A visit to Prague requires one to visit the castle complex. I say complex as this is a large area with a number of buildings and things to see. The complex is easily visible as it looks down over the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge. Today was our day to explore this significant part of Prague. First one has to make it up the hill. We weren’t exactly sure how to get up to the castle, but we figured…
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When we visited Budapest, we walked everywhere. Our hotel was near enough to the city center that we could walk there in about fifteen minutes. Such was not the case in Prague. We had a very nice hotel, but it was some distance from the city center so we took a light rail back and forth every day. Fortunately for us, seniors over 65 ride the light rail for free so only Andrea had to pay. Payments were made on…
Continue Reading “First Day at Prague’s Charles Bridge and Christmas Markets”
Wednesday was our last day in Budapest. We would be leaving by train for Prague in the afternoon. We should have had another full day here, but as happens too often, I managed to be confused about the dates when I made the reservations. Since Andrea had been to Budapest before, she was more excited about visiting Prague so it worked out. Our train to Prague wasn’t leaving until 3:30 so we still had time to take in more of…
Continue Reading “A Morning in Budapest then a Train to Prague”
Since we had only one full day in Budapest, it meant we had a lot to see in that day. Having visited the Fisherman’s Bastion the previous night and our first Christmas market on this day, Boxing Day, it was time to find the second Christmas market we planned to visit. We knew it was close by, but we were having a little challenge finding it. However, getting lost only allows one to explore the area even more, and we…
Continue Reading “More of Budapest and an Evening Cruise on The Danube”
Monday was my 72nd birthday. It was also a travel day as we were to take a train to Madrid where we would leave Spain to fly home. However, our train didn’t leave until nearly 3:00 so there was still time in the morning to do a little more exploring of Granada. We headed out towards downtown again. We were headed to the University which we had been near the day before, but it had been closed. I thought we…
Continue Reading “Our European Journey Comes to an End in Spain”
Sunday in Granada was another picture perfect day with blue skies and warm temperatures. After our early start to the day yesterday, we decided we were not going to push ourselves today. I woke up late and had a leisurely breakfast before we headed out to see what else Granada has to offer. We headed into the downtown core. We knew there was a large cathedral there so we thought we would start there. Since it was Sunday, I wasn’t…
Continue Reading “Discovering Granada, Spain Outside of the Alhambra”
Today was Alhambra day. I read that it was best to go early to avoid the crowds. Since it was also a Saturday, I figured that was even more true. There is one part of the Alhambra that has a timed entrance. All the rest you can enter as you please. I read that one couldn’t be late for the timed entrance so we got up and left shortly after 8:00 for our 9:00 entrance time. We grabbed some breakfast…
Continue Reading “Alhambra: The Ultimate Moorish Architecture”
The southern part of Spain is known as Andalusia. In many ways it is primarily an agricultural region. Historically what made it significant was that for many years it was under the rule of the Moors. The Moors were Muslims mostly from North Africa. They brought their own distinctive architecture into the region, the Moorish style. When Christians took over the region again, they changed some of the buildings such as turning mosques into churches. However, many buildings still remain…
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During our one full day in Seville we walked ten miles according to my wife Silvette’s phone tracker. Seville is one of the most fascinating cities I have been to in terms of architecture and places to visit. My almost 420 photos taken on this day would confirm that. I saw a sign there that said Seville is underrated as a tourist destination. I think that’s true. More people need to be aware of its intriguing and unique places. Our…
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Wednesday morning arrived, and we prepared to leave Faro for Seville, Spain, home of flamenco dancing. One street over from our hotel was a bus stop for Seville. However, there was no easy way to get there so we ended up dragging our suitcases around on the cobblestone sidewalks again. Fortunately we had checked out the location earlier as the bus stop doesn’t even have a sign there. The people standing around with suitcases were a big clue that we…
Continue Reading “Encountering the Flamenco Culture in Seville, Spain”
