The Grand Reunion - London and Bath

It was very strange leaving Jon behind at the airport in Prague as I set off on an adventure – adventures are something we have grown accustomed to doing together!

The flight to London was stupidly fast, and has made me appreciate more than ever the beauty of air travel! 90 minutes and we were landing in London Luton airport (miles away from the city). I hopped on a coach and headed into the city, a much more comfortable ride than the airplane! I managed (just) to navigate the local bus routes and find the hotel we were staying at, the Westport Inn. I pulled my bag up to the door of the pub downstairs and was greeted by a few rowdy old lads having a few beers. Mum and Dad were inside and there was lots of hugging and kissing as we reunited. It was great to see them in such high spirits having just come from America, they are clearly enjoying themselves.

We walked down to Camden Lock in the evening to find somewhere to have some dinner. We stopped in at a nice English Pub filled with character and had some delicious pub grub. Steak and Guinness pie for Me and Mum and bangers and mash for Dad.

In the morning we had breakfast at the little café across the road which was as British as they come. Cereal was nowhere to be seen, so unless you want something fried, you’re out of luck. 

We managed to get hold of my Nan’s sister, Sheila and her husband Jim who coincidently live 2 minutes walk from where we were staying! We had a cup of tea with them and spoke of family and our lives.

We headed straight into the city centre fro a long day of walking after tea. I think it’s easier for me to list where we walked rather than explain:

West End, Picadilly circus, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, Houses of Parliament and Beg Ben, Westminster Abbey, St James Park, Buckingham Palace, back up to Picadilly and Regent street then down to Charring Cross station! We were exhausted. From here we met up with Nan’s brother Don and his wife Joan. Don and Joan visited Australia last year so it was wonderful to catch up with them again so soon. We had a drink in Covent Gardens then wandered through soho where we stopped at an Italian restaurant for dinner. After too much food and wine we walked back to Charring Cross with them and said goodbye, promising to see them again very soon. Mum, Dad and I decided we would then hop on a bus (double deaker and front seats, of course) and head down to have a look at St Pauls Cathedral and Tower Bridge. Well worth the effort! The only disappointment was that St Pauls was closed for the night and we couldn’t go inside, but the dance troupe rehearsing on the steps of the Cathedral was great to watch!

Trafalgar Square

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament

Westminster Abbey

St Pauls Cathedral

The following morning we were off to Bath in our rental car with, believe it or not, slightly sunny weather! We stopped off at my Pop’s brother John and his wife Chris’ house to see them and their brood of grandchildren. It was so nice to see my second cousins and their little ones. There was Naiomi, 9 months, and Thomas and Amelia, twins, who are 5 months old. Such beautiful children!

We also stopped in to see Stonehenge which was less than inspiring. We didn’t buy tickets to go inside the chicken wire fence, opting instead to take a few customary photos then get back in the car and continue on our way!

Stonehenge

Bath is such a beautiful city, a real honeymoon destination place, full of gorgeous little townhouses and winding cobbled streets. It took us a good hour to just get into the city though, the traffic was something out of a nightmare and had Dad crying into his steering wheel!

We stayed at an amazing little B&B called Cranleigh House. It’s Victorian style made us feel like we had just stepped into a Jane Austen novel!

We made our way into the middle of town and decided to have an early dinner before we hit the Roman baths. We ate at Sally Lunns, the oldest house in Bath, tucked down a little back street with wonky windows.

We went to have a look at the Roman baths after dinner which were really interesting. It’s just a museum so you can’t actually go bathing here, but there was so much to see we spent an easy few hours there. You could look at the remains of the Roman Baths from the 4^th century, along with lots of history about the period and the people of the day. Dad did a ‘Rybak’ tour, taking about half the time of Mum and I!

The Roman Baths with the Bath Abbey in the background

Roman Baths

We had a delicious breakfast at the B&B the next morning then went into town for a few hours. We did a tour of the Bath Abbey which took us up to see the bells, the Bishops balcony and the top of the tower giving up great views of Bath.

Cream tea was a must while we were in Bath so we found a little café and had our scones, clotted cream, jam and tea. It was amazing. In Australia we call these Devonshire tea’s.

It was a pretty whirlwind tour of Bath as we only had one night there and not even a full day to explore but the little taster we had made us fall in love with the city. It’s beauty is astounding with it’s matching houses (if you wanted to live in Bath, it was compulsory to build your house out of stone sourced from the area!), sweet little shops and rolling green hills right outside the city limits.

