This is a continuation of my prior post on Portland, OR, which you can read here.

I have to mention that we left temperatures approaching 100 in Austin. The weather in Portland was incredible. Highs from 70 to 75, and lows in the 50’s. It was nice to have a brief break from the Texas heat!

Pride Parade

The weekend we were in Portland was the weekend of Gay Pride. There was a parade, a 2 day festival and numerous other events. We were looking forward to seeing how they celebrate in Portland. We have been to Pride events in Austin, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, New York and San Francisco. Well, Portland did not disappoint. The Parade lasted at least 2 hours. There seemed to be a group for everything. There was also a significant involvement on the part of the police and elected officials (including the Governor of Oregon, several Senators and Representatives, the Mayor of Portland and numerous other political figures).

The festival was located in the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. There must have been 250 – 300 booths. It was quite impressive. We hope to be able to give some suggestions to the people that do the events in Austin so that we can improve it – because it needs to be improved (though our parade was great this year).

We have noticed that the people here in Portland are very strange. I know that’s funny coming from the “Keep Austin Weird” city, but Portland seems much weirder than Austin. For example, at the stroke of midnight on Saturday night of the Pride weekend, there was a nude bicycle parade. There were about 3,000 bikers that rode through either completely naked or very close. This is apparently a very Portland thing (so much so that a recent court case on indecent exposure for doing something similar was thrown out due to the “well established precedent” of naked bicycle events in Portland).

We also noticed a very significant homeless problem. Everywhere we went seemed to be filled with homeless people begging for money. I understand that there is a homeless problem in every city, but it is really major in Portland (like as bad as in San Francisco). There are also large parts of the downtown area that are very “edgy” (in other words – run down). I did not always feel completely safe or comfortable here, which is very unusual for me.

One of the other things that we went to in Portland was the Saturday Market. It is a sprawling street market with hundreds of booths offering all kinds of goodies, including lots of art work made by the people manning the booths. John and I really enjoyed this. We spent all morning Saturday looking through all of the booths.

Haystack Rock

As I mentioned earlier, we called Martin’s Gorge Tours to take us on a tour of the Oregon Coast. I was going to rent a car and drive myself, but it turned out that the rentals prices were extremely high (like $100 or more for a 1 day rental) and it would have been fairly involved to get the car and then get back to our hotel afterwards, as we had to go to the airport to rent a car. It worked out so much better, though. Martin is very knowledgeable about the coast and about some neat, out-of-the-way places that most tours miss. He took us first to Cannon Beach and to the famous Haystack Rock (this is a spot that everyone goes to, but when you are there it is very obvious why everyone goes). It is a marine park that also has tons of nesting birds in the spring. We saw puffins, seagulls, common murres, cormorants, oystercatchers and even one bald eagle. I sat and watched the birds for a long time, as I am a bird lover.

Oregon Coast

There also was all kinds of sea life. The beach we were on was actually only there because the tide was low. In high tide, it would have been completely under water. There were little ponds everywhere that were filled with hermit crabs, anemones, mussels, snails and all kinds of other goodies. There were starfish everywhere, hanging on to the rocks. It was sunny, but windy and cold on the beach. We were prepared for it, though, so it was an immensely enjoyable time.

From there we went on to some other great spots, including Hug Point, Oswald West State Park and Manzanita. Our last stop before returning to Portland was in Tillamook at the Tillamook Cheese Visitors Center. They make some of the best Sharp Cheddar cheese I have ever tasted. You can tour the facility to see how cheese is made, as well as how ice cream is made. This was also a lot of fun, even though it was filled with literally hordes of visitors.

Our last day in Portland was a half day. We had a mid-afternoon flight, so we did not have time to do a lot. We did manage to cram a lot in during the short time we did have. We walked all through the Pearl District. This is an old industrial section of town that is slowly being renewed. Lots of people are moving into old buildings that have been turned into condominiums. I know it sounds like it would be awful and just a repeat of what is happening in just about every city in America these days. But it was actually very nice. The buildings have a lot of character and they have done a magnificent job in keeping green spaces everywhere.

Tanner Springs Park

One of the parks we saw is called Tanner Springs Park. It is actually a man-made wetlands, recreating what was there before the area was settled. They did such a great job with this small park (it is one city block). They used recovered items from railroad construction to build a fence on one side and it is very attractive as well as being very interesting. It is not big, but it is definitely an oasis in the middle of the city.

I will not say that Portland is a city that I will run back to as there are many other places I still want to see, but I am glad that I was able to visit. There is a lot that is worth seeing in Portland and I definitely enjoyed it.

I want to specifically mention three restaurants that we “discovered” in Portland. The first is Al-Amir. It is a Lebanese restaurant. It is not in the nicest area of town, but it is a moderately upscale restaurant with a great menu and really good food. The prices are not that high either. It will cost about $20 to $25 a person to eat dinner.

Another restaurant we really enjoyed was Alexis Greek restaurant. Again, it is not in the best area of town. But the food was spectacular. The service was also very good. I had a combination lunch plate that included souvlaki pork, grape leaves, spanikopita (spinach pie), Greek salad and a few other Greek specialties.

Finally, we also went to a restaurant called Mother’s Bistro and Bar. We had walked by it on our way to Al-Amir, so we decided to take a look at the menu. We ended up eating dinner here. They have a pretty large menu. Included on the regular menu are pirogues, matzo ball soup and a chopped liver appetizer. Another cool thing was their rotating “mother of the month” menu. I don’t know if it is mothers of staff members, but whatever it is, it is neat. When we were there, it was a Chinese menu.

I definitely recommend each of these restaurants.

To see some of my photos of Portland, Mt Hood and the Oregon Coast, click here.

My partner, John, and I have been trying to go to Portland, OR for some time now. For one reason or another, it has been delayed a few times now. We finally got to go in June of 2009.

We have a good friend that lived in Portland for some time and she loved it there, so we had very high expectations. I have also read quite a bit about the city and it is often characterized as one of the best cities in the US to live in, play in and visit. We stayed a total of 6 days, though with traveling to and fro, we actually had 5 days in the city.

This trip turned out to be challenging in terms of picture taking. I really enjoy taking pictures of the things John and I see on our trips. I love natural beauty (such as the mountains or forests, or lakes, etc.). I also love rocky beaches. In addition, I am an architecture aficionado, so I like to take pictures of architecturally interesting buildings (from all styles of architecture) and bridges. On the first day of our trip, as we were preparing to leave for Mt Hood, I dropped my camera into water, rendering it completely unsable. Needless to say, I was very upset about it. I tried to dry it out with a hair dryer as best as I could, but it did not work. I was reduced to taking pictures of Mt Hood and the Columbia Gorge with my iPhone. It takes decent pictures, but they are no comparison to my other camera. Oh well. At least I was able to take some pictures.

