The Imperial Cities Day 10 & 11

Wednesday, March 20th, 2024

This morning we were with the same local guide as yesterday. We were on our way to Potsdam. We passed by Nicholas’ Quarter, the oldest area in Berlin, which was founded in 1200, although the homes and streets were rebuilt after WWII.

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church ( from the 1890s) was badly damaged in 1943 by the bombings. The top of the main spire was broken off and the roof collapsed. Eventually the church was going to be demolished but the people were so upset that a compromise was reached. Instead of razing the old church, they hired an architect who combined the ruin church into the design of the new church.

**Memorial Church and the newer church is currently under renovation.**

The Funkturm Berlin (finished 1926) looked like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Heinrich Straumer designed Funkturm and was used as a radio tower. During WWII it served as a warning and observation post. In 1973 all transmissions ended. It still had a restaurant and observation tower.

We drove through Wannsee which was located in the southwest quarter of Berlin. This town had two lakes along the Havel river and some beautiful homes!

Potsdam suffered severe damage in WWII but many of its monuments survived or were restored. UNESCO named Potsdam’s palaces and landscaped parks a World Heritage site in 1990. Below were a few photos from our arrival in Potsdam: the obelisk in Potsdam, cobbled side streets, and one of the many beautiful parks.

Our first stop in Potsdam was the Sanssouci Palace. The palace was built for Frederick the Great as his summer palace and was finished in 1747. It had formal gardens, terraces, fruit trees, fountains and other additions. Frederick the Great was reburied here in 1991 which was where he wanted to be. The palace was one story, had 12 rooms and it still had much of the original designs and furnishings. Amazingly the palace was not damaged during WWII! Sanssouci Palace was opened by Wilhelm I as a museum in 1873. The self-guided audio tour was very informative. Check out the slideshow below to see pictures inside the castle, the castle grounds, and the Norman Tower on the Ruinenberg.

The Cecilienhof Palace was where the Potsdam conference took place. The Cecilienhof was built between 1913-1917. It was built to resemble an English Country manor with brick and wood. Until 1945 it was the residence of the crown prince and princess, William and Cecilie of Prussia. It had 176 rooms with several courtyards.

We visited here because of its historical significance. From July 17 to August 2, 1945 a summit meeting of the “Big Three” was held here. They were Harry S. Truman, the American president, Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, and Joseph Stalin, the Soviet head of state. Each leader and his staff had their own entrance into the Cecilienhof. The agreement reached did not have Churchill’s signature because he was replaced by Clement Attlee after a general election in the U.K.! The Potsdam Agreement laid the groundwork for Germany, Europe and the world after WWII.

Stalin’s room on left then beside it Russian delegation entered. Stalin arrived one day late

We passed the Garde Ulanen Kaserne in Potsdam that was built in 1868. The Red Army, which was the Soviet forces, used it as barracks.

The Jägertor was one of the oldest entrances to Potsdam from the north. It was built in 1733 and was part of Potsdam’s wall. In 1869 the city wall was demolished but the Jägertor was left to stand alone. It was restored in 2013.

We also saw the Nauen Gate. It was an 18th century gate in the historic center of Potsdam.

Bablesberg Palace was located along the Havel river in Potsdam. It was built in 1833 for Prince Wilhelmof Prussia (later he became Emperor William I and King of Prussia) and his wife Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar (she became German Empress and Queen of Prussia). It was their summer residence for more than 50 years. In 1990 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We saw the Glienicke Palace on our way to the Glienicke Bridge. The palace looked like an Italian villa but located in Germany. It originally was a cottage but was turned into a summer palace for Prince Carl of Prussia in the early 1800s.

The Glienicke palace was now used as an open-air museum, gave special tours, lectures, and events. Also, it was a World Heritage site.

The Glienicke Bridge was built in the 1900s and goes across the Havel River. The bridge connects Berlin to Potsdam. It was also called the “Bridge of Spies” because the bridge served several times as the site where Warsaw Pact agents would be exchanged for Western spies. At this time the bridge was closed to civilians.

In 2015, “The Bridge of Spies” movie starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg was released. It was about one of the most famous exchanges that happened on this bridge. It was the exchange of US spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers (USA) who was shot down and Rudolf Abel (USSR spy) in 1962. This exchange also included an American doctoral student, Frederic L. Pryor who was studying in Berlin and was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Berlin wall had been up for a few days when he crossed into East Berlin to hear a speech, give a copy of his dissertation to an East German professor who had been advising him and visit the sister of a friend to see if she had any communication since it had been cut off between the East and the West. It was when he went to her apartment that he was arrested. Pryor didn’t know that the sister had fled to West Berlin and the police were watching her apartment. When the police found his dissertation they thought it was intel for the US and sent him to prison. He was detained for six months. The movie changed some details but actually filmed the exchange on the bridge.