Bath

Bath Abbey

Vaulted Ceiling of the Abbey

View from the top of the Abbey

We of course made the obligatory trip to West End whist we were back in London for a night and we opted to see Mum and Dad’s favourite production, Les Miserables. It was amazing. The sets, singing and acting blew us away and we all spent most of the performance crying! A quick drink at a local British pub after the show capped off our evening beautifully however we did follow this with a minor disaster with the London busses, but that's a different story.

All in all, we loved the UK; the people, the food (especially Mum) and the language! Never take for granted the ability to ask someone for directions in your own language!

Rafting in Český Krumlov

The annual rafting trip is one of the highlights of the school year at Channel Crossings and this year we got to join in on the fun! It all began with a cry in the school library including the phrases "rafting", "amazing fun" and "beer", Jon and I were in.


We left on Friday afternoon to beautiful sunshine and a balmy 25 degrees. We had (luckily) pre-booked our bus tickets down to Český Krumlov on a local bus so that meant we got seating, something you completely take for granted on a four hour bus ride. But the bus was jam packed full of people. The options for the people who hadn't pre-booked tickets were a) you can get to the bus stop early to ensure you get a ticket AND a seat, b) if you don't get a seat then you can stand or c) stay at home. So the too small bus was full to say the least.


Upon arriving in Český Krumlov we realised that we unfortunately hadn't carried the nice weather with us! We were facing rainy, stormy and cold weather with the forecast for the entire weekend looking bleak. 
After a nice dinner in one of the local restaurants, we all headed out for a a few drinks to start off the weekend. A few beers and one too many drinking games later and we were all tucking ourselves up in bed ready for rafting the following day. Well most of us anyway, with the exception of a few stragglers, one of which we found curled up on the couch in the kitchen the following morning. Much to our surprise, he made the deadline for the rafting excursion and before we knew it he was back on the booze at the respectable hour of 9 am. Yuk. 


We split up into groups and launched our rafts about 5km upstream from Český Krumlov. We had the 'Aussie' raft, with the exception that we also had a Frenchman and a Belgian guy on board. We had such a hard time of making our raft go in a straight line, but on the up side, we were wonderful at going in circles! Of course, we had 'raft wars' which were less than extreme considering no one could make their rafts go in any semblance of a streamlined bumper boat. 


We managed to navigate our first slues with little difficulty and we were even surprised when we were able to paddled around a high point in the river, but it was the second slues that was the issue. We didn't hit the water on quite the right angle, resulting in a few very wet rafters. Add this to the fact that it was also raining non-stop and there was a delightful cool breeze blowing, we were freezing. Instead of the usual beer at every rest stop along the way, I enjoyed Česneková polévka (Garlic Soup) or a warm cup of honey wine!

Seven hours later plus a score of freezing and fairly intoxicated people, we had finished our trip down the river, a surprisingly short distance from the town! We all fought over the seats in the bus the again when we got back to the hostel over the showers (if we can call them that). It was one of the best feelings to be warm again after such a long time cold and wet! Even though the conditions weren't ideal, we had such a great day on the river 
with beautiful scenery and great friends.


We had dinner together at a little Italian restaurant then we all 
crashed and went to bed.

The Rafting Group

Floating down the Vltava River

Raft Wars

 The next day was still raining but we went out to see some of the beautiful historic city of Český Krumlov. The whole city is UNESCO world heritage listed and is probably one of the most beautiful places we have visited. The main attraction of the city is the castle, which was built literally out of the hill it stands on, there is even a moat with live bears in it! Granted, these bears are 100% for the tourists these days, but originally they were there to protect the castle. The castle grounds are all we had time to see, but they were exquisite and from the fortifications of the castle you could see the entire city and the surrounding countryside. As it had been raining, there were low lying clouds hanging over the city, meandering among the smoky chimneys sprouting from the red tiled roofs. It was beautiful.

Back streets of Český Krumlov

Český Krumlov from the Castle

Český Krumlov Castle

Bear guarding the Castle

Grudgingly, we hopped onto the bus to head back to Prague on the Sunday afternoon. The whole weekend had been such fun and none of us were ready to return to reality just yet. 