Mt Hood

I am a major lover of the mountains. When we were in Seattle, we took a day trip out to Mt Rainier and the surrounding area. There are several major mountains near Portland, the highest being Mt Hood (at almost 12,000 feet), and probably the most well-known being Mt St Helens (which erupted in 1980). We decided to take a day trip out to Mt Hood, and combine that trip with a trip through the Columbia Gorge – the area carved out by the Columbia River.

Timberline Lodge

Mt Hood did not disappoint at all. We lucked out with some pretty spectacular weather and got some great, cloudless shots of the mountain all the way to the summit. We stopped at the Timberline Lodge. It is a privately owned lodge that was rescued from disrepair in the 1950’s. One of the things it is best known for is the fact that it was used as the setting for The Shining. I have never seen the movie, but apparently anyone who has would recognize the lodge. The lodge itself is quite beautiful and it is the gateway to skiing on Mt Hood. We were there in June, but there was plenty of snow, as well as plenty of people skiing down the slope right down to the lodge. It’s pretty cool to see people skiing in June.

After leaving Mt Hood itself, we drove through Mt Hood National Forest on our way to the Hood River Valley and then the Columbia Gorge. We stopped at a place called the Gorge White House. It is a beautiful turn of the century building that is actually in use as a house. It is also a farm and a flower garden. You can go through and pick your own strawberries and flowers for purchase. Right behind it is the Mt Hood Winery and their vineyards. The setting is absolutely spectacular with the rolling hills on one side and Mt Hood in the near distance in the other direction.

We then drove back toward Portland through the Columbia Gorge. This is territory that was explored by Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition at the beginning of the 19th Century (along with their tour guide and his wife, Sacagawea). It is really impossible to describe how beautiful this area is. It is one of those places that you just have to see to get the full effect. The river has carved a deep gorge into the land for quite some distance (I think we were about 130 miles from the Pacific Ocean when we started heading west along the Columbia River). There are numerous dams and bridges over the Columbia, with Oregon on the south side and Washington on the north bank. This is must-see, even if you do nothing else in the area. Wow.

I should mention the good luck we had with our tour to Mt Hood and the Gorge. We were initially supposed to go with one company, but they did not have room for us. So they gave us the number of another tour operator – Martin Hecht of Martin’s Gorge Tours. When he came to pick us up at our hotel, I was expecting a small bus. What we got was a mini-van and a tour all to ourselves. Martin could not have been nicer or more accommodating. He knows his stuff and was a wonderful tour guide. But even better, because we were the only people on the tour, we were able to customize the trip to our liking. Anyone that is heading to the Portland area would be well advised to give Martin a call and use him for any days tours in the general area (we ended up hiring him to take us to the Oregon Coast as well – more on that later).

Beautiful Rose

On the next day, we made plans to go on a city tour of Portland. We like to do these whenever possible at the beginning of a trip to a new city so that we can get a feel for the city and a feel for what things we should go back to and visit in more detail. Unfortunately, the city tour was with another company and it was not the best tour (there were 4 other people on the tour and 1 of them in particular was very difficult and kept monopolizing the tour guide’s attention. Also our tour guide was very abrupt and surly. But we made the best of it.) There were plenty of things we got to see on this tour that we really enjoyed. One was the Pittock Mansion. It is about 1,000 feet above the downtown area and is quite beautiful. The grounds are stunning as well. We also stopped at the International Rose Test Garden. Oh my G-d. The roses apparently had all started blooming within the previous 2 – 3 weeks. They were spectacular. There were thousands of them, of all colors and types. Whites, Yellows, Reds, Oranges, Purples. Bushes and climbers. They were also some of the biggest roses I have ever seen. This setting is also very cool – above the city of Portland and giving spectacular views of the city and the distant mountains (on a clear day).

Pittock Mansion

We also got to drive around a lot of areas of town, including Old Town, Chinatown and the Pearl District. The trouble was that we were stuck inside the van and did not make any stops in the city after the Rose Test Garden. That really lowers the enjoyment of the tour. We did meet a lovely woman from Atlanta, so at least there was that.

Later, on our own, we went to the Classical Chinese Garden. This a walled garden that is one complete city block. Inside is a lake and weeping willows; a traditional tea house; a small art gallery; a bonsai garden and some great traditional style Chinese rooms. You almost cannot even hear the city from inside the garden. It was a definite highlight for us of our time in Portland. There is also a Traditional Japanese Garden, but we did not have the time to see it. Another time.

To be continued.

To see some of my photos of Portland, Mt Hood and the Oregon Coast, click here.

This is the third part of my post on Madrid. To read the second part, click here.

May 9, 2009

After leaving the Prado Museum, we walked to the Parque del Buen Retiro. As mentioned before, this was once for the royals only, but is now open to all. It is a beautiful escape from the hustle bustle of the city all around it. It is also quite a bit cooler due to the heavy canopy of the trees.

After eating some lunch, we walked over to the train station through which we had originally arrived in Madrid (Puerta Atocha). There is actually a rain forest/tropical garden INSIDE the train station. We were there during the siesta hours, so we were not able to enter the garden completely, but it is not that large and you can pretty much see it from the outside. There is boggy area that is loaded with turtles. There were hundreds of turtles of all sizes and ages in this part. Very cool.

We went back to our room at this point because after spending 10 days non stop in Barcelona and Madrid, we are literally worn out and can barely move another step. It has been absolutely wonderful and I am very glad we came. But I need to rest now!

We took a ride back to our hotel on the Madrid Metro. It was very different from the metro in Barcelona. The stations were definitely larger in Madrid. A ride in Madrid is only €1, while it is €1.35 in Barcelona. In Barcelona, every line that we went on had maps showing which line the train you were on belonged to. They also had both spoken announcements and a computerized display that told you what stop you were at and what the next stop was. In Madrid, the train that we went on had a map of 7 different lines in it, and did not help you identify what line you were on. They also did not have any announcements (or any other indication) about the station you were in or what the next station would be. I am truly surprised by this. Madrid is far larger than Barcelona. One would expect that the system would be higher quality. The ride was very smooth and comfortable, though.

