Trip to Vienna – A Day On The Town

We spent the entire trooping around old Vienna. The city is very nice, but super spread out. This made for a lot of walking. The architecture was once again beautiful and the sites were memorable. Highlights of the day including our walk through a rose in the center of town, our picnic in the park on REAL GRASS, and some ice-cream we had towards the end of the day.

Old church we saw on our walk into town from the boat

Old meets new in downtown Vienna

Picnic in the park with grandparents

A nice view from a cool shady location

Ramona and Timothy in the rose garden

Trip to Vienna – River Cruise on the Danube

Today is our day in Vienna. Our plan was to take a river boat cruise there and back on the Danube, but due to a sold-out return boat we were forced to take a bus back. The boat that took us to Vienna was a Russian made hovercraft. One of our favorite parts of the trip was our travel through the lock. Timothy watched with glee as the gates closed and opened on our lock.

A view of the Bratislava castle as we leave town

Pulling into the locks

Leaving the locks we meet a hovercraft like ours

The Castle of Bratislava

The castle dates back to at least 450 BC when it was run by the Celts. The impressive structure sits 83 meters above the Danube on a bluff overlooking the river. Today we spent the day walking through the castle enjoying its many treasures. It is now houses the national museum Slovakia.

Bratislava Castle

Jon & Danka inside the castle next to the chest they would like

Abby with Grandpa’s hat sitting in Grandma’s arms

Ramona and Tim resting in the castle courtyard after walking through the massive castle

Jon and Tim next to Bratislava’s narrowest house

Prague Day 3 – Night pictures

It was a fun night out on the town. Ramona and I left the kids with grandpa and grandma sleeping soundly in our hostel. We were able to stroll and be a couple once again. It was a nice little date. The city is conducive to romantic strolls. :-)

Castle on the hill

Karlov Bridge with Ramona

The clock tower

Prague Day 3 – The Castle

This afternoon we went to visit the castle across the Vltava river on the other side of Prague. It is a lovely place with many gardens and awesome buildings. We again climb a town which overlooks Prague. The site is breathtaking. We love this city. Timothy enjoys running around and looking at the guards who stand motionless at their post. What a day!

The castle a top the hill

Timothy in front of the castle guard

Overlooking lovely Prague once again

Tim and I in the castle’s main ballroom

Ramona next the castle wall where lovely roses were growing. Isn’t she cute!!

Prague Day 3 – Downtown touring

By day three we were power touring. The kids were just fraggin by this time. We are dragging them all over creation. We had fun, but by the end of the day exhaustion had definitely hit us.

Mom and Ramona in town square

Picture from town square


Prague’s famous clock tower

I should mention here that Ramona and I stayed up until 1 am on one of our nightly strolls to see the clock do its thing. Needless to say we were disheartened to find out it only works during the day. The next day we watched it chime, but were not terribly impressed with the bells and the moving figures. Oh well, it’s still incredibly beautiful.

Prague Day 2 – Out for Thai

Tonight we found a place to eat Thai food. Ramona and I were itching for Thai since there is none in St. Petersburg. It was a great evening. Pictures are from our walk to the restaurant.

Mom and Dad by a flower garden

Ramona and I in front of the flower garden

Timothy catching a free ride with Ben

Prague Day 2

During our second day Ramona the kids and I went downtown and looked at the main square once again. We climbed the clock tower and took some wonderful pictures from there. Then I went for a long walk with my sister and a friend all over Prague. My feet were quite sore by the end of the day. It was worth it – Prague is an amazing city. These are just a few of the pictures that tell the story.

Picture from the clock tower towards church on the main square

Ramona leaning out of the clock tower’s window

Vltava river with Prague in the background

The Dancing House name after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers since the pair of house look as if they are dancing

Prague Day 1

Our first day in Prague. What a city! We stayed in a hostel not far from the old train station. The entire downtown is within walking distance and there are so many quaint shops and restaurants. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Prague train station

Main Square where a big screen was showing a World Cup game

Karlov Bridge just before a huge rainstorm started

The day after the wedding Danka’s parents through a party for our family. It was a good informal setting to get to know them better. Danka’s mom is quite the hostess and put on a wonderful spread. Danka’s father also has a hand in the cooking and prepared a traditional Slovakian soup with sauerkraut and spicy sausage. Mmm, was it ever good.

The feast

The host family including Danka’s two brothers

Jon’s cuts the cake for dessert

The day after the wedding I decided to take a walk in downtown Bratislava with Timothy. It’s a very nice city with lovely architecture that is preserved quite well. The feeling in this city is very different from St. Petersburg. There is a mixture of modern and old architecture in very close proximity.

Statue and building in downtown

Old town square

Gargoyle

The final pictures…

Before heading off to the reception the official wedding photos were taken with the family members. The couple several cute shots with the old Mercedes as well. Fun!

The couple and the parents

The couple standing by the car

The couple kissing while be shot from the rose bushes

The couple riding off to the reception in the old car

The receiving line…

The receiving line stretched on for a very long way. Greeting in both English and Slovakian could be heard as the crowd pressed past the newly married couple. Lots of smiles kisses and hugs were exchanged by all.

The first person in the receiving line

Jon

Danka

My mom and dad in the receiving line

Outside after the service…

It was a lovely sunny day for a wedding. The weather couldn’t have been better. After the service everybody quickly moved outside to enjoy the air and to congratulate the new couple on their marriage.

My two lovely girls outside after the ceremony

Pastor and Don and Mavis who came over from the US to be a part of this wedding

The outside of the church

The car which will deliver the couple to the reception