Český ráj

About 90 kilometers north-east of Prague is a place which the Czechs call Paradise, or Český ráj. It's a place where people go to hike, ride the bikes and just generally be "in the nature", as the Czechs would say.
Jon and I took the train there, winding our way through the picturesque Czech countryside past villages, towns, castles and fields of magnificent yellow flowers.
The weather was perfect, 23 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We transferred trains at Turnov, from the  main train system to a small, local train. Only 12 minutes down the road we hopped off and faced a forest of dark conifers dotted with luminescent green, the new leaves of the season. We followed one of the marked trails through the forest and it was like nothing we have experienced before. The forest is so alive, birds, insects and trees work together to form a song where every instrument plays an irrevocably important part, you can't pick all the parts in the song, but you know without one of them the song wouldn't be the same. 
What's so special about Český ráj are the massive natural sandstone pillars that inhabit the forest. They have been shaped by the elements over the centuries into such interesting structures that the whole area is now UNESCO World Heritage listed because of them. You can climb them if you're brave enough, the sandstone is very soft, but we preferred to admire them from other vantage points. The pillars create such a contrast to the soft colours and movements of the forest but they only add to the beauty and magic of the place. 
As we walked through the forest we both noted how nice it was not to be constantly on the look our for poisonous snakes, spiders, scorpions and plants! Even so, we still miss the Australian Bush.
We stopped for a bite to eat at one of the most amazing view points on our hike. It was like having the whole world to ourselves, sitting on the edge of the rock, looking out over the rolling hills of the Czech Republic with the forest waving to us below. 

The view

We also visited Valdštejn Castle along the way which is situated on a cliff face tucked into the forest. Unlike other castles we have visited, once you paid the entrance fee, you could explore at your leisure. We had a look through the living rooms, the church, dungeons, billiards room, the 'romantic walk' and the look out. It is a beautiful early gothic castle which you enter via a bridge lined with baroque statues, an interesting mix. Just as a bit of info, the castle was built in the second half of the 13th century by the Waldstein family. After 1420 the castle was occupied by the Hussites, then later by the Robber Barons. In 1621 the abandoned castle was bought back by the Waldsteins. During the peak of the Baroque period, they built a pilgrimage church of John of Nepomuk. This Church actually collapsed during its consecration ceremony killing a handful of people including one of the high noble women of the time. Not a good start. 

Baroque style bridge to Valdstejn Castle

We ended up getting a little lost on our hiking adventure when we took the wrong route! So, after much deliberation (aka arguing) we retraced our steps and took the same route back again. This was a little disappointing as it meant we only got to see half of the trail, but the forest is so beautiful, cool and calm that it didn't matter in the end. It was actually interesting to see the same route from a different angle, it was almost like we hadn't been there at all before! We loved it so much there that we are think of going back before the leave Prague - who can resist another trip to Paradise?

One of the walkways

Sandstone pillars visible through the trees

The 'Stairs'

Pankrác, Servác, Bonifác

I am now of the opinion that until you experience seasons in a country where there are four distinct seasons, you haven't experienced them at all. I didn't think this would be quite true when people said it to me when I arrived in Prague but I can now see what all the fuss is about. 

Autumn

  

Winter

Spring

We arrived in Prague in Summer, with everything (greenery wise) looking much the same as Australia; lush green parks, shady trees etc etc but them Autumn came. The term 'fall' now makes sense to me! Every tree was like a bronzed statue flecked with an assortment of golds, oranges yellows and reds. The parks looked as though they were on fire and slowly the ground became the playground for dancing leaves and their partners, children's feet. It was beautiful.

Then along came winter, as we knew she would. She had been playing with us for the months of September, October and November but she was now here to stay. Unfortunately, we didn't get to experience a 'typical' Czech winter as the weather was surprising 'warm' (yeah right) for the winter season. So as the months of winter wore on our only respite from the grey skies and drizzly weather was the few skiing trips we went on where we throughly enjoyed all that the winter season has to offer. Finally, after months of waiting, we got our snow in Prague! Only a few days worth mind, but oh so worth the wait. It was the first time we had seen snow actually falling and making itself known in the city streets. A smattering here and there at first, but then a nice fluffy, powdery layer or the gorgeous white stuff covered Prague. Ok, so the gorgeous white stuff only lasted half of one day, then in the city is was grey slush complete with yellow spots (ten points if you can guess what thats from) and frozen doggie poops. The trams and busses were a mess and the carpet at the School I work for was a disaster zone from all the teacher coming and going all day long. We couldn't keep the smiles off our faces though and we made the most of the snow by playing in the park all afternoon. 
Towards the end of winter we were beginning to feel a little disheartened by the seemingly never-ending cold weather. The days were short with the sun coming up at 8am and setting again at 4pm so, if you were working during the day all you really got to see was night time. It was a strange experience for us but it was this experience which makes us appreciate the return of spring all the more. 
Spring came a little unnoticed at first as winter was really wanting to keep it's hold on Prague. We had days of 25 degrees then the following day 10 degrees. We had sun shine, then rain, hot then cold and then a mixture of all of them in one day. The tulips were out and blooming and the cherry blossoms had created riot on Petřín Hill but not all of the trees and flowers were this trusting, preferring to stay in their little buds until Spring had definitely arrived. 