We did venture out again for dinner. This time we went to the Chueca part of Madrid. This is the more Bohemian section of town, and also the gay section. We ate dinner at a restaurant in the Chueca Square. Great people watching. The people here are spectacularly beautiful. They are just so obnoxious. In Italy, they are beautiful and not so obnoxious.

After eating, we decided to try to go to a gay bar. We had a beer there, but once again, we ran into that attitude. There were not that many people in the place (like maybe 3 other than us), but still the staff could not have been less interested. We went to the downstairs bar where we proceeded to be completely ignored by the bartender and another staff member that were down there. They were so busy either talking to each other about how fabulous they are or playing with their cell phones. They literally acted like we were not there. They would not even look at us. I just do not get that attitude and I do not like it one bit. It literally sucks the life out of you. After that, all I wanted to do was leave and go back to my room. I did not even want to try another bar. That’s just sad and there is really no need for people to be this way. I will be happy to get back to the friendly people of Austin. We have barely experienced a drop of hospitality since we got here. Too bad.

One thing that we did not see any sign of is the economic downturn. There were ongoing building projects everywhere in both Madrid and Barcelona. There were hordes of tourists everywhere as well. So there is plenty of money coming in to the hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, etc. in both cities.

May 10, 2009

Today is our flight home. We arranged for a cab to take us from the hotel to the airport. Little did I know that the cab would cost us €50 (about $70). Geesh. That’s really ridiculous. Next time I will look into a train. That has to be a lot cheaper.

The airport is HUGE. After going through security, we have to take the escalators down about 4 levels to a tram that will take us to our gate. The tram ride was at least 15 minutes. Is the airport really that large? When I get to a place with internet access, I am going to have to look at the map of this airport. I cannot believe that it would be this far. It must be in a different location altogether.

We got to the airport before 9 and went right into the line to check in. By the time we got off of the tram and got to the Passport Control area, it was already 10 am. (I should mention how SLOW the lines are everywhere in Spain. I have never seen slower cashiers – everywhere we went. We were third in line at our ticket counter and it still took over 30 minutes to get our boarding passes and check our luggage – and no one was having to do anything out of the ordinary).

Passport Control went fairly quickly, after which it was about a 10 minute walk to the gate area. We finally got there and only had about 20 minutes until the plane started boarding.

People had lined up into the Priority Access group and regular access group on both sides of the gate. But as we found in other parts of Spain, the line really didn’t mean anything. When they actually called the groups to board, the people in line just rushed the front of the line, bypassing all of the other people that had been waiting in line with them. Grr. One of the guys in line in front of us made the comment, “well, we are in Spain.” That about sums it up.

We are flying on a Boeing 777. This is such a great plane. Our flight over to Barcelona was not fun. Hopefully this will be a better flight. We are flying through Miami, then on to Dallas and finally Austin. When we got on, it turned out that John’s seat would not recline so he ended up getting moved to another seat on the other side of the plane, about 20 rows behind me. That wasn’t a problem as I had plenty of reading and music and movies to occupy my time and he was able to relax.

This plane is one that has the individual screens at each seat, with choices for movies, TV shows, games and radio. That certainly helps the time pass.

It was such a wonderful trip. I am so glad that we had the opportunity to go and I am sure that I will go again in the future.

To see some of my photos of Madrid, click here.

This is the second part of my post on Madrid. To read the first part, click here.

Sculpture in front of Reina Sofia Museum

After resting for a while, we decided to go over to the Reina Sofia (Queen Sophie) Museum. This is a museum of Modern Art. Usually, I would not run to a modern art museum. However, there is one painting in this museum that I really had to see. That is “Guernica” by Picasso. This is the first piece of art that I ever actually studied. It was in an Art Appreciation class at Miami-Dade Community College and was part of a total about face that I did with regards to art. Before this class, I had no interest in art whatsoever. Now, I have been to dozens of the world’s great museums, all over the world. And my life is definitely richer for the experience.

Reina Sofia Museum

There was not a lot else in this museum that was of interest to me, except for a room full of Cubist art. I really love Cubism and it is not very common in most museums. I have been fortunate to see a few great pieces in the Art Institute of Chicago. But it was fun to see some of the works at the Reina Sofia by Delaunay, Picasso and a few of the other great Cubist artists.

We got home and were able to use Skype to make some calls to some people back in the US. This technology is really cool. I was able to call some corporate numbers in the US for no charge (I had to call the people at my time share to straighten something out regarding my reservation). I also was able to call other Skype users for no charge, and even have video on the call. I had pre-bought some credits as well and was able call any phone number in the US and Australia for 2 cents a minute. This is definitely one of those areas where technology has made life better. It truly is a small world now.

May 8, 2009

We found a great little restaurant for breakfast yesterday, so we went back to it today. The man that runs it was so nice and friendly. He remembered us from the day before, even to the point of remembering what we had ordered. We have found so little friendliness in Spain, so we definitely were glad of this place.

Today we decided to ride the Madrid Vision tourist bus. This is like the bus trip we did around Barcelona. It has two lines. One goes around Old Madrid and the other goes around Modern Madrid. You can get off and on at any stop, as many times as you want, for either 1 day or for 2 days. We bought the 1 day pass. This is a great way to get an overview of the city. One of the things that this bus trip definitely showed us is that the traffic in Madrid is horrible. We were caught in a lot of traffic all throughout the Old Madrid route. This was especially true when trying to go by the Puerta del Sol area. It took about 20 minutes to go 2 blocks. Another area that was super congested was the Gran Via. This is a road that was built in the 19th Century. It is lined on both sides by very beautiful buildings and businesses.

Puerta de Alcala

On the bus trip, we went by the Puerta de Alcala. This is a 65 meter high “gate” with 5 arches. It is kind of like an Arc de Triomphe, but bigger and more grand. We also went by the Prado museum, the Parque del Buen Retiro (a large park built for the monarchy that is now open to all) and several dozen other sites. The Old Madrid tour was definitely more interesting that the Modern Madrid tour, but I am glad that we were able to do both parts.

I was even more glad when we were able to get off of the bus. Because of all of the stop and go traffic, the ride was very bumpy and uncomfortable. At least the weather was beautiful (sunny and hot).

By the time we got back to our apartment, we were so worn out. Our feet are almost raw from all of the walking we have been doing. I am glad that we have been able to do it. A few years ago, both of us had such major problems with our feet that we would not have been able to do this. Frankly, I am not sure how many more trips like this we will be able to take. Age is really starting to take a toll on both of us.

