As usual, I was so busy having fun that my blogging got WAY behind my travels. I’m home now, getting ready to hit the road again, and I realized that if I don’t do a post about this trip, I will probably forget where I was and what I did. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve had to look up something on my blog to jog my memory. Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose.
As I mentioned in earlier posts, the pre-trip to Berlin was fantastic. We had one more stop, in Dresden, before we joined the rest of the group in Prague for the main trip.
It was hard to believe that so much of Dresden was destroyed by Allied bombs during WWII.
As usual, Barb and I found a high point in the castle that afforded us an excellent panoramic view of this delightful city.
In addition to climbing the Castle tower, we also toured the Castle Museum. All I could think about when I saw the exhibits, was how many people must have died, either from starvation or in battle, for royalty to collect all these gold do-dads and fancy clothes.
During the two evenings that we spent in Dresden, we enjoyed people watching in the main square, where there was live music and dancing.
On our way to Prague, we stopped at Terazin, which was a Gestapo prison during WWII. It was sobering to see how widespread cruelty to other humans is.
Prague
I visited Prague for the first time in 2014 with Vermont Bike Trips. Although I did see some of the same sights again, like the Charles Bridge, the astronomical clock and the castle,
there were many new experiences, such as the delightful concert in the Mirror Chapel.
I love the blend of scheduled and unscheduled time on OAT trips.The free time allowed us to attend the concert and have dinner at the Blue Duckling, which was recommended by our dear friend Elena.
I recalled visiting the “Fred and Ginger” building on my VBT trip, and I enjoyed it enough to return. It has since been renamed The Dancing House. (Fred and Ginger was deemed “too American” a title).
When I visited in 2014, There was no elevator–but the walk up the stairs had lots of “interesting” art on the walls, such as this magazine cover.
Now, an elevator whisks you to the bar on the top floor, and if you want to go into the “hat” to enjoy the view, you now have to pay for that privilege.
The hotel that OAT chose, the K+K Hotel, was centrally located and was quite beautifully decorated, with a quirky elevator that motivated me to take the stairs.
If Art Deco is your “thing” be sure to tour the Municipal House, which is LOADED with art deco treasures.
We were lucky enough to be there to catch a fashion show rehearsal, but I found the hairdos of the three little girls on the tour equally fascinating. I can’t imagine how long it took their mom to create those designs on her little girls’ heads!
After three days in Prague, it was time to move on to Cesky Krumlov, but on the way, we had another grim stop, this time to a Soviet prison camp in Vojna. It was originally build by German POWs as a labor camp near the uranium mines, but then transitioned into a Communist labor camp for political prisoners. The poor Czech people were getting hammered from extremes on the left and the right!
I visited Cesky Krumlov with VBT, but the emphasis was clearly on biking. It was nice to have time to explore the city on foot. Because I have discovered I have a strong preference for the OAT itinerary, I’ve decided that my biking days are over.
The hotel that OAT chose, the Ebersbach was perfectly located, so that we could walk everywhere. The included breakfast sucked, but the location was perfect and my room was lovely.
OAT gave us a voucher for entry into 5 area museums and enough free time for us to enjoy them on our own. Barb and I visited four of them, skipping the monastery.
Of course, after we had visited the Castle Museum, we had to climb to the top of the tower for a panoramic view.
Let me tell ya, it was NOT an easy climb up those narrow, uneven stairs. Barb stopped to explore the dungeon and I caught my breath while I was taking her photo.
Bratislava
The next country we visited after our adventure in Slavonice, was Slovakia. I absolutely LOVED Bratislava. Where else can you have tea in a bomb shelter that has themed rooms? Can you tell that Barb and I were in the “Africa” room?
Whimsical art was EVERYWHERE in Bratislava. Check out their postal box. Now THAT’S creative.
I LOVED the Slovakian sense of humor!
As usual, our drive to Budapest was broken up by an interesting stop. This time, we visited Roman ruins at Carnuntum. Mike would have been in his glory here, but since I didn’t have him to explain the historical impact of this site, I had to rely on our guide and the signage.
Budapest
It is almost time for me to leave for the airport for the next trip, so Budapest will not get the attention it deserves. What a wonderful city! Not only was the Hotel President Budapest well located, but the delightful rooftop bar was the perfect gathering spot from which to watch the sun set.
Speaking of sunset, we also experienced the Danube by night. The photo atop this post was taken on our evening cruise.
As was the case with the other countries we visited, Hungarians don’t shy away from the hard lessons of the past. This shoe monument memorializes the Jews that were forced to line up along the Danube, strip naked (during the winter) and hold hands. The Hungarian Nazis wanted to conserve bullets, so they only shot the second or third person, and because they were holding hands the others were pulled into the water by the ones that had been shot.
We were able to walk just about everywhere, which is probably why I didn’t gain my usual 5 “trip” pounds.
I have been lucky to find interesting companions on all my OAT trips. And this was no exception. For one of our nights in Budapest, Barb and I had dinner at a nearby restaurant with our new buddies, Linda, Marleen and Gail.
I had expected more reverence to be shown to Ronald Reagan because of his “Mr Gorbachev, tear down the wall”speech. FINALLY, as we were getting ready to head for home, we encountered a statue in his honor.
I’ll end this saga with a group photo. Next trip— Canada. I hope you’ll come along!
Destination NOW 