Wild Tulips popping up everywhere

Cherry Blossoms

So it happened that in the space of one day, barely enough time to tie your shoelaces and look out the window, Prague was bursting with fresh green leaves - the greenest we have ever seen. It looked as though God pulled out his pallet of green paints, every shade imaginable, and painted Prague with them. Green spaces in the city had their water fountains filled up again and their flower beds filled with a rainbow of beautiful pansies. The bikinis are back out and people are once again sun-baking in the parks, drinking beer in the beer gardens and riding their bikes everywhere. 
Just when we thought we were in for the long run of heat and sun,  Pankrác, Servác and Bonifác reared their ugly heads. Every year, on the 12-14 May, there is a cold spell; the last stand of winter people say, and these days are named  Pankrác, Servác and Bonifác. We find it amusing that they can predict these three days in the middle of May to be cold, and Czech's find it funny that we can't (or don't). They were predicted and they came, being with them cold, wet weather and frost, ruining all the newly budding fruit on trees. It just so happened that on this weekend the Prague International Marathon was being held in the city. Thousand of people participate either in groups or individually, and who ever wasn't competing was there to watch and cheer their friends on. Our room mate Ian was running in a relay team with a group of people from School. We went down and cheered him on and were lucky enough to actually see him and him see us as he ran past! It was so inspiring to see so many people get out and run, especially all of the older people running the marathon. Some people looked as if they had just rolled out of bed that morning and said "I think I'll run a marathon today" and got up and did it. People from all walks of life, older, younger, fatter, slimer, two legs, one leg (thats right) male and female. It was amazing to watch and cheer these remarkable people on. 


The warm weather did come back, it came back yesterday and we are making the most of it. The sun is rising at 5am and isn't going to bed until after 9pm! It's wonderful and I can now fully understand why the summer months here are to be treasured like a rare gift - because they literally are! So, after that, it's off to the park for me to enjoy the sunshine and catch the all to important afternoon sun.

Prague International Marathon by Vyšehrad 

Swan Lake

Back in Australia, it was almost a little tradition of mine and Mum's to go and see the Ballet. We love it; the dancing, the music, the theatre and the atmosphere. I had been wanting to see the Ballet in Prague for a while as I had heard it is very good. So I decided to go this weekend as the tickets are cheap cheap, like $6 cheap! I went with a few friends to see Swan Lake at the State Opera. The Theatre alone was amazing, but the ballet was just incredible! We had the highest seats in the theatre so we could see right down into the orchestra pit and watch the musicians as well.
The lead ballerina was like a human rubber band; super flexible and ridiculously strong! She actually reminded me a little of spaghetti. All of the dancers were outstanding and we spent the entire ballet 'ooh-ing' and 'ahh-ing'.
I didn't actually take these photos but I wanted to show how beautiful the inside of the State Opera is and as you aren't allowed to take pictures in there, I just sampled these off Google.

Inside the State Opera

Family Visits

There is something special about being able to show the people you love what you have been doing and where you have been living while you're abroad. A few weeks ago Jon's parents came and visited us in Prague for a little over a week. It was a week full of laughs, sightseeing, eating out and just enjoying being with each other. We saw so many things that we hadn't seen previously as well as some of the old favourites like St Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge. We played the 'tour guides' (if you can call us that) and took Jon's parents to our favourite places to eat, drink coffee and, of course, shop!

Jon's parents

On the first night they were here we decided to take a walk through the city to show off where we have been living. The weather, although not cold by Prague standards, was freezing for Jon's parents! We managed to find a restaurant to retreat in and they had their first Czech meal. Goulash for Jon's Dad, who said it bought back memories of his Mothers cooking - all good memories we were assured.

