I recently returned from a very short river cruise from Vienna to Budapest,
with a stop in Bratislava. We left on
Sunday and returned on Friday. I was reluctant to go to Vienna; the last
time I was there, it rained. It didn't just rain, it poured. All I
saw of that city was the inside of my umbrella. This time it was
different. The weather was beautiful. These Roman ruins were
discovered when they were digging for the subway just outside the home of Franz
Joseph.
On our walking tour, we came upon a peace monument that was erected after the World War II on the site of a building where about 300 people died in a bomb shelter.
Then it was off to Bratislava. Of
course we took a walking tour. Here are pictures of what remains of the
city wall and St. Michael's gate for entry into the city..
I saw a lot of statues of heroes, kings, etc., but I really enjoyed the whimsical ones. Here are two of my favorites. After the first one was installed, people kept tripping over it, so they had to install the second one.
Then we were off
to Budapest.
We visited
Revolution Square and heard about the uprising/revolution of 1956. At
last something I knew about and not just read in a history book. Our
guide was about 12 at the time and he told us that one evening his family just
missed being in the middle of a firefight. .
That night we went for a sail to see Budapest
at night. I had heard that it would be a good sail, but I wasn’t prepared
for the beauty of Budapest at night. The parliament building was all lit up. It was breathtaking.
Then it was off to
bed to be ready to head to the airport at 4:00 AM. It was a wonderful taste of these beautiful
cities. I can’t wait to go again and
spend more time there.