May 9, 2009

Today is our last day in Madrid. I am really sad to have to say that. I always get the “last day blues” when I am on a trip that I really enjoy. (I actually was depressed for two weeks or so after coming home from my first visit to Hawaii.) On the other hand, it will be nice to get home and to see my doggies.

El Prado

There are 2 museums that I really want to go to, but I realize that I will probably end up not going to one of them. We decide to go to the Prado Museum. This is houses in a one-time palace. As so man of the guide books will tell you, the building is as much a part of the experience as the art. It is truly magnificent. Walking up to the front, there is a beautiful pathway along the Paseo del Prado, lined with columns and statues. This is considered one of the great museums of the world, and I can certainly understand why. It is certainly, without question, the greatest collection of Spanish art anywhere. It has works by Velazquez, El Goya, El Greco, Titian, Tintoretto, Raphael and so many more.

Walking into and through this museum is an overwhelming experience. I strongly recommend to anyone that is serious about going to this museum that you leave it for a day that this will be your only museum. Otherwise, it is simply too much to take in. I can only describe it as sensory overload. In addition, the typical painting in here is quite large, so even the scale of the art is overwhelming.

After going through a dozen or so rooms, I just was not able to take in any more. It is breath-taking art. Every piece you see is just awe-inspiring. Words cannot begin to describe the experience.

Close to the front of the museum, as we were leaving, we saw a sign for sculptures. So we followed the signs and found ourselves in a Cloisters room. This room is part of the extension of the Prado and was actually originally a part of the next door Cathedral of St Jeronimo. This was once an outdoor patio bordered by arches all around. They have now enclosed the area, but the arches remain. There are sculptures all around the room. But the room itself is just so spectacular that it is hard to concentrate on any of the sculpture.

To be continued.

To see some of my photos of Madrid, click here.

I recently got back from a fantastic trip to Spain. We went to Barcelona and Madrid. In my previous few posts, I shared my journal of our time in Barcelona. Next I would like to share with you my time in Madrid.

May 6, 2009

Today we took a train from Barcelona to Madrid. Our train was scheduled to depart at 3:30. We were able to extend our check out at the hotel until 1:30. We got to the train station at about 2 pm. We had something to eat and then proceeded to the waiting lounge for our train.

At 3 pm, we were able to board the train. I got preferred seats (as opposed to Tourist Class). The only slight hassle we had is that they had to change trains after we had gotten settled in. I am not sure what the reason was, but I think there was a mechanical problem with the first train.

The train we were on is called the Ave. It is a high speed train that takes you from Barcelona to Madrid in 2½ hours. We were going nearly 200 miles per hour. I love riding the trains in Europe. I have traveled from London to Dublin (including a ferry), Paris to Brussels and Amsterdam, Budapest to Vienna and Vienna to Prague via train. Especially with all of the security on a plane these days, it is so much better of a way to travel. I wish we were able to do more of that in the US. But the vast distances back home make it hard to really travel by train (except in the Northeast, where riding a train is a very good experience and, in my opinion, a much better option than going by plane).

The countryside we are passing is absolutely gorgeous. Rolling hills and small mountains; vineyards; small picturesque towns, etc. It almost makes me want to do this drive by car. Some of the towns we are seeing are definitely older towns too.

Atocha Train Station

We arrived at the Puerta Atocha train station in Madrid at just after 6 pm. We hopped into a taxi to get to our hotel. We are staying at a place through our time share and I am not really sure what we will be getting. Once we get there, though, we find that the place is really fantastic and the location is even better. We actually could have walked from the train station, if we had known our way around (though dragging your luggage through crowded streets is not my idea of fun). It was called the Apartamentos Turisticos and is located on Calle Principe, right in the middle of Old Madrid.

After resting for a while, we walk around our part of the city. We are staying just off the square called Puerta del Sol. There are gorgeous buildings everywhere. Looking at the map, I see that we are basically mid way between the Prado area and the Palace area. About half of the things that I have looked into doing here in Madrid are near the Prado Museum and the Paseo del Prado. Pretty much the rest of the stuff is around the Palace. So, as I mentioned before, the location of our apartment is fantastic.

Plaza Mayor

We are about 3 blocks from the Plaza Mayor (one of the best known squares in the city). There are a ton of tourists here. This section is considered Old Madrid and has a concentration of the major sites of the city. I am looking forward to getting some good sleep tonight and then starting to explore Madrid tomorrow.

May 7, 2009

Today we walked down the Calle Mayor. This takes us past the Plaza Mayor, and then the Plaza de la Villa (which is the location of Madrid’s Town Hall). Continuing through the area behind the Town Hall, we saw a little church with a sign about it being dedicated to Spain’s Armed Forces. The exterior is pretty, but it doesn’t compare to the absolutely gorgeous interior. There is an incredible dome in the center of the church and the altars around the sides of the church are also quite beautiful.

Almudena Cathedral

After leaving this church, we started making our way to the Royal Palace area. Next to the Royal Palace is the Catedral de Almudena. It looks like it was built a long time ago, but it turns out that it was not finished until the 1990’s. One of the guide books that I brought actually describes this Cathedral as being very plain and boring. I could not disagree more strongly. I found the Cathedral to be just stunning. It is built in the Gothic style with all of the common Gothic arches and cruciform pattern to the church. The huge columns that go down the “spokes” of the cross have flat panel screens and Bose speakers attached to them (in the classic 14th Century Gothic style). They were piping in Gregorian style chanting and it just added so much to the atmosphere of visiting the cathedral. I was absolutely in love with this place (the beautiful churches started to become quite a theme in Madrid. We went into every one that we passed and they were all striking and beautiful – but more on each one later). We spent about 30 minutes inside the Cathedral.

Royal Palace

After that, we walked across the way to the Royal Palace (Palacio Real). This palace is bigger than any palace that I have ever seen (and I have been to a few in France, England, Italy and Ireland). In reading about the construction, it turns out that the Bourbon monarchy specifically set out to build the biggest palace in Europe. I think they achieved that. The buildings are just magnificent. We got to do a miniature self-guided tour of the palace for €3.50. This included about 6 rooms of the Palace, the Spanish Royal Armory and the Royal Pharmacy. Much of this dates back to the middle of the 1700’s. I am not sure of the specific dates. The throne room was just over the top. Unfortunately, once again, photography was not permitted. Maybe the reason is to avoid the annoyance of having to wait for people to take their pictures. I am quick though, and try my best to never bother someone else. Oh well, I will just have to go by my memories.