One of Jon's parents favourite things to do is go out for coffee and cake and I made it my personal mission before they came to sample as many places as I could. We visited one of the most important Art Noveau building in Prague, the Municipal House, for fancy coffee and cake. Waiters pushing trolleys full of delicious cakes wander the tables wearing full 'butler' attire ready to serve you up a huge slice of apricot cheesecake, sponge, apple strudel or anything else you want!
Among the token Starbucks and Costa Coffee visits we also went to a few of my favourite coffee shops including Friends Coffee House with its super relaxed atmosphere, Mama Coffee with its hippie vibe and Cafe Louvre which is the poshest cafe in Prague (previously visited by the likes of Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein).

We ate out every night which was such a treat for Jon and I! We ate mostly Czech meals which suited Jon's parents fine as they both enjoy European cuisine. We also managed to find a few places in Prague which serve Gluten free food which was great for Jon's Mum. One place in particular, Na Zlaté Křižovatce is an entirely gluten free restaurant, even the beer was gluten free! The food was some of the best we've had in Prague and it was affordable too in a beautiful restaurant. We all gave it 10/10!

We didn't eat and drink coffee the whole time Jon's parents were here either, we managed to squeeze in some sightseeing too. It was Easter Monday when they arrived and as such, all of the Easter Markets were still set up with all the Spring decorations out too. Jon's Mum in particular loved the markets and brought lots of little trinkets to take home as gifts for people.
Old Town Square was a favourite, with the gothic Tyn Church, St Nicholas Church and the Town Hall with the Astronomical Clock, we made many return visits here.
We decided to do a tour of Prague Castle too which was pretty interesting. I'm not sure it was any better than just walking through the castle complex, but it was definitely nice to be able to go all the way into the St Vitus Cathedral and also into the old part of the Castle as well as Golden Lane. Golden Lane is a part of the Castle complex which originally served as quarters for the guards as well as a number of other small craftsmen and women. The lane was full of small colourful houses set into the northern wall of the castle. Each little house had been set up as a replica of various craftsmen and women, such as a blacksmith, a herbalist and seamstress. It was so quaint and I fell in love with it, I asked Jon if we could see how much the rent would be for one of the houses :)
It was my birthday on the weekend that they were in Prague and therefore I was in charge of choosing the outing for the day! I decided we should go to a Tropical Butterfly exhibition which was being held at the Botanical Gardens of Prague. It was absolutely beautiful being in a greenhouse full of butterflies and the weather was perfect for wandering through the gardens in the afternoon. We stopped and had a drink at a little Vinoteka (a little winebar) which was in the middle of the vineyard overlooking the Vltava River and Troja Chateau, a baroque palace in the north-west part of Prague. The Chateau has beautiful manicured gardens and an amazing baroque staircase out the front.

The tropical rainforest for the butterflies

A butterfly newly out of it's cocoon

In the Botanical Gardens

St Karel Church; overlooks the St Karel Vineyard

Troja Chateau

We also visited the Jewish Quarter (Josefov) which was formally the Jewish ghetto and we learned a lot about Jewish persecution in the Czech Republic. It was an open tour card, so once you paid for your ticket, you could visit the six different places at your leisure. This included mostly synagogues, the Jewish Town Hall, the Jewish Ceremonial Hall and the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was an interesting tour and there was lots of information available to read as well which made it a worth while trip.

After all of the food, sightseeing and coffee drinking, the nicest part was just having Jon's parents here with us in Prague. It was very sad to say goodbye and extremely hard to go back to work but alas, we are now back in routine and all of this feels like it happened months ago, not weeks.
So now we are eagerly awaiting out next visitors to Prague! My Mum and Dad as well as Jon's sister, her fiance and his brother all in July! We might need to rest before then :)

Jon's Mum and I under the blossoms at Strahov Monastery 

Vienna

Last weekend we visited Austria's capital, Vienna. We went on a quick weekend trip with some friends of ours just to get a taste of the city.
We travelled by train which was fantastic! I had wanted to travel by train ever since moving to Europe but it was always more practical to take the bus. I wasn't disappointed. There is so much to see out to window of the train. We passed small cities, little towns and quaint villages and even a castle in southern Bohemia! The trip took about 5 hours, which was a little lengthy for a one night trip.

