Wein (Vienna), Austria

After going to Budapest we spent a few days in Beautiful Vienna, Austria.

Here are some photos from our trips. Yep - there is a Harley shop in Vienna!
We ate at the World Famous Figlmuller Restaurant in Vienna - where they have das Grosser Schnitzel!! Wolfgang is eating the "small portion"!!
You can see Jeff's big portion above - bigger than the plate even!! It was super good!
Our crazies at Figlmuller

This was a neat observatory in Vienna called Urania.

This is Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) - the gods were against me seeing this one up close - I guess. We visited it 3 separate times and each time it was either closed or services were going on. So my photos are from the back only. Also it was surrounded by scaffolding because they were giving it a well needed bath. The interior of St. Stephen's

Services going on!

See how dirty it is! More interior - I love the floor!

Zoom in of the alter in the above photo - it was on the left side of the church.

Wolfgang and Wolfgang at a store near Stephansdom

The cool roof of St. Stephen's

St. Stephan's lit up at night...it was a sight!

Liv, Sophie & Jeff with Mozart

Sophie always ready to strike a pose

In the gardens of the Hofburg Palace

Wolfgang and Wolfgang in the gardens of the Hofburg Palace

In the courtyard of the Hofburg palace there was a static display of military vehicles - for what we thought was the anniversary of their October Revolution...Here Jeff, Sophie and Wolf stand in front an improvised road machine.

Hofburg Palace

More Hofburg Palace

The Starbucks right across from the Vienna State Opera House

The fountain outside the Opera House all lit up at night

Jeff standing in front of the State Vienna Opera House "Staatsoper"

The Opera House Fountain during the day

We took a tour of the "Staatsoper" the State Vienna Opera House - was recommended as a "must see". Definitely worth it! The Opera House was amazing and I am sure my photos do it no justice.... We definitely want to make it back to attend a performance!

The main entrance stairs into the Opera House

Olivia posing in opera wear while waiting for our tour

You can see the boxes of the opera house here - they seat 6 persons each . Each year they have their annual Ball - each of those boxes goes for 17,000 euro plus you had to buy tickets for each individual person's seat. It also did not include any food or drink!

This is the one middle back - VIP box for sure!

During our tour we got to go up on the stage - this is what you saw as you looked u

Wolfgang Stage Left

The kids on the main staircase. The 3 covered windows you see behind them were in past days the emperors room. Our guide told us that people used to come to the Opera not to watch it but to socialize and when the lights were on behind those windows you might catch a glimpse of the emperor...though rarely did he show himself.

another shot inside the Opera House

This is the emperor's room - however it is not much used anymore. They do rent it out for groups to use for intermission but it cost around 300 Euros - for a 15 minute intermission!

Here are the 3 windows from inside the emperor's room

This is one of the rooms where folks can go during intermission - it is original to the building - a good portion of the building was damaged by bombing in WWII.

A wall in the room above.

This was the "tapestry room" it was damaged in the bombing. It used to be a bunch of individual rooms where the head opera guy lived but after the bombing they made it a single room - filled with tapestries. This was the entry way to where the Lipizzaner Stallions preformed. We were planning on going to a performance but at 105 Euros a ticked we opted for the tour of the stables. Next time we go back we will attended a "morning practice" session. The girls really liked this tour!

• We were not allowed to take photos - or even touch the stallions during the tour but there was windows from the walkway that ran by the stables where we took some photos. The Stallions were beautiful.
  
  
  
  The kids outside the stables Another shot of the stable building.

Hungary

We took a Trip on Jeff's Block leave to Budapest Hungary. The city was amazing. Here are a few of the highlights!St. Stephen's Cathedral - started constuction in 1845 and finally in 1905 held it first mass. Dome of St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Inside the cathedral.

The "Holy Right". Inside the Cathedral is kept the mummified right hand of St. Stephen in the Chapel of the Holy Right.

Inside St. Stephen's Cathedral

Wolfgang in St. Stephen's Cathedral

The Altar

The Square outside the Cathedral

We took and afternoon and went to the Famed Szechenyi Baths- they are fed by Thermal springs in Budapest - the water outside stayed around 36 degrees C and so very nice. The mineral baths inside got up to 40 degrees. There were 13 pools in all plus saunas.

This area had a bubbly pool in the center and then an actual whirlpool the spun you round outside of the bubbly pool. They alternated so that only one was on at a time. The building behind housed several mineral pools of different temps. Where the building rounds out there was a big moon shaped pool inside.

Up on the terrace were the sun decks - though not used much in the colder weather.

Here you can see better the inner tub and the whirlpool around it.

They did not want to leave!

The kids at the Szechenyi Spa

The Citadel Statue of Liberation sits on the Gellert Hill and has the best views of Budapest Sophie striking a pose

On the Hill surrounding the statue they had a static display of Guns

At the Base of the Hill.

Statue of Liberation

View of the Danube from the Citadel

Overlooking Budapest from the Citadel

Wolfgang, Olivia & Sophie At the base of the Statue of Liberation - comemorating the liberation of Budapest from Nazi rule.

Yep Budapest had a Harley-Davidson Dealership :)

We rode up the incline railway to the top of the hill to see the Buda Castle, Matthias Church, and the Fisherman's Bastion. On our way back across the chain bridge the lights came on. This is of the Buda Castle.

Equistrian statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy - distinguished commander of the Wars on the Turks - sits under the Buda Palace dome.

Lion Gate - leading out of the Lion courtyard in the Buda Palace - in the courtyard you could enter the nation library.