In some of the areas of the Palace that were more exposed to the outside (like a courtyard), I did sneak a few photos, but there were just too many security people around to do it in the throne room.

The Armory was another very interesting thing. I usually do not get excited by seeing a bunch of weapons and such. But this was actually done in a very interesting manner and it was pretty cool to see the suits of armor that the Spanish armies wore in battle. They also had the shields and such that were designed for the royals. These, again, were just over the top and unbelievable. The decoration was incredible. Every detail include, such as the hair and the beard on the helmet. Or mythological scenes on a shield. Just incredible displays of art. I would totally use some of these in a decorative way.

The Pharmacy dates back to the 18th century as well. It is filled with vials and pots for the various herbs and such used in healing and treatment of the Royal family. I was expecting maybe a few dozen of such vials. There were actually hundreds and hundreds. There was a distillery as well. Again, considering that I did not expect much, I was truly surprised and really enjoyed this part of the Palace.

Finally, there was a special exhibit of the collection of Carlos IV. This included paintings, tapestries, furniture and a few other items that were collected by Carlos IV. Yet another thing in the Palace that I really enjoyed. All in all, the Palace was one of my favorite things that I did in Madrid.

At this point, we were getting pretty tired, so we got something to eat and then went back to the apartment to get some rest.

To be continued.

To see some of my photos from Madrid, click here.

This is a continuation of my previous post on Barcelona, which can be found here.

May 5, 2009

After leaving Sagrada Familia, we made our way back toward the Gothic Quarter and visited one of the parts of the Museum of the History of Barcelona. This particular part included the Roman ruins found under the Cathedral and other parts of the Gothic Quarter. These date back to as early as the 1st Century. There is an audio tour that explains what you are seeing. With all of the amazing things that we have done in Barcelona, this is definitely one of my favorites. I could have spent all day down there seeing this. The only bad thing was that they did not allow photography. Pity. I wish I could share some of this with others. It is very interesting and anyone that is Roman history buff would definitely like this. (This business of not allowing photographs seems to be common in a lot of the sites that we went to in both Barcelona and Madrid. It really is annoying to not allow it. I cannot think of a single reason for this policy. If you turn off your flash, there is absolutely no possibility of damage to anything, so the only possible reason can be to insure their profits at the gift shops. That is a travesty in my opinion.)

After resting a bit, we decided to go to the casino and see what they had in terms of food. When we got there, we found that they required us to show them our passport in order to be allowed in. If you were from the European Union, you were not required to show a passport. We did not know this in advance and since we do not carry our passports with us when we go out, we were not able to go in. Yet another roadblock. This is really getting annoying.

We ended up eating at a restaurant near the casino and it ended up being one of the better meals during our time in Barcelona. After eating, we went back to the room because we had been out and about almost the whole day without getting much rest. Tomorrow we will be leaving for Madrid.

May 6, 2009

We leave for Madrid today, but our train does not leave until 3:30. That gives us some time to see a little more of the city before we go. Both of us are extremely tired today as neither of us was able to get much sleep last night.

We decided to take a walk along La Rambla and see the stores and such that are there. We took the Metro down to La Rambla and then walked down it. There are so many people here. It is amazing. There are street performers (mostly mime type) all the way up and down La Rambla. Lots of people are stopping to get their pictures taken with one of them. There are also a lot of stalls that sell small pets – birds, ferrets, guinea pigs and some puppies. Another thing in abundance is flower stalls. The flowers are beautiful. There are roses and irises and many other types of flowers as well.

After walking to the end of La Rambla (at the Columbus Monument), we take the Metro back to our hotel and get packed. Time to go to the train station to begin the next chapter in our Spain adventure. The process of checking in and waiting for the train was very simple. In fact, other than putting our luggage through the metal detectors, there was really no process. We had a 3:30 departure. At 3:00, we were able to go to the train and go on board. Our seats were very comfortable. We paid about $100 each for the tickets, and I think it was money well spent. It was so much better than going by plane.

To see some of my photos from Barcelona, click here.

This is a continuation of my previous post on Barcelona, which can be found here.

May 4, 2009

Montjuic

Today we have set out for Montjuic. The name means “Jewish mountain,” and comes from the fact that there used to be a Jewish cemetery there. It is no longer there, but the name remains. It is also not a mountain – merely a hill. Montjuic is the area of town where the Olympic Stadium and various other Olympic venues can be found. It is also full of gardens and other major attractions, such as the National Museum of the Catalonian Art (”MNAC”), the Botanical Gardens, Poble Espanyol (a tourist attraction that shows the architecture and cuisines of all of the provinces of Spain), and more. We got to Montjuic via cable car on the Teleferic de Montjuic. There are 3 towers between which the cable cars run. Unfortunately, one of the towers was closed, and we did not find that out until we walked all the way to it. This is something else that we have started to run into a lot. Construction detours are all over the city, but there is little or no warning about them and there is even less guidance on where to go. Again, we found people to not be terribly helpful.

At any rate, we managed to make our way to the second tower and waited in a very slow moving line to get to the cable car. There is an elevator that takes you up to the platform, but it only holds 6 people or so and takes about 5 minutes. Since there were at least 100 people waiting when we got there, the wait was over an hour. And the bad part is that the ride was not really worth the wait. I have been on many cable car rides that were far more enjoyable (such as in Palm Springs).

Olympic Torch at Montjuic

Grounds around Olympic Stadium

We walked around the Olympic Stadium and made our way to the Botanical Gardens. This was a very different type of Botanical Garden from the ones we have been to in the past. It was set up in “regions” that represented the flora and fauna of distinct regions of the Earth. Included were Australia, California, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Mediterranean, South Africa and the Canary Islands. The place is quite beautiful and very tranquil. It is also very hilly, so we did not walk through the entire facility as we were both starting to have very sore feet. This is a place that you really need to spend a long time in to enjoy fully. There are also some pretty great vistas of the city below you in different parts of the Botanical Gardens.

In the Botanical Gardens

In the Botanical Gardens

We tried to go to the MNAC (the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya), but it turned out to be closed on Mondays. What a shame. The Museum is housed in a palace (Palau National) that was built for the 1929 Expo. The building is really beautiful. I am not sure what architectural style it is, but it is impressive. Like a lot of the other sites we visited, however, this is under scaffolding and being restored. We found that to be the case all over the city.