We walked the bridge and the exchange took place where you see the two different colors of green and on the bridge sidewalk it was also marked with a sign that said German division until 1989. Also that was the division between east and west.

After our time in Potsdam, we were back in Berlin. A group of us wanted to visit the Book Burning Memorial that was unveiled in 1995. It commemorated the book burning that took place at Bebelplatz. There was a glass plate set in the pavers that looked down at an underground room with empty bookshelves. It had space for 20,000 books which was the number the Nazi’s had burnt! This happened on May 10, 1933.

The Book Burning Memorial at Bebelplatz.

The plaque on the top left has a quote from Heinrich Heine’s play Almansor (play, written 1821–1822). “Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings”

As we walked back to our hotel we passed the Berlin Cathedral that was a Protestant church and its dome lined the Berlin cityscape.

We had to take this picture with the Marienkirche, the oldest parish church in Berlin that was lined up directly with the Berlin TV Tower!

Berlin TV Tower and the Marienkirche Church

At our hotel we visited the Sky Terrace which was located 394 feet high. Unfortunately by the time we arrived the clouds started to roll in but we still had incredible views.

From the last two days we gained a better understanding of Berlin before and after WWII.

Thursday, March 21st, 2024

This morning we left for the airport and it was pouring outside. It was our only day of rain so it was tolerable!

At the Berlin Brandenburg International Airport

Our first flight was Berlin to Amsterdam.

Our flight was on time and we had to go to the gate to get our boarding passes. The nine of us traveling together had to wait as the gate agents tried to get us seats on the plane because our next two Delta flights were canceled by the Delta partner that we flew on from Berlin! The agents got us seats but we weren’t in the seats that we had selected but you learn that you have to “go with the flow” when you travel. We were on the flight so that was good, but the bad thing was that the gluten free meal that we had preordered wasn’t on the plane! This was our long flight from Amsterdam to Detroit! Luckily we always had protein bars in our carry on bag.

Our plane arrived in Detroit on time and we quickly went through customs because we had Global Entry. We had several hours before our flight to Columbus and we spent most of that time getting a boarding pass for the flight. We all eventually had seats and we were ready for takeoff or so we thought. As we pushed back by the pushback tug the towbar shear pin broke when the plane went over a bump. So the pilot pulled back up and maintenance had to fix the towbar pin and then do another safety check. That took a while and we tried again. The towbar shear pin broke again when the plane went over the bump. The pilot left the plane past the bump this time. We were lucky, the last pushback tug and towbar was able to push us back and we finally proceeded to takeoff.

Thank goodness our luggage arrived with us, we met our Uber driver and headed home. It had been a very long day!

We have lasting memories from our trip. We look forward to more adventures!

The Imperial Cities Day 9

Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

This morning we said goodbye to Prague and headed to Berlin!

On our way out of town we saw the Operation Anthropoid Memorial. This memorial was installed on the actual site of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich that occurred on May 27th, 1942 at 10:35 AM. Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated by the Czech resistance. He was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. He was in charge of Hitler’s “Final Solution” (Holocaust) of the Jews in Europe.

For a short time we followed along the Elbe River. We were in the Central Bohemian Highlands and the mountains in the background were of volcanic origin. The motorway we were driving on was very controversial when it was being built. This was because these Highlands were protected and the motorway cut through it but of course it was built and finished in 2016.

After we crossed the border into Germany we had a bus tour through Dresden.

Our tour director, Karolina, did an excellent job pointing out the highlights of Dresden and we enjoyed seeing the city that was almost entirely destroyed during WWII!

We also saw individual gardens like our community gardens. They had their own plot and a small building or shed.

Around Dresden and in Berlin we saw above-ground pipes. These pipes were used to drain ground water from building sites and then emptied into the rivers.

As we arrived into Berlin we crossed its main river, Spree.

The Treptower Park was the second largest public park in Berlin. It’s size was over 200 acres!

The Red Town Hall was the seat of the Governing Mayor and the Berlin Senate. The building got its name from being made of bright red bricks and was built in the mid 19th century.

When we arrived at our hotel we met our step-on guide who took us around Berlin. Our hotel is very near the iconic landmark, the Berlin TV Tower, which began operation in 1969. Its location was once in East Germany. It also was the tallest building in Germany.

St. Mary’s Church (before 13th century) was located next door to the TV Tower.

