelled many, many months to Australia on these ships. The trip was perilous and many people died on board and were buided at sea.

Leschwitz - where the Pfitzners originated from
which is not far from Maserwitz (Winters came from).
People married from the same village or ones very
close by. (No public transport!!)

Original "Fachwerk style" of architecture used on German buidlings
back in our forebears days.

So many of these buildings dotted everywhere and in every town we visited! This was found in Leschwitz. Could it have been
the home of one of our forebears???? Romantic to think that it could be!!

Chris and Margaret (Brooks) who share
Pfitzner forebears and the original
Lutheran Church.

The original Lutheran Church that serviced our relatives
 back in the old days! Still operating today as a Catholic Church).



Inside the Lutheran Church (now Catholic) that many a marriage was performed
in "those" days. (1800s)



Kahn Fahrt(ing) around!

I (Chris) am recovering from a cold (which has very "kindly" circulated around the bus) and have not had the energy to BLOG -  so will have to miss a few days. Things that we will need to remember to tell you about when we get home include:

- Wartburg Castle (where Luther was "squirrelled" away under another name, because he was wanted by the authorities, and where he translated the new testament from Greek into German in 10 WEEKS.)
- The Bach Museum in Eisenach (many of Bach's instruments were exhibited there and we had a "little" concert featuring some of the pianos, harpsicords, etc.)
- Luther House in Eisenach - where Luther used to live (David bought a pair of Luther socks - with "Here I Stand" written on them. (Not Luther's personal socks of course!!)
- Buchenwald Concentration Camp on the way to Leipzig - which David will need to fill you in on anyway as it was far too distressing for me. I stood in the doorway of the cremetorium but could go no further as I was overwhelmed by the terrible evil pertetrated here!
- Colditz Castle - which was a castle used for British prisoners who kept escaping. They had a museum dedicated to the inventive ways the men managed to escape - although most of them were recaptured.
- St Thomas Kirchke - were Bach was a cantor and home to St Thomas Boys Choir (although didn't hear them when we were there! (Bach composed something for each Sunday service for many years. Not sure how he had time with his 20 children!!????!!!!)

But I will tell you about the little Kahn Fahrt (boat ride) in the canals of the Spreewald. What a delightful way to spend an afternoon floating around the many kilometres of canals in the Spreewald. We were in boats with picnic tables (of all things) and around each corner was another interesting thing to see (people live along these canals and get to and from their house in boats). Our little boats were propelled around these canals by a lady and a pole. She certainly earned her "bikkies" that day as we were "poled" around for about 11/2 hours. It was sooooo relaxing and wonderful (although I did check our captain "pole" lady for fatigue every so often to make sure she wasn't going to "cark" it on us! But she seemed to hardly work up a sweat!) We made a couple of stops along the way to canalside markets - who were selling, pickles (of course!), beer and "Gluhwein" which is a type of mulled warm/hot wine. So, of course you do as the Speewald"ers" do and have Gluhwein as you float along the canal. Delightful!

At our canalside stop for a cup of Gluhwein!

Looks like I've already partaking in too much Gluhwein!!

One of the many homes along the canals in the Spreewald! These homes are usually
only occupied in the Summer and Spring as the canals freeze over in Winter. Although
once the canals are frozen, people can skate around on them. Very convenient!

Duckies everywhere! (I couldn't help but think of Wind in the Willows and "Floating along"...Ratty and Toad!! Very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Just ANOTHER Church?????

We have been moving very quickly over the past few days. We are criss-crossing the countryside, which I must add is very beautiful. Everything is very green and the trees are in the processing of changing into their autumn colour, with little villages dotted everywhere – each with its church spire! Gorgeous! We popped into Czech Republic (Prague) then popped back again into Germany (Dresden).

Dresden is another beautiful city with stunning architecture everywhere in the city. But the most intriguing building in this city is the Frauen Kirche (Church of Our Blessed Lady). Now don’t be confused – this is a Evangelical (Lutheran) Church with a great big statue of Luther out the front.

This is a group of "Lutherans" in front of Frauenkirchke and Luther's statue.

Here is the history of Fauenkirschke in a nutshell:

Original church that stood on this site was consecrated to Mary – thus the name “Frauenkirche”.

By the early 18 century this “Gothic” church was in a poor state of repair.

In 1722 the Dresden City Council commissioned a master carpenter – George Bahr – to draw up plans for a new place of worship.

The dome (bell of stone) was an architectural masterpiece weighing 12,000 tons.

Construction was completed 17 years later when the pinnacle cross was set up on top of the dome in 1743 (how did they do this in those days????)

On 13^th February 1945, Dresden was bombed and the Frauenkirche was gutted by fire. Two days later the dome collapse in on the church.

The ruins and rubble of Frauenkirche stayed like that for 45 years ‘like an open wound’.

13 February 1990 (exactly 45 years later) a group of citizens set up the “Appeal from Dresden” to raise funds to reconstruct the Frauenkirche. The world wide response was overwhelming and the Dresden foundation was set up in 1994.