Placa d'Espanya

Leaving the building, there is a set of escalators that take you back down to the main part of the city, into a plaza called Plaça d’Espanya. Unfortunately, this was yet another instance of construction blocking the way, and of a total lack of guidance and information as to how to get around the construction. We asked a few people and were given incorrect information several times. We finally made our way down another route and got to the Plaça d’Espanya. From there, we were able to look up and see the way we should have been able to come down. Oh well.

May 5, 2009

Parc Guell

Today we are going to see some of the handiwork of Antoni Gaudi. We are going to visit Parc Guell. This was originally meant to be a housing development, but that plan was a failure. Only 3 of 60 or so proposed houses got built. It ended up being donated to the City Council and turned into a park. It has some spectacular Gaudi architecture and is well worth the effort to get there. We took the Metro and then walked about 15 minutes or so to the Parc. It is free to enter (another plus). Again, we found poor directions as to how to actually get to the entrance, and we found several blocked entrances. We did finally make it to the park and, as I said, it was definitely worth the effort. We wanted to go to the Gaudi Museum as well, but had difficulty finding it. We tried to ask one of the guards at the park, but he completely ignored us and would not help us. We finally found out where it was, but it involved climbing back up to the top of the park, so we opted not to do so.

It is worth mentioning that this is an extremely popular destination. It was jam packed with people, including several large groups of school children. It is certainly not the quiet, contemplative type of tourist attraction. That being said, it is still worth going. Wow.

Walking out of Parc Guell, there are dozens of souvenir shops. We stopped in a few and bought some books, t-shirts and post cards. We were trying to find out where to buy stamps. All we could get was to go to a “Tabac.” But no one would tell us where there was one. Again, the locals just seemed to be resentful of us being there. Even in the souvenir shops that rely solely on the tourists for their livelihood, this was the attitude we found. I have loved visiting this city and seeing the many sights, but I really will not be in any hurry to return as a result of the way everyone seems to treat the tourists. I know having so many strangers traipsing through your city all the time can get old. I dealt with it for many years in Miami Beach. But I can honestly say that this is probably the least friendly city I have ever visited (only Prague compares in that regard).

Sagrada Familia

Our next stop was Sagrada Familia. This time we went inside. There is construction work going on everywhere, but it is an amazing building. We waited in line to go up one of the towers in an elevator. Again, the elevator is small and only 6 or so people can go at a time. But once you get up there, the view is stupendous and you are able to see parts of the Sagrada Familia up close that you really cannot see from the ground. Our wait was about 45 minutes, but I think that the queues can easily be 2 or 3 hours on busier days.

To see some of my photos from Barcelona, click here.

This is a continuation of my previous post on Barcelona (which can be found here.)

May 2, 2009

Bus Turistic

We spent a good part of the day driving around town on the Bus Turistic. There is an option for a 1 day or 2 day ticket. We bought the one day ticket. This allows you to hop on and hop off any of the three lines of the Bus Turistic at any of the bus stops throughout the day. The Bus Turistic is a double-decker bus, with the upper deck being open air. The biggest surprise to me about it was the number of people that were using it. At some of the stops, there were lines of probably more than 100 people waiting to get on. Especially at the stops that allowed you to transfer to another line (Plaça Catalunya, in particular). The good part about the Bus is that it allows you to get an overview of the city and to see what things are worth visiting on our own. There are some drawbacks, though. Aside from the wait at some of the stops to get on the Bus, there is the fact that this is a large bus. It probably holds about 75 people all told. I much prefer to do a smaller group tour than this. Also, you get to see a lot of things, but you fly by them so quickly. And the ride is very bumpy. But for the money, it is a great value.

Placa Catalunya

We were “warned” that the restaurants in Spain don’t really open for dinner until about 10 pm. I was pretty concerned about this, as this is much later than we would typically eat. Fortunately, this really is not true. In fact, we found restaurants closing at 11 or so rather than opening at that time. We did not really go to any higher end restaurants, so this may be something that is more true of a more formal restaurant than the types of places that we went to.

Paella Menu

I was expecting the food in Barcelona to be really top notch. Everything I read about it seemed to indicate that this would be the case. It is especially supposed to be good for seafood. Unfortunately, this really did not prove to be true for us. We had decent meals, but there was very little that I could say I would really remember after we leave.

One of the things that we started to feel today was an attitude against tourists. We found people in general to be very unhelpful, especially in terms of trying to find something. Store owners and workers in particular were very abrupt, even rude. The Spanish people do not seem to be very outgoing or friendly. And G-d forbid you have to wait in a line. They will just push in at the front and cut in front of anyone in their way. This is true at subway entrances, waiting to get on a bus, or even a line at a food kiosk or a cashier at a store.

Gothic Quarter

One thing that Barcelona is famous for is its varied architecture. This is an area that did not disappoint. From the neo-classical to modern and everything in between, Barcelona’s architecture is truly unlike anything I have ever seen. Just the Gaudi buildings alone would be a treasure. But then there is all the other stuff. Wow! And driving through the Gothic Quarter was breath-taking. I have been to a lot of cities that have buildings from the Middle Ages, but nothing is like the collection that can be found in Barcelona. You really feel like you have dropped into another era and it is incredible and very impressive. The Port Vell (Old Port) is another really cool part of town. In reading about the history of Barcelona, it is amazing that this part of town has only been cleaned up and “rejoined” to the city in the last 25 years or so.

May 3, 2009

We are still not accustomed to the time change (it is 7 hours ahead of Central Time in the US), so we are getting up around 9 or so, but not going to sleep until 1 or 2 in the morning. On top of that, both John and I have been under the weather. I started feeling it as soon as I got off the plane. I had a sore throat and then I started with the draining sinuses. Fortunately, we have lots of Kleenex and both of us are trying as much as possible to not let this interfere with our time in Barcelona.

Barcelona Metro - L4 line

This is an extremely easy city to get around. Our hotel is 2 blocks from the L4 line of the Metro. There are 7 or 8 different lines, with many transfer points between the various lines. This makes it easy to get to just about anywhere you want to go in Barcelona. We bought a 5 day pass for the transportation system and we are definitely making extensive use of the subways, trams and buses. We are, of course, doing lots of walking too, but since we both have problems with our feet, it is nice to have other options.

Inside the Cathedral

We walked all through the Gothic Quarter today. We also spent a good amount of time in the Cathedral (also in the Gothic Quarter). This Cathedral was actually started in 1298. It is massive and breath-taking. There was a Mass going on while we were there, so we were not able to walk around the whole inside of the building until it was finished. There are about 30 altars all around the interior of the Cathedral, many of which date back to the 14th and 15th Centuries. I have visited many Cathedrals all over Europe. I would rank this one as #3 overall, behind St Peter’s in Rome and St. Vitus in Prague. It is definitely not to be missed.