Vienna is a beautiful city with heaps of history and interesting things to see. Unfortunately we only had two days in the city so we didn't get to see a lot of what we wanted to. The city is so much bigger than Prague with a lot of 'must do's' on the travelers itinerary. Whilst there we hired bikes from the 'City Bike' bays. The idea of these bikes is that, once you register (which is 1 euro), you can hire any of the bikes for under an hour for free! Over one hour is one euro, two hours two euro etc. It was a great way to get around the big city as it meant we could see much more than we would've seen on the metro. We had a few minor bike glitches such as gear-less bikes constantly in something like 5th gear, bikes that wouldn't come out of their holders and, in my case, not putting my bike back properly and having to pay for extended use of the bike! Annoying, but definitely a recommended experience. Thanks Jon for riding in gale force winds to fix my bike! What a hero...? :)

We visited a lot of the main sights in Vienna which are breathtaking. The architecture is really amazing - heaps of art deco buildings (I only learnt about this recently) dotted around the city. Much of the city was destroyed in WWII, so there is an interesting mix of old and 'new' buildings.

We visited the Schonbrunn palace, the summer residence of the Habsburg Monarchs. The last time we visited the palace was in the middle of summer and the immaculate garden estate was in full bloom. This time the first touch of Spring was just making itself known in the garden, with some of the trees full of blossoms but others still bare from winter. It was nice to see that Spring is finally here in Europe.

Schonbrunn Palace and some of it's gardens

The Gloriette Structure at the highest point of the palace gardens

Out the front of the palace were some markets for Easter. They were typical European markets with a beautiful backdrop of the palace. There were stalls selling street food, traditional Easter things such as painted eggs as well other stall selling homemade products. We tried some speatzle which was nice but Jon said wasn't quite as good as Oma's.

Traditional hand painted eggs for Easter

One of the things we were most looking forward to was sampling some Austrian food, and we weren't disappointed. We visited the Naschmarkt, which is Vienna's most popular market, stretching over 1.5km. You can get all sort of produce here, from fresh fruits and vegetables from around the world, exotic herbs, cheese, baked goods, meats and seafoods. There are heaps of small restaurants where you can have traditional Viennese food, seafood, kebabs, wieners etc. We opted for a bratwurst and a beer for lunch which was amazing! I didn't eat sausages before I left Australia, now I am eating them from a small 'hole in the wall' store, served by a grumpy middle aged lady. After lunch we tried some turkish delight and caramel fudge which was equally as delicious (and messy). 

We also sampled some fresh wine from a local seller. You could have the wine in small bottles, which we of course bought to drink as we walked around the remainder of the market. Attached to the end of the permanent market was a flea market full of people selling bits and bobs. Most of it was antique/ vintage goods, with the majority of that being very kitsch and as Jon put it 'just plain old crap'. I'm sure there were some real gems hidden in there and I would have loved to have poked around for longer.

Bratwurst and Beer for lunch

With our wine and seasonal flowers

Some of the produce

When we were in Vienna in 2009, we went to a place for dinner where you could order 1m of ribs! After telling our travel companions about this place, we were on a mission to locate and eat there. The restaurant was called, appropriately, "Ribs of Vienna". You could get ribs of all flavours and combinations and our companions were in Heaven. Jon and I can't go past a good Schnitzel and, when tempted with a 'plate sized wiener schnitzel' we just couldn't resist. We literally had to roll ourselves back to the hostel after dinner we were so full. Combined with an early start, a long day and way too much food, we were all about to slip into a food coma.

We also visited the Belvedere, which is a historical building complex with two baroque palaces, the Upper and Lower Belvedere. The Belvedere museum has a Gustav Klimt exhibiton, which was fantastic - we even got to see his most famous painting, The Kiss. The rest of the gallery was equally as amazing with lots of different artists and styles on display. The grounds of the palace were incredible, a 'baroque park landscape' which was full of beautiful statues and cascades, decorative tiered fountains and majestic wrought iron gates. The palace complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Meanwhile, Jon went to see the Austrian Military Museum which he said was interesting despite the lack of English descriptions. He saw the clothes Archduke Franz Ferdinand was wearing and the car he was in when he was assassinated, which initiated WWI.

Upper Belvedere housing the main exhibition

We caught the train home on Sunday afternoon after a whirlwind trip to Austria's capital, feeling extremely exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep. No rest for the wicked (again), back to work bright and early Monday morning.
It was a fantastic weekend, but I think Vienna needs a good week to be explored and to get the most out of this city.

Breakfast