Oh, the Places She'll Go...

(continued from previous post of time with Julie)

So, while Dennis was in meetings the next day, Julie and I explored the Prague castle, which is the largest castle complex I have ever seen, dating back to 880. We had the perfect spot looking through the wrought iron fence to see the changing of the guard. Returning through Old Town to meet up with Dennis we crossed the Charles Bridge full of artists and vendors selling their crafts.

Late Sunday afternoon we drove from Brno, Czech to Vienna, Austria where Dennis and I saw St. Stephens Cathedral for the first time at night. A mass was in session and we had the rare opportunity to hear a cappella singing that beautifully filled the cathedral. I love how Julie put it on her blog: Vienna, Austria. what got me was St. Stephen’s Cathedral. walked in at night during mass. cold. dark. green. felt like I was in the redwood forest. amongst sequoias. a place I could dwell in for a long time. I felt the same way. It felt like a holy moment. What an appropriate correlation to the cathedral built in the 11th century. Sequoias live 1200 - 1800 years or more and are almost as tall as the cathedral steeples.

The summer palace was a bit dull at this time of the year. Best to go there in the summer. One of the places I hadn't been to yet, but wanted to see in Vienna, was the Judanplatz. We found the square this time with the Austrian Holocaust Memorial. I loved the nature of the memorial - created by British artist Rachel Whiteread, the memorial is a reinforced concrete cube resembling a library with its volumes turned inside out. Oh, the stories that could be told. The 41 places where Austrian Jews met their death during the Nazi rule are written in the concrete surrounding the "library." My heart always feels the grief of injustice in these places.

We left Vienna late afternoon and three hours later arrived in back home in Budapest. 

Five capital cities of Europe in one week. . . something that's easy to do with Europe's expansive land mass of 50 countries. One being Budapest, of course! And, by the way, her favorite city was Budapest. :) I agree, but every place had its own beauty. So many pictures to choose from - hopefully not boring you.

 Prague

An evening in Old Town Prague

Glockenspiel built in the 15th century

Charles Bridge - construction began in the 12th century

Jules and I had fun taking "senior pictures" at this archway upon entering the castle

"Senior" having another meaning for me :)

Peeking through the wrought iron fence to see the changing of the guard

Inside the castle complex

So much architecture inside the castle walls

Cathedral inside castle walls

Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral at night

Painting inside the cathedral - Peter holding the keys on the left, John with the Book of Life on the right

St. Stephan's is 1,000 years old

I can see why Julie felt like she was in the midst of Sequoia trees

Jewish Square

Austrian Holocaust Memorial "Library"

These guys are all over the city holding up the buildings... I don't know how they do it! Constant headaches I would think.

Ending on a cheerful note - love the flower shops found in most every city.

So great to share time with Julie. She is off in Instanbul now. Can't wait to hear about her adventures!

Oh, the Places She's Been in Europe!

Well, Julie is now off on her three-continent-world-travels - two weeks in and possibly three or four months to go. We were so thankful to have two weeks with her. We miss her, but I wanted to capture the remainder of our time together before it's too far down the road.

Two full days in Slovenia was well worth the trip. After our hike along the Vintgar gorge we drove toward the region of Bohinj, a valley that stretches between the Lower Bohinj Mountains and the Triglav National Park, the heart of the Julian Alps. Hiking the 11K perimeter around Bohinj Lake we heard a hum, like an engine, that we couldn't figure out at first. Then we saw it. Barely visible from where we stood, a cable car was making its way up the side of the rocky cliff to the Vogel Ski Center.

Though we didn't ski (yes, we felt a bit out of place without skiing gear), we ended up joining skiers at the summit of Vogel via the cable car just to get a birds-eye view of the Bohinj valley. The mile-high ascent was a blend of wonderstruck beauty and the heebie-jeebies. We had the cable car all to ourselves on the way up. On the way down we were packed in like sardines between skiers heavily clad with ski gear and equipment. We ended our day stopping in a village eatery called Strud'l where we enjoyed a true Slovenian meal.

The next morning we drove to Lublijana, Julie's second capital city, where we enjoyed an amazing breakfast at Le Petit Cafe, a place we found online with great reviews. This little cafe with lots of character was as good as predicted and will be a great memory of Lublijana.

Back to Budapest and then off with Dennis for a ministry trip, plus a chance for Julie and I to explore a few more cities. We stopped for lunch in Bratislava, Slovakia's capital and largest city. We took a few hours to roam Old Town, and then we were on our way to Prague.

Now, what pictures to show?

Bohinj, Slovenia

Bohinj Lake

Going Up - the Bohinj Valley

Going Down

Ski Slopes at Vogel Summit

A great Slovenian meal after a long days hike

Bratislava

All we need is a hat!

Paintings on boarded up windows

I love flowers, so had to take this photo :) over the Ecuador Consulate

More paintings

Love this... Dennis gave us Europe history lessons along the way :)

To be continued...

A Yosemite Moment in Slovenia

Well, Julie and I got a little risky and took the mile-long hike along the Vintgar gorge less than 4K from Bled. Beginning in May the gorge has paid access. The build-up of snow and ice over the winter season closes the gorge down, but a local shop keeper clued us in that hiking was possible due to the minimal snow fall this year. And so, with that bit of knowledge, we decided to check it out.

At the trail head there was a middle-age couple mulling over whether to hike, all decked out in hiking gear, including chains for their hiking boots. We chatted with them a bit, but they soon decided against it because of the ice at the beginning of the trail. After a quick survey we could see not far down the trail ice turned to a stony path. Up ahead we could see a wooden bridge that looked ice-free, so we ducked under the railing to give it a go. We passed a local man on his way out and a couple within minutes. After that we never saw another person.

The Radovna river cascading over rocks below, at times stopping to rest in crystal clear pools is mostly seen from a wooden path that hugs the side of the rocky cliff walls. There were times the railing was out or a few boards here and there due to trees and rocks that had fallen over the winter season.  Only once did we hear a rock falling from above that landed with a big splash on the other side of the gorge.

Most definitely a not-miss natural beauty. A Yosemite moment in Slovenia.