Leaving the Cathedral area, we stumbled upon a string quarter concert in one of the old buildings nearby. Just the setting made this memorable, but the musicians were pretty good too. And it was neat watching a harpsichord being played.

Christopher Columbus Monument

We then made our way through the Old Town towards the waterfront and the monument to Christopher Columbus. This is a 50 meter tall monument. There is an elevator that takes you almost to the top, from which you can find some pretty amazing views of the city. Again, though, it is a small elevator and can only take a few people at a time. The lookout is also quite small and slightly claustrophobic. But I found it to be worth the wait.

After leaving the Monument, we walked up Paral-lel, past some remains of the original Roman wall of the city of Barcino. Again, I have seen Roman remains before, but these are in such great condition. Very cool and very much worth going to see.

To see some of my photos from Barcelona, click here.

I have just gotten back from an incredible trip to Spain. I got to visit Barcelona and Madrid on this trip. It has truly been one of the most extraordinary trips I have ever taken. Over the next few posts, I would like to share with you my journal of this amazing trip. I hope you enjoy it!

Map of Spain

Barcelona is located in the Northeast corner of Spain, in the region of Catalunya. This region is bordered by France to the North and the Mediterranean Sea to the West and South. It is a part of Spain, but has its own language and culture, its own cuisine, and its own styles of art and architecture.

Catalunya

April 30 – May 1, 2009

It has been about 10 years since John and I have gone to Europe. In fact, the last time we were there, the Euro was not yet in use. Each country still had its own currency. Say that I am excited is an understatement. I have never been to Spain and have long wanted to visit, particularly Barcelona and Madrid.

We had three flights to get to Barcelona. When we got to the airport, we found out that our first leg was delayed. We were early enough, however, to get put on an earlier flight so that we would not miss our connection in Dallas. From Dallas, we flew to JFK in New York. I cannot remember the last time I was in that airport. It is possible that it was on our last trip to Europe.

We had about a 4 hour layover in New York, which gave us time to eat something and to relax a little at the Admiral’s Club. Our first flight left Austin at around 8:30 am. Our flight out of New York left at 6:45 pm, so at this point, we have already been in transit for more than 11 hours (including the drive to the airport in Austin). The flight from New York to Barcelona is over 7 hours. Unfortunately we had a family with two pre-teen children right behind us on the flight. They did not sit still the entire flight and kept hitting our seats and talking loudly and being a general nuisance. Also, the flight crew on the JFK-Barcelona leg was not very nice either. We were served a dinner and a light breakfast. The woman that served our trays kind of threw the trays at us both times. She was not even looking. Oh well. The good thing about traveling is that you usually forget the flight as soon as you start enjoying your destination.

When we arrived in Barcelona, there was a bit of confusion. We had been given the typical immigration/customs forms to fill out. In addition, there was another form that was handed out. The crew mentioned that they had this form, but did not know what it was, had not even looked at it, and that it was not required. Turns out, it was required and they did not have enough of them on board. This new form was due to the swine flu outbreak that started in Mexico and was spreading all over the place. Everyone was required to fill out an information form stating where they had come from and where they were going, their passport number and other information. In addition, there was an information sheet about the swine flu. Although there were jet bridges, we were parked out on the tarmac and a stairway was wheeled up to the plane. We had to walk out onto the tarmac (of course, it was raining). We were greeted by a dozen or so officials, all wearing masks, who took our information sheets. Then we had to get on a bus to be brought to the terminal. It all seemed a little overdone, especially since the crew on our plane was so completely uninformed about the process, and since the so called swine flu was already being touted as not being the feared pandemic. I realize that this whole thing was something that the Spanish government probably required, but it seems very strange that no one had told the American Airlines staff ahead of time what was going to be required.

Anyway, once we got through all of that, we went through the immigration (which took less than 5 minutes – just about the quickest I have ever experienced), got our luggage and then finally went through customs. Customs was even quicker. We just walked through the “nothing to declare” door and were done. No one even said anything to us. I am sure it will be a little more involved when we leave Spain.

Getting to the hotel was a bit of a journey as well. I talked to the information desk at the airport and they informed me that taking a cab would be very expensive and that we would be better off taking the train to the center of town and getting a subway from there. I waited in line at the tourist information desk and ended up buying a 5 day Barcelona Cards that included entry to all the trains, buses and metro lines. It also included entry into a number of museums and other major tourist destinations, and discounts for many other attractions in the city.

We found our way to the train stop and waited for the train. Along with maybe 200 other people. The train comes once every half hour, so we had to wait about 20 minutes or so. Needless to say, it was very crowded on the train. We took the train to a station in the city called Passeig de Gracia. Once we got there, we went outside and took a cab the rest of the way. We could have gotten a subway, but with all of the luggage (one bag and one carryon each), we thought it would be too much to try to maneuver through the subway, etc. From here, the cab ride was about €10 (which is about $14). A cab ride from the airport would probably have cost us about €50.

We got to the hotel at about 11 am. Since we had not slept very much on the plane and we had been in transit for something like 17 hours, we were quite tired. Fortunately, we did not have to wait to check in, so we did that and took a nap.

When we got up, we felt a lot better and decided to venture out to look at a few things and to find something to eat. It was May 1, which is a holiday in Spain – May Day (or Labor Day). I was surprised about this, as I thought May Day was a communist thing and had no idea that it was celebrated in Europe. It is comparable to our Labor Day. Because of the holiday, most stores were closed.

We went out of the hotel and walked up to one of the large “diagonal” streets that cross Barcelona. I loved how the street was set up. It was a fairly busy street with about 3 lanes of traffic going in each direction. But in the middle where we would have a median, there was a wide paved area which is for pedestrians and bikes. There also was a subway/tram line on both sides of this median. We ended up getting on the tram and taking it to the Glories station. There is a modern building there that is extremely unusual and quite fetching. We also knew that we were near the Sagrada Familia, so we walked from there.

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is breath-taking. I have seen many pictures of it, but they do not do it justice. When you are standing in front of it, it is unlike anything I have ever seen. Unfortunately, it is covered with scaffolding, as the work on the church is ongoing. We will be going back later on this week. I don’t know if you can go into the church or not. I certainly hope so.

(To Be Continued)

To see some of my pictures from Barcelona, click here.