The statue to Martin Luther was dedicated in September of 1884. He was a key figure in the Protestant Reformation. This monument was located in front of St. Mary’s Church.

As we walked and also rode around Berlin we saw remnants of the Berlin Wall. The wall separated East and West Berlin from 1961-1989. It was 7 1/2 miles long and was up to 15 feet high. Double rows of cobblestones marked where the wall once stood around the city.

At the Berlin Wall Memorial (or Gedenkstätte Berliner) we saw the open air exhibits which included a portion of the Berlin Wall and an exhibition on the division of the city. Neighbors across the street from each other were separated by the wall over night.

The iron poles marked the wall’s location that divided East and West Berlin. Sections of the Berlin Wall were still erect.

**These iron poles mark the route of the wall.**

We also saw part of the wall that became the East Side open-air art gallery on the banks of the Spree River.

The Reconciliation Chapel replaced the Community Church that was dynamited by the Communists in 1985. The Community church was walled into the “Death Strip”. The “Death Strip” was the space between the concrete wall and another fence. Neither East nor West Berlin people could attend the church. It became an embarrassment to the Communist government.

The Reconciliation Chapel was erected as a spiritual place and was dedicated to the victims who lost their lives at the Berlin Wall.

The Reconciliation Sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos was also placed here.

The bells of the original Protestant Church were salvaged and were housed in a wooden structure.

This was another memorial to those who died attempting to cross from Communist Germany to the freedom of the West.

The Brandenburg Gate was one of the most visited landmarks. From 1961-1989 when East and West Berlin were divided the gate was closed. It reopened during the reunification of East and West Berlin and became a symbol of the division and reunification of Germany.

The Brandenburg Gate was designed to be a symbol of peace and it was based on the Greek Propylaea at the Acropolis in Athens. It was built between 1789-1791 and it had 12 Doric columns, six on each side, which created entrances into Berlin. The gate was the only one of 18 gates that were entrances to Berlin that remained.

The Quadriga sculpture on top of the Brandenburg Gate

The quadriga on the top of the Brandenburg Gate was with the Goddess of Peace and she was driving a four horse chariot. In 1814 when it was returned from when Napoleon and taken the quadriga she was renamed the Goddess of Victory.

The Stelenfeld Memorial was located in the middle of Berlin. This memorial was to the murdered Jews of Europe. It opened in 2005. It was made up of 2,711 Stele (concrete slabs) of various heights and placed on a slight slope. It created a wave-like effect. This memorial was a place of contemplation and remembrance!

Another stop was Checkpoint Charlie. It was a reminder of the border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. There were three different checkpoints and the names were based on NATO’s phonetic alphabet. One was Alpha, two was Bravo, and three was Charlie.

The checkpoint booth was removed in June, 1990 and can be found in Berlin’s Allied Museum. This replica was based on the original site. Checkpoint Charlie became famous because of a combat-ready tank standoff between the Soviets and the Americans.

Photo Credit: Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie 1961, M48 “Patton” tanks facing Soviet T-54 tanks. Public Domain, Source: http://www.army.mil/article/46993/standoff-in-berlin-october-1961/. (Modified in GIMP)

The Topography of Terror was an area where the headquarters of the Gestabo, high command, and the security service of the SS was located from 1933-1945. It was terror because of the torture and beatings of prisoners that the Nazis carried out. The buildings were mostly destroyed during WWII and what was left was then demolished. It opened as an open air exhibit in 2010.

Some of the Berlin Wall was still standing at the Topography of Terror site.

We passed the statue of Otto von Bismarck that was erected in 1901. He was the first Chancellor of the German Empire from 1871-1890.

The Victory Column took eight years to make and was erected in 1873. Victoria, Goddess of Victory adorns the top of the column. This Victory column was to commemorate Germany’s victories over Denmark, Austria, and France between 1864 and 1871.

If you climbed the steps to the lookout observatory, you would see the Bellevue Palace. It was originally built 1786 to be the private residence of Frederick the Great’s youngest brother Prince Ferdinand of Prussia. It was reconstructed in 1959 and was the official residence of the President of Germany.

The statue of Albrecht von Roon was erected in 1904. Albrecht von Roon was a Prussian soldier and statesman. He was important because in the 1860s he had a key role in the wars that led to the German unification under Prussia’s leadership.

The Reichstag was the Assembly hall for Parliament. Its construction was completed in 1894. In 1933 shortly after Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor, the Reichstag was burned. It was almost completely destroyed in WWII. It was eventually reconstructed and the German lower house of Parliament moved into the Reichstag in 1999.