Reconstruction began in 1994. Based on three principles: 1. George Bahr’s Frauenkirche was to be rebuilt according to the original plans and use as much of the original structure and material as possible; 2. State of the art technology be employed in the process; and 3. Everything required to ensure lively usage of the church building should be taken into consideration.

After a painstaking process of archaeological work and reconstruction, the Frauenkirche was completed and consecrated in 2005 with a Christian (Lutheran!) service of great joy & thanksgiving to God. The British people, including the Cathedral in Coventry (Britain), which was destroyed by German bombers in 1940, donated the magnificent new pinnacle cross which sits on top of the 70 metre high stone dome! We were really moved by this (& other) symbols of reconciliation and the story of Frauenkirche.

We were also blessed to be able to come back that evening for a 10:30pm Organ recital, including works by Bach and a rendition of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”! Special moments!

In the square in front of Frauenkirchke we saw the most dedicated Busker in the world. Check out the photos!



Our new friend the "Busker" who brings his grand piano on a trailer pulled by his three wheeled motor bike which he parks outside the square somewhere, he then pushes the trailer "mit piano" into the square right up to Luther's statue for the afternoon's busking! Now that's dedication.





David offered to help him push the trailer the last few metres! (And then we didn't even get to here him play!!)

Pretty in Prague

I am sooooooo in love with Prague! What a magnificent city Prague is - I am totally in love with it! From the moment we arrived I knew I was going to love it - then we were set free to wander around by ourselves for a few hours! This is the only problem with being on a tour that you are locked into a schedule and are time bound, but we are managing to pack in lots and lots of stuff anyway.So off we wandered and were captivated by the beautiful street scapes. Building after beautiful building presented themselves to us! Delightful narrow streets led us to the city square, where towering churches with special clocks and towers towered over us!

After a few hours we decided to find a cafe in the square to have a quiet drink, and found a cafe with seats overlooking the square and the astronomical clock. As we sat there a crowd started to gather around the clock, so we asked does something special happen and were told that when the clock strikes the hour it does all sorts of wonderful things - so we have front row seats for the exciting event - which I might add was a bit of a let down...but it doesn't matter "we were there" when it happened.

After a good night's rest we were up early the next morning to go on a guided tour of the town, which was fascinating - pity I can't remember a thing the guide said but it was interesting anyway! We walked from the top of the town from the largest palace (in the world - I think!!!) which is actually a town in itself, down the narrow streets and over the most beautiful bridge to our destination.

PRAGUE is my most favourite place in the world so far (except for Israel - but in a different way!) and will return one day to spend a lot more time - but I might have to wait a few years (to save up!!)

Night life in Prague!



From the Charles Bridge!

From the Charles Bridge! Stunning!

I guess you get the picture about my Prague feelings - so here are some pictures of beautiful Prague!!

I am hoping and praying that all is well with you. I think of you all at different times, and at "odd" times, but I do think of you! Family, friends, colleagues - May the Lord bless and keep you in his loving care. Chris (David is asleep - he's very tired!!)

A couple of the vehicles around town!



 

The Astronomical Clock



Around Australia (oops Austria!!)

We have resisted the temptation to buy a T-shirt here in Austria (my fingers keep wanting to type Australia) “There are no kangaroos in Austria!”

Austria is a country of contrasts, although it is hard to form an impression in one or two days!!



Our Hotel at Innsbruck on the left!



Innsbruck – first impressions of Innsbruck were that we had somehow arrived in a Eastern BlocK country from the 70s. the buildings were drab, square and uniform – all the same, row after row. The graffiti was everywhere – some of it artistic but mostly untidy and ugly. The hotel room was a drab and uninteresting – with a hospital feel about it! Anyway we were told that there was nothing much to look at in Innsbruck so we moved on to Salzburg. I assume that somewhere in Innsbruck there is an old city which might have afforded some interesting buildings – but I guess we’ll never know!



View from the fort! Spectacular!



Going up to the fort in the funicular!



Salzburg – again the outer suburbs were drab and uniform, and we must have driven through the red light district - very interesting (???!!) but once past this we moved closer to the Old City of Salzburg. Our hotel (Room 317) was  the best hotel that we have stayed for the whole trip so far – 4 or 5 star rating. The breakfast and dinners were fantastic (I rate a hotel by the food – David by the size of the bathroom!! Or whether we get two pillows!!!) The hotel was an easy walk to the Old City and we had a guided tour in the morning then were on our own for the afternoon. We managed a tour in the old fort, with its beginnings in 1077, and after nearly one thousand years it is a huge fortress of many acres on the top of hill accessible by funicular (cable car thingy!!) We did what every self respecting tourist must do when in Salzburg - we went to a concert in the Mirabell Concert Hall to hear Motzart, Haydn and Dvorak. Gorgeous room sublime music. We were totally enthralled by the "Twins quartet"! Overall we enjoyed our brief stay here!



Hundredwasser architecture! Fascinating!



Vienna - Another delightful city but I personally preferred Salzburg. We visited delightful buildings and discovered the architect Hundredwasser (sp??) who designed very interesting buildings including a school somewhere in Germany which is supposedly more "out there" than this building. Because we have moved on from Vienna the memories are fading so I will need to rely on my pics.

Catch up soon!  Love Chris (and David!!)