Thoughts On Europe

My 12 day European Holiday (as they call it in Europe) was incredible.  The only thing that would have made it better is if we would have had more time in Budapest and Vienna.  I loved Prague and Budapest the most!  Our hotel in Prague was absolutely beautiful and I don't think I need to say anymore about the breakfast buffet!

I loved garnet shopping in Prague and love the jewelry that I bought there.  When I travel I always try to buy a piece of jewelry from where I am to remember each vacation by.  When I was in Budapest I bought a beautiful white table covering that is embroidered.  Budapest is known for their embroidery.  It will be fun someday to have a house and a table to put this on.  I'm telling you, that someday is going to be in the next 8 months or earlier; I'm ready to be settled in Phoenix!

Throughout our Eastern European travels we saw many beautiful churches, buildings and castles, however none of them match the beauty and peace of our LDS temples.  The countryside that we were able to see on bus rides and floating down the Danube on our boat/ship was one of the most beautiful creations I've ever seen!

Because this trip was planned over my 1 year cancer-aniversary since being diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, my sister gathered 21 letters from family and friends each addressed to me.  Each letter told me their view of the past year and my diagnosis.  I got a few letters each night.  What a treasure and what a fantastic idea.  I loved each one, cried over most and was ecstatic to get my final letter from Mr. J.  I will forever hold these letters near and dear to my heart and will hold on to them forever.

We had a most beautiful walk the last evening of our vacation.  The city was lit up and the weather was perfect.  These are some of my most favorite pictures from our last night.

We were all so tired on our way back to the states, however I didn't sleep but a few minutes.  My traveling partners on the other hand had no problem sleeping....Tenielle is at the very end!

Europe Day 10 Budapest

Today was by far my most favorite day!  We sailed into Budapest around 930-1000.  We saw the Parliament building, St. Michaels Church, bridges, and so many beautiful buildings.  No pictures will ever do the beauty justice.  It was a sight I will always remember and one that was totally awesome!

When we got to Budapest, we boarded a bus that took us around the city for 3 hours, which was both informative and fun!  We saw palaces and Parliament buildings, the opera, statues, castles, the Jewish quarter and so much more.  We came back and had a Hungarian Lunch of homemade egg noodles and goulash.  Then we went out to the most amazing 3 story market where we bought the last of our souvenirs.  I also went into an Aldi, even though I didn't buy anything.

Our tour guide Peter, who we will always remember because he helped make our "holiday" great!

This evening our crew said a few closing words.  It was like leaving friends.  We have so much enjoyed the 4 tour guides, especially Peter and Csaba who have been with us since Prague.

KISS Keep it short and simple
There are big ships and small ships but the best ships are friendships.
We traveled 560 miles, 500 nautical miles, 4 capitals together.
There is a German term which says you always meet twice.

We had a 7 course dinner which lasted over 2 hours tonight.  We have come to the conclusion that Europeans like to enjoy their meals.  We Americans eat way too fast.  Thankfully the portions were small and some we only ate a few bites of so that we didn't get too full.  After dinner a Hungarian opera put on a show which was fabulous, but would have been much more enjoyable if we would have been able to understand Hungarian.

Fun Facts:
*1 million people from Budapest died in WWII, 1/3 were Jews
*They call Budapest The Queen of the Danube
*The streets in Budapest are wider than most because they were built for the Military
*Budapest is has the biggest Opera House in Europe after Vienna
*Sales tax in Budapest is 27%
*17% income tax for everyone in Hungry.
*Buda has 1/3 of the population and Pest 2/3's.

Europe Day 9 Vienna!

Vienna wasn't what I was expecting; I think I was expecting a small European town.  Vienna is more of a big city.  It kind of reminded me of a mini NYC.  There are a lot of people in this city.  This city is all about money.  We had a bus and walking tour through Vienna this morning.  We saw yet another church and another palace.  They of course were beautiful.  This afternoon we had time in the city.  It was so big we didn't really know where to tour.  We did go to the Opera House where they have a different performance every night.  It was beautiful.  Tenielle, Dad and I shared the best Hot Dog I've ever eaten and I'm not a hot dog person.  It had cheese in it and was put into a bun that had a closed bottom.  We also bought some souvenirs including more chocolate and different kind of wafers.  Believe it or not we stopped off at McDonalds for the most delicious homemade yogurt edinberry smoothy, a cookie, a carmel macaroon and french fries. It's a good thing we don't have the delicious McDonalds Cafe's in the states or I'd be stopping on a frequent basis.

Tonight's dinner was a Pirates Theme.  I've had a different fish every night.  My favorite has been of course salmon, marlin and butter fish.  The staff did funny program tonight, one of which was downright hilarious.

 You can't see it in this picture, but there was a spoon attached to the fabric that hit the pan when they moved a certain way.  I wish we would have gotten this program on video because it was awesome.

Fun Facts to follow when I find my sheet with them on it....

Europe Day 8 Melk

This morning we woke in Melk, Austria!  So awesome that we are waking up in a different country this morning; that is 4 countries that we have been in over the past 8 days!  We only had one stop today which was at the famous Benedictine Abbey.  It was pretty, but kind of over the top.  We weren't stopped but 2 hours before we started down the Daube River again amongst castles and absolute beauty!

 

This evening when we stopped near Vienne for the night, we enjoyed a 55 minute walk on this great walking path near the river.  It was exactly what I needed after eating as much as we have.  Come Monday morning I'll be back to my 4 mile jogs in the morning and will have to add 2 miles to my regimen in the evening.

Fun Facts:  

*Apricots and Vineyards are the top production in Melk.

*The Benedictine Abbey burned down in 1700's and was rebuilt.

*There are 3065 windows and 495 rooms in the Abbey.
*There are 9 libraries and 100,000 books in the Abbey, of which we weren't allowed to take photo's of.
*In Austria Blue is the color for beginning and spirituality.
*Austria is 70% forest.
*Lintz the 3rd largest town in Austria has a 0% unemployment rate, because of the industry.