King Matthias' well in the NW courtyard of the Buda Palace.

Not sure what this building was - we imagined it was most likely Castle Stables.

The kids sitting on a wall in the Fisherman's Bastion - in the middle ages it was a fish market and part of the wall was defending by the Fisherman's guild.

Wolfgang in the Fisherman's Bastion

A photo of the House of Parliment through the wall of the Fisherman's Bastion

More Fisherman's Bastion

Matthias Church - The church of the Virgin Mary. It was closed when we got up there!

Statue of King St. Stephen in the Fisherman's Bastion

The kids on the Incline railway Olivia at the top of the Railway overlooking the Chain Bridge

Wolfgang on the banks of the Danube which flows down the middle of the Budapest. The Buda Castle is in the distance.

On the Chain Bridge - House of Parliment in the distance.On the Chain Bridge - Buda Castle behindOn the Bank of the Danube - Matthias Church in the distanceOn the bank of the Danube with Matthias Church in the distance Parliament

Statues on top of the House of Parliament

Wolf and Sophie outside of Parliament

More Parliament

The museum across from Parliament

The kids in City Park which was by the Vajdahunyad Castle Statue of George Washington in City Park

The Girls in City Park

sitting with the Statue of Anonymus

Another statue at Vajdahunyad Castle

Vajdahunyad Castle Entrance to the castle

Hungarian Kitty Cats

Chariot of Peace on one side of Hero's Square...Chariot of War was on the other.

Not sure we were supposed to climb on it but it made a great photo!

Museum of Fine Arts on one side of Hero's Square

Jeff & Sarah in Hero's Square

The kids in Hero's Square

Prague

This past summer the Combs Family (Terry, John, Anne & Little John) came over to visit! It was so great to have them with us! We took off one long weekend to Prague with them...here are some of the highlights..Yummy Confections eating said yummy confections

Terry, Jeff, Wolf, Little John and I made the trek to the top of the hill where the Prague castle and cathedral of St. Vitus were located. Definately worth the climb.

St. Vitus Cathedral doors.

Foutian in the courtyard of the castle

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral

Another shot of St. Vitus

Castle entryway with the St. Vitus in the background

Wolfgang with the castle guard

A view from the top by the CastleJeff, Wolf and LJ at the Castle

Sophie and Wolf striking a pose

The Amos Clan posing - you can see the St. Vitus Cathedral way in the distance

Terry being...well Terry!

All the kids

Livvy and Wolf

John had a groovy GPS that allowed us to do some geo-caching - with Livvy loved! Here she is with a found cache.

In the mornings Jeff, Sarah & Terry went on coffee runs. We located a starbuck (but they were out of city mugs!) but anyway it was right along this lovely road with lead to some sort of museum.

Coffee!!

The St. Charles bridge at night

The Astronomical clock in the old town square

Sophie and Annie - love this photo!

The caslte in the Old Town Square

Go Ansbach Bears!

Wolfgang played football for the first time this year and LOVED it. He played on the Ansbach Bears team - they played every Saturday. He got to travel and play at Hohenfelds, Vilseck, Bamberg, and of course on our home field in here in Ansbach, Germany! Was a great season. His last game is this Saturday in Bamberg. He is already talking about playing next year!

Post Game Shot. Action Shot
He played defensive safety this season.

Huddle

Another Action Shot.

Krakow, Poland

Jeff & I snuck away for a weekend to Krakow, Poland. I think to date it rates on my all time top 3 favorite destination lists. I can't put my finger on why I loved it so much but I really did.

Jeff walking up to Wawel Royal Castle.

Jeff said if he lived here this would be his room.
The view from the top.
The horse at the entry way.In the courtyard of the Palace.Jeff wanted a photo take in front of the Buckeye trees in the Palace courtyard.

The Polish love Pope John Paul! He was all over Krakow! This was in the courtyard of the castle by the Wawel Catherdral.

This was the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

The Main old town Square was amazing - tons of outdoor resturants - we had pizza the first night and mexican the second night. There was also a place called Cloth Hall which was a long hall of vendors - mostly selling Amber. Cloth Hall is thought to be the oldest "mall" in history dating back 700 years. There was also horse drawn carriges lined up to take tourists on a tour of the city. A tower in the market square.

In Cloth Hall

Cloth Hall from the outside.

The Basilica of the Virgin Mary - this church was amazing.

Carriage rides in the square.

This was a neat row of buildings on the back side of the Main Market Square.

Pretty Flowers & Pretty Girl

Some pretty pots I planted this year.

Sophie's new hair-do

All Smiles!

My Edelweiss

When in Germany one must have Edelweiss

An cute kitties!!!

Venice Gondola Ride

We went for it and took the kids on a gondola ride in Venice - you only live once right? Anyway it was so cool. We got on right by the Church that was used in the Indianna Jones Movie and ended in the Grand Canal .

Sophie singing! This about sums up the ride - Olivia was mortified...along with the fact that she was nervous.
Check out the church in the back - it was in Indiana Jones!

Some crazy windowboxes!

How many kids can say they have taken a gondola ride in Venice??

Some of the Canals were pretty narrow. We had to pull over a few times to let other boats pass.

This is one of the few places where the gondolas and other boats have maintenance done.

Another boat repair shop. There were kayakers on the canal as well!

Out in the Grand Canal.

The kids enjoying thier ride.

Another shot of the Canal.

It was just so pretty! This was a great garden out on the water.

Leading out to the Grand Canal

I think Sophie made the Gondolier's day - they sang and laughed - it was really fun!