A memorial to the murdered members of the Reichstag was located in front of the building. Each slab was engraved with the name, political party, birth and death dates of each of the 96 members of Parliament that were expelled for their political or religious beliefs after the Nazis came into power in 1933.

There were several memorials to the Soviet soldiers who lost their lives during the battle of Berlin. This memorial was erected in 1945 by the Soviet Union at Tiergarten.

We also saw the memorial to the homosexuals persecuted by the Nazis. This concrete memorial has a small window where a visitor can look through and see a short movie of two men kissing.

Memorial to the Homosexuals persecuted by Nazism.

The trabant car was produced from 1957-1991 by a former East German manufacturer. The cars were made of plastic that was reinforced with recycled cotton waste. This came from the former Soviet Union. Now these cars were used by a tour company giving guided tours of Berlin.

We checked into our hotel room that was on the 32nd floor. We had a wonderful view of Berlin.

For dinner we walked from our hotel to the Hofbräu Berlin. It was a delicious German meal.

After eating we walked back to our hotel and stopped in the hotel bar for a drink.

It was another great day. We look forward to another day exploring in and around Berlin.

The Imperial Cities Day 8

Monday, March 18th, 2024

While in Prague we stayed at the Hermitage Hotel. It was a former printing house that was originally built in 1907. They had pictures that hung around the lobby that were from the printing company. We’ve included a couple of the pictures. The pictures were very informative and reflected the early 1900s and how printing was processed!

We had about an hour on the bus and we passed the bust of Vitězslav Hálek (1835-1874) a Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist, and theater critic. It sat in front of the New Town Hall which was built in the 14th century and over the years had been updated.

We passed by the Jirásek Bridge that went over the Vitava river. This bridge was the sixth bridge to be built over the river. Construction began in 1929 and finished in 1933. It was named after a famous Czech writer Alois Jirásek.

Another interesting sight Dětský Ostrov (Children’s Island). It was also along the Vitava River and was dedicated to children after WWII. It offered sports facilities for everyone and had a children’s playground. You get to the island by crossing the arched bridge shown in the picture.

Our first stop today was the Rückl glass factory in the town of Nižbor. Nižbor was a town of 2200 residents and was located west of Prague. The town was located along the Berounka river.

The Rückl Crystal Glass factory began in 1846 and produced traditional hand-cut Czech crystal. The factory in Nizbor was built in 1903.

Our tour included an informative, step-by-step explanation of the glass process. In some of the areas we couldn’t take pictures because they were working on a special order for a customer.

From the Rückl Glass factory we could see the Nižbor Castle. The castle was originally from the 13th century. After 1600 it was rebuilt into a chateau and was currently used by the Celtic Information Center.

After the glass factory we left for Pilsner. The Pilsner Gate from 1892 was the entrance to the Pilsner brewery.

It was time for lunch and there was a restaurant on the brewery property. Our lunch was provided!

Our tour of the brewery was informative. Our guide gave us the history of Pilsner. As we walked around the facility and its various buildings he gave us the process and ingredients used in their beer.

The bottling facility bottled up to 120,000 bottles per hour!

At the end of the tour we tasted unfiltered Pilsner Urquell right from the lagering kegs in the lagering cellars!

Tonight we had our group farewell dinner because four of our travelers were heading home the next day and not doing the trip extension. We had a great meal and fun together before we said our goodbyes!

Tomorrow we leave Prague and head to Berlin. Prague was such a beautiful city that we would love to visit again and stay longer.

The Imperial Cities Day 7

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Vienna would soon be in our rear view window as we left for Prague, Czech Republic.

Crossing the border from Austria into the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic had several wine regions. We past by one of the areas.

We arrived in Prague around noon and we saw some of the area.

Our bus driver dropped up off by the Prague Castle district. There were government buildings, churches, museums, and gardens. It was the largest castle complex in the world, over 17 acres. It was busy as we toured the area.

**Walking into the Prague Castle District!**

As we entered the Prague Castle complex we saw the guards that were there to protect the buildings belonging to the Presidential office

St. Vitus Cathedral’s construction began in the 14th century but it wasn’t finished for 600 years!

Obelisk by St. Vitus. It was a WWI memorial made of granite.

Various views of the cathedral.

On the south side of the cathedral was the historical Golden Gate from the 14th century. Below this was a mosaic of the Last Judgment. The mosaic was made from 1 million pieces of glass and marble.

Golden Gate on the left. Mosaic of the Last Judgment on the right.

The inside of the cathedral had many stained glass windows as well as a beautiful rose window.

In the aisle was a silver cast sculpture of Saint Vojtěch and fellow saints.

A two-ton silver sculpture on top of St. John of Napomuk’s coffin was beautiful.

St. Wenceslas Chapel was restricted for visitors. You could look through the open doors to see the inside.

St. Wenceslas Chapel also had the entrance to the crown jewels. The jewels would only be shown for special occasions. The door that lead to where the jewels were kept required 7 keys that different public figures held and to open the door and safe all the key holders had to be present at the same time. The Czech president, the Prime Minister, and the Archbishop were three of the key holders!

Inside the cathedral was a carved 3-d wooden map of Prague and dated at 1620.

The Old Royal Palace was our next stop. It was built during the 12th century. It used to be the royal residence. We walked through the Vradislav Hall that was used for jousting matches, banquets, coronation festivities, and other royal activities. When we left this hall we walked down the wide “Rider’s Staircase” used to leave the room.

The Ludwig Wing was the where the Second Defenestration of Prague occurred in 1618. Because of another religious rebellion that saw the closure of Protestant chapels in Bohemia by the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand II of the Habsurgs, two government officials and their secretary were tossed out the window! They all survived but this incident was credited with starting the Thirty Years’ War!

Room where the Thirty Years’ War started

A replica of the crown jewels can be seen in the Old Royal Palace.

The Diet Hall in the Old Royal Palace was where the government conducted business.

The St. Georges Basilica’s ceiling was made of wood and the rest of limestone blocks.

Below was Queen Anne’s Summer Palace. King Ferdinand I of Habsburg family, built the villa below for Queen Anne. She died before it was finished. She had given birth to her 15th child and she didn’t survive.

Queen Anne’s Summer Palace at the Prague Castle.

The “Golden Lane” consisted of sixteen rows of small houses that were built into the fortifying wall of the Prague Castle.

These small houses were once inhabited by goldsmiths and castle guard members. The homes were preserved and we visited the homes. Franz Kafka’s former home where we did writing was number 22.

Number 14 was the home to internationally famous tarot-card reader, Matylda Průšová (Madame de Thebes). She was arrested and died while in prison for predicting the end of the Nazi regime.

From the South Gardens we had wonderful views of Prague. It was located between the Prague castle buildings and the castle wall.

We stopped at the Ippa Cafe for a drink, snack, and restroom break before heading down the 100 steps from the Prague Palace grounds.

Delicious Hot chocolate served with cream!

We walked from the Castle hill and over to the Charles Bridge. It was 100 steps down from the hill.

We walked to the famous Charles Bridge and then walked across. The bridge construction began in 1357. It was a medieval bridge that was built of sandstone blocks. We began walking under the Lesser Town bridge Towers and crossed the other end at the Old Town Bridge Tower. We also saw figures on the bridge.

A view of one of the Vitava river tributaries.

The bridge was very crowded!

We also took pictures as we crossed the Vitava River, the longest river in the Czech Republic.

Karolina, our tour director lives in Prague so she knew the shortcuts. We avoided the crowds on the main street and cut through the Klementinum library. The library was built in 1722 and housed the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Our shortcut through the Klementinum Library

We ended up at the main square of Prague by the astronomical clock tower and the Old Town Square.

The Astronomical Clock on the left and the Old Town Square in the background.

After our introduction to the area, we had free time to visit the Easter markets in the Old Town Square and also watched the astronomical clock come to life on the hour! We actually watched it two different times!

The Astronomical clock was over 600 years old! On the hour the bells chimed and then four characters came to life. One represented vanity and stared into a mirror, the second represented greed and was holding a purse full of money, a skeleton represented death and rang his bell, and the fourth was a musical Turk that shook his head in denial to the skeleton. Twelve apostles rotated through the doors above the clock face. All of this lasted less than a minute.

We enjoyed walking around the Old Town Square and the Easter Markets! Many people enjoyed the decorated eggs, crafts, food, drinks, and entertainment!

At one of the booths a woman was selling her decorated eggs and also had a display of the process!

Chimney cakes were a popular food that was being sold here and in Budapest! They were a sweet yeast dough that was rolled into a long rope, baked around a cylinder, coated in melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

On the Old Town Square (also called the Marianske Square) we saw the Prague New City Hall (1908-1911) and since 1945 held the offices of local officials and the formal residences for the mayor and other city officials.

The Marian Column was a religious monument topped with a statue of Virgin Mary. The original column from 1650 was demolished in 1918 with the fall of Austria-Hungary. It was reconstructed and completed in 2020.

Below were a few more pictures from the square.

When we left Old Town we walked through the area that was the Jewish Quarter and ghetto from the 13th century.

We past the Old New Synagogue which was Europe’s oldest active synagogue and was completed in 1270.

It was a full day and we enjoyed every minute!

The sun was setting as we head to our hotel!

The Imperial Cities Day 6

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Our first stop was Schönbrunn Palace. Previous buildings stood from the 14th century. It was mainly used as a hunting lodge and game park. When the Turks invaded the buildings were destroyed. Its present appearance was built in the 1740s. At this point Maria Theresa was the reigning empress. It had been military offices after WWII and then in 1955 when Austria became a Republic the palace became a museum.

The palace and gardens of Schönbrunn became a UNESCO site on their World Heritage list in 1996.

We walked around the gardens. Even though the flowers weren’t in full bloom, it was still lovely to see.

The Gloriette was located up the 200 foot hill.

The Gloriette in the gardens was built in 1775. Maria Theresa had the Gloriette designed to glorify the Habsburg power and consisted of military themed columns and arches. It was also supposedly said that it was built to improve the view from the palace!

The Easter Markets were fun to visit and we did find a few treasures. The approximately 70 markets offered decorative eggs, bunnies made from various materials, Easter candles, some toys and much more. They were busy and when we left around noon it was getting very crowded.

We crossed the Danube River and saw another area of Vienna. One stop was to the very unusual Hundertwasser-KrawinaHaus. The building had 52 apartments and it was a public-housing complex. The apartments had unusual angles and no straight lines! It was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasserhaus. When it opened in 1985 it wasn’t liked and many criticized the building but overtime it became a beloved building. It was a popular place for visitors. Check out the pictures below.

The Donauinsel Lighthouse on Danube Island was never a working lighthouse. It originally was a theater backdrop for the Bregenz Festival stage (1989-1990). It was part of the opera “The Flying Dutchman”. It was dismantled and moved to Vienna and rebuilt in 1991 where it was used at an exhibition and stood in front of the Vienna Technical Museum. Again it was disassembled and moved to its present location on Danube Island!

The Urania Observatory sat where the Donaukanal and River Wien come together. It was an observatory, education center, and a historical landmark. It was built in 1910 and had a cultural and architectural impact on Vienna.

Ruprechtskirche- St. Rupert’s Church was the oldest Romanesque church in Vienna! It was founded in the 8th century and over the years various changes and expansions.

The Secession building was a beautiful exhibition hall, completed in 1898 and it was last renovated in 2018. It was called the Secession Building because a group of rebel artists (Gustav Klimt was part of this group) broke from the traditional Viennese artists. The white structure had a cupola constructed from 2,500 gilded iron laurel leaves. The architect of the building was also a member of the Secession.

St. Francis of Assisi church was located next to the Danube river and was built between 1898 and 1910.

Another landmark of Vienna was the Spittelau waste incineration plant that looked like a piece of art but it processed about 250,000 tons of waste yearly. It also created enough green heating for more than 60,000 homes and electricity for 50,000 homes in Vienna yearly.

The bus dropped us back off to the city center of Vienna which was listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage site! We had the rest of the afternoon on our own. Our first stop was to visit the inside of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Yesterday we saw the outside of the church.

The cathedral was built in the 12th century. Over the centuries the cathedral had additions added. It was burned out during the Battle of Vienna in 1945 and it was reconstructed in 1952. It was a gorgeous church inside and out!

After lunch we visited some shops and strolled the city streets. But the highlight was taking a carriage ride that lasted 45 minutes. We rode all around the city center and went to places we hadn’t seen.

The Leopoldine Wing of Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, home to the offices and residence of the Austrian president.

There also was a protest happening near the president’s residence. We believed the protest had something to do with the Middle East and Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in town to meet with the Austrian foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg.

We stopped in the Demel Cafe. It was a famous pastry and chocolaterie shop since 1786! It smelled delicious and the cafe was elegantly decorated.

When we returned to our hotel in the early evening, we were going to walk to visit a local pub that was nearby but it was closed on Saturdays so we all decided to have another bowl of the delicious Artichoke soup for dinner at the hotel!

The Imperial Cities Day 5

Friday, March 15, 2024

After breakfast we loaded our bus to head to Vienna, Austria! We crossed from the Pest side to the Buda side and headed to the freeway. Hungary had a national holiday, it was the 1848 Revolution Memorial day. This Revolution failed but it was closely linked to Hungary’s modern history. Hungarians rallied against the Austrian empire.

Since it was a holiday many people were heading out of town for a long weekend. Today was Revolution Day. The revolution began in Hungary on March 15th, 1848. With the Russian army invading Hungary, the revolution was defeated but it still was an important date for the Hungarian people.

The freeway traffic was bumper to bumper. Our guide and driver heard the Hungary and Austrian border crossing was really backed up so we crossed into Slovakia and then drove into the country and saw its capital city, Bratislava.

Tural Monument-statue of a tural bird, an ancient Hungarian symbol in Tatabánya, Hungary

When we arrived in Vienna it was lunch time. We had lunch at a restaurant called Leopold. Unfortunately as we sat down one of our travelers fell backward and cut the back of her head. She was checked out at a local hospital and joined us that evening with stitches in the back of her head. Luckily she was able to continue on the trip.

As we were driving in the bus we saw trees with what looked like “balls” of something in them. Our guide told us it was mistletoe! It was a parasitic plant that took water and mineral salts from the woody part of the trees.

We past by one of the German’s Flak Towers that was still standing. It was used by the German Luftwaffe to help protect the city. It was a large above-ground anti-aircraft gun blockhouse tower constructed by the Nazis. It also served as an air-raid shelter.

We passed by the Vindobona which was once a Roman military camp and settlement. It had strategic value because of its location near the Danube river.

We had a step-on guide who pointed out sights as we drove to our drop off point near the city center.

We walked around the city center. The Burgtheater was built between 1874-1888. It was the most important German language theater and was still an important theater worldwide.

Our group had a reservation at the beautiful Café Landtmann. In 2023 the café celebrated its 150 years of operation. One of their most famous customers was the psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud.

After our afternoon dessert we walked through the Volksgarten a large garden which was located on the Hofburg grounds. Volksgarten means “the people’s garden” and it was the first public garden in Vienna.

Our walk continued past the Hofburg Palace, the Imperial Palace. It was the residence of the imperial family and was located in the center of Vienna and now served as the workplace and home of the President of Austria.

We walked past the Stallburg Imperial Stables. Some of the Spanish Riding school Lipizzaner horses were sticking their heads out of their stalls.

This monument on Morzinplatz to the victims of Nazi terror was erected by concentration camp survivors in 1951. It was then replaced in 1985 with a bigger monument that Vienna paid for. Its granite blocks came from the quarry of a former concentration camp. It had a bronze statue that symbolized a survivor.

The Pestsäule Plague Column was erected in 1690 after the Great Plague and was located in the inner city of Vienna.

Vienna’s City Hall was built between 1872 and 1883. It was built in the gothic style and its tower was similar to gothic cathedrals. Now the head office of Vienna’s municipal administration works here.

The Church of St. Michael was one of the oldest churches in Vienna. It was located across from the St. Michael’s Gate at the Hofburg Palace. This church was over 800 years old!

St. Stephen’s Cathedral was our last stop today. Construction began in the 12th century but most of what we saw was from the 14th century. This church also was the site for many imperial weddings and royal funerals. Tomorrow we would visit again.

It was a long day so when we returned to the hotel we decided to share a bottle of wine and ate a bowl of delicious soup!

The Imperial Cities Day 4

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Today we did a tour of the “Danube Bend”. On our way to our first stop we passed by the Roman ruins of Aquincum. It was once a major Roman city and was discovered at the end of the 19th century. It was one of the biggest archaeological sites in Hungary. Aquincum was built between the second and third century. Only about 1/3 of this city had been excavated!

The first city we stopped at was Esztergom.

The Cathedral of Esztergom was the largest church in Hungary. The Basilica was under restoration but we were still able to visit inside.

The cathedral was built between 1822-1869 and consecrated in 1856 with the “Missa solennis” composed for the occasion by Ferenc Liszt, but the building was net even near completion. The capstone was laid on November 1, 1869.

We walked over to the Statue of King Saint Stephen located next to the Basilica. It was completed in 2001. It stood about 39 feet high. It was made of limestone. Two young men were playing their violins.

The surrounding views were beautiful! On the other bank was the country of Slovakia.

Next we stopped in Visegrád. Before we went up to the lookout we saw Soloman’s Tower which was part of the lower castle. It was built in the 13th century and stood about 101 feet and parts of its wall are 26 feet (8 meters) thick.

Viségrad Citadel ruins, also known as the Upper Castle, was from the 13th century. It sat atop a hill over 1000 feet high and looked down over the valley.

We did a scenic panoramic stop for pictures just down from the Citadel.

We visited the town of Szentendre. It was known as an artists’ colony in the 1920s and had a historic center.

We ate lunch here and had time to walk around the town and do some shopping.

There were numerous Serbian Orthodox churches and we walked by the Blagovestenska Church dating from 1752.

We returned to our hotel late afternoon and had time to freshen up before heading to a Budapest Jazz Club near our hotel. We ordered some dinner at the club in their dining area and then went in for the first hour of the jazz group that was playing. When they took their break we all headed back to the hotel. It wasn’t jazz music like any of us expected but it was still a good experience!

The Vigszinház Theater was on of the oldest theaters and still very popular in Budapest. It was well lit as we walked back to our hotel.

Tomorrow we would be leaving Budapest to head to Vienna, Austria!

The Imperial Cities Day 3

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Our step-on guide with us today was Erika. She explained the history of the city of Budapest as we toured on the bus and when we were walking around the city.

The Danube River divides the city of Budapest. We crossed the river on the Margaret Bridge and began on the Buda side of the city.

We walked up to the Buda Castle district.

The Buda Castle sat on top of the hill and was a symbol of the city. Much of the building had been rebuilt several times and the latest was from WWII.

The Fisherman’s Bastion gave us great views of the Pest side across the Danube. It was built as a viewing platform in 1905. It got its name from the medieval guild of fisherman responsible for defending this stretch of the castle wall. It had seven cone-topped turrets which represented the seven chiefs of the leaders of the Hungarians.

The Matthias Church was first built in 1015 and was located on the Buda Castle Hill. It had been repaired and restored over the centuries. Two Hungarian Kings were crowned in the church.

The Holy Trinity Statue was in the middle of Trinity Square and near the Matthias church and Fisherman’s Bastion. It commemorated the people in Buda who died from the two outbreaks of the Black Plague!

Walking around the area away from the Trinity Square. It was a beautiful walk and the weather was perfect.

We crossed the Elisabeth Bridge that connected Buda and Pest over the Danube River.

Heroes’ Square was the largest in Budapest. It was a World Heritage site. In the center was the Millenium Monument erected for Hungary’s millenary celebrations. The two colonnades show the most important and famous leaders. On top were chariots depicting war and peace.

One of the most photographed icons of Budapest was the Chain Bridge which was built between 1840-1849. There was debate if the lion sculptures have tongues. We didn’t see any from our viewpoint.

We also walked around the city center.

We used the “Find Me Gluten Free” app to find a restaurant for lunch that offered gluten free options and had good reviews. Bohémtanya Gluténmentes Vendéglo was an excellent find. It was a restaurant where everything was gluten free. Our food was delicious.

After lunch we walked to the Great Market Hall. It was built in 1897 and was the largest and oldest indoor market.

The Hungarian State Opera House was built in the late 1800s and a beautiful building. It was located near our hotel.

By the time we arrived back at our hotel we were ready to relax. It was a day filled with learning about Budapest and seeing a lot of the city!

The Imperial Cities Day 1 & 2

Monday, March 11, 2024

Today we joined our fellow travelers with the Hilliard Area Chamber for the next ten days. We would visit Budapest, Hungary, Vienna, Austria, Prague, Czech Republic, and Berlin, Germany.

We had three flights to get to Budapest. Our first flight was from Columbus to Atlanta. Our second flight was from Atlanta to Amsterdam and the last flight was from Amsterdam to Budapest.

Two fellow travelers had to cancel so they were with us virtually!

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

It was our second day of travel when we landed in Amsterdam. Our third flight was about two hours to arrive in Budapest. Today was my birthday and I was surprised when the flight attendant brought me a small bottle of champagne with two glasses, a cookie, and card! It was quite a surprise. A big thank you to KLM airlines.

The majority of our group did not get our luggage when we arrived in Budapest! We’re exhausted from our lack of sleep and then we had to fill out forms for our lost luggage. Many of us had air tags in our bags so we knew exactly their location-still on the runway in Amsterdam. We always travel with extra clothes (2 days worth) in our carry on bag so we didn’t worry about clean clothes.

We met our tour director for the trip after we went through immigration. Karolina lived in Prague but took the bus to meet us in Budapest.

The bus picked the 13 of us up and took us to our hotel, NH Budapest City Hotel. It was a beautiful hotel and the staff was so friendly. Our rooms were ready and we had time to relax or take a walk before dinner.

I realized that our virtual friends accidentally were left in Amsterdam. Marina at the hotel desk was great and helped us recreate our friends.

Once our friends were ready, Dave and I walked to the Chain Bridge and went past parliament and then back to the hotel. Round trip was about 2 1/4 miles total.

Statue of Imre Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary

Our tour director was told it was my birthday so at dinner I was surprised with a card signed by our travel group, a dessert with a lit candle and Happy Birthday was sung!

After dinner we were exhausted so we went to our room and it wasn’t long before we