Central Europe Map

Over the last 7 posts, I have been chronicling a trip that I took to Budapest, Vienna and Prague in October/November of 1996. I kept a journal of the trip while I was there and mostly published what I wrote in the journal at the time. (You can use the search function on the right to find those posts if you have not seen them).

I would now like to add further observations and comments about that trip, some of which I also wrote in my journal at that time, and some of which I am adding now as I look back on that trip 12 years ago.

Observations from our trip:

1. Mass transit is a way of life in Eastern Europe. In Budapest and Prague, particularly, the subways and trams were almost always full, whether during the day or late at night.
2. Dogs are a part of society. They go to restaurants and ride the subways. Owners include their dogs in their lives here – very different from our attitude in the US.
3. Budapest is very open to foreigners. Vienna is indifferent. Prague is decidedly cold.
4. McDonald’s is everywhere. KFC is as well. Burger King, Wendy’s and Pizza Hut were common in Budapest, but not in Vienna or in Prague.
5. Casinos are common.
6. The streets are much safer than at home. I never felt like I was in danger anywhere on this trip (no matter what time I was walking around).
7. The churches are spectacular. Only St Patrick’s in New York is any comparison, in my eyes. (I have not seen the National Cathedral in DC, which is probably pretty spectacular too).
8. The beer, particularly in Vienna, is GREAT.
9. Budapest and Vienna had very good food and pastries. Prague pales in comparison.
10. The clubs in Budapest are very plain. In Vienna, they varied. In Prague the discos were outstanding.
11. Almost all of the music played, whether at night clubs or on the radio, is American (or at least in English). We did hear a lot of salsa in Budapest and Vienna. Prague played some Latin-influenced music as well (such as the Gypsy Kings).
12. There is much more toe “see” in Budapest and Vienna than in Prague. However, the Castle in Prague (and its Cathedral) are more spectacular than just about anything in the other 2 cities.
13. Sex shops seemed to be very prevalent in all three cities.
14. Prostitutes (both male and female) are also very common in Prague and Budapest.
15. The hustlers in Budapest (who are mostly Romanian) wanted about $65. In Prague, they wanted about $20. That’s quite a difference. (I know this because I asked about it, not because I employed any of their services).
16. Jeans, CDs, jackets, etc were very expensive. A CD in Budapest was around $14 – $20. In Austria, a CD was about $27. And in Prague, a CD was about $22. Jeans ranged from close to $100 for Levi’s. Leather jackets were around $300. Food, on the other hand, was cheap. Caviar was about $2 for a few ounces (in Prague). Beer was about $1 for ½ liter in Prague. It was also about $1 a pint in Budapest. Liquors such as run or vodka were expensive. Coke was as well. In Vienna, a Coke was about $2.
17. The Prague merchants like to gouge tourists. In Budapest we changed money without commissions. In Vienna, we paid about 5% commissions. In Prague, it ranged as high as 10%, though I got a good rate with no commissions at the American Express office.
18. The people in Vienna and Prague are very tall. In Budapest, they weren’t as tall, but they were so beautiful.
19. There are many Americans living in Prague. We ran into Americans all the time.
20. The gay scene in Vienna is very developed. Prague has a lot of gay clubs, but the gay life did not seem as developed. Budapest is far behind the other 2 cities in this area.
21. The cars are very small. In Prague and Budapest, they are almost all manual.
22. Gas is very expensive – around $4 a gallon in all three cities.
23. Prague is overrun with tourists. Even coming in November (after the official tourist season) it was very crowded – particularly inside the walls of the castle area.
24. Getting around Europe by train is very easy, especially since we went to Vienna, as Vienna is hub for travel in all directions.
25. Budapest and Vienna both leave you wanting more. I will definitely go back if I have the chance. Prague is a very different story.
26. Supermarkets (as we know them) don’t seem to exist. Specialty stores for different things seems to be more the norm (drug stores, meat markets, pastry shops, bakeries, etc.)
27. Laundromats are also very hard to find (and expensive). To do a wash in Vienna was over $5. We never found a Laundromat in Prague (our guest house in Budapest had one, so we didn’t have to look when we were there).

Looking back on this trip now from 2009, I remember a few other things and have some additional insights to pass on. We Americans are really not used to taking long vacations. In Europe, it is common to have 4 – 6 weeks of vacation. We on the other hand are lucky to get 2. As this trip was one of my earliest attempts at travel, it was very ambitious to plan a trip of 17 days.

In addition, it is very difficult to travel with people you do not know well (it can be difficult to travel with people that you DO know well). It was probably not the wisest idea to travel with 2 guys that I had only known for about 6 months. It is easy to get along with someone when you see them a few hours a week. It is very different to spend 17 days with someone. Traveling always involves compromise between all the parties. Not everyone wants to see the same thing. That is why it is important to know who you are traveling with (I know there are plenty of people that travel alone and book trips with complete strangers to avoid the surcharge of traveling alone – and this works for some people. It would not work for me.)

In addition, to have traveled in a group of 3 virtually guaranteed friction. It is not surprising to me now, looking back, that the other 2 guys worked well together and I became the third wheel. In the part of the trip where it was just me and Roger, things went just fine.

Prague has continued to be a huge attraction to travelers (both Western and Eastern). It is very difficult to travel there and not encounter hordes of people. Just about any video or guide book that you see or read about the city will mention that. If that is something you do not want to face, then Prague is probably not for you.

If it is something you can endure, it is worth the effort. In spite of my experiences with my co-travelers, it is a magical city that transports you to a different time. Just hearing stories about the city is intriguing. For example, after the Astronomical Clock was built, the leaders of the town had the artist’s eyes gouged out so that he could never build something similar for anyone else. Also, Prague had a unique way of “overthrowing” government. It is called defenestration. Literally, the word means “throwing out the window.” It comes from the French word for window – fenêtre. In one incident, 7 city council members were thrown out the castle window to their deaths. In another incident, 2 Imperial governors were thrown out of the castle windows. These incidents have come to be known as the Defenestration of Prague.

Budapest and Vienna have also continued to grow in popularity for tourists. I was there in 1996, so there is no doubt that much has changed in that time. I don’t know if the Hungarian people of Budapest are still as open and welcoming as they were in 1996. I sure hope so – it was one of the charming things about the city. And perhaps, the attitude towards tourists has improved in Prague. Again, I hope so. The fact that hordes of people continue to go there is probably indicative of such a change.

I hope you have enjoyed my journey through some of Eastern Europe’s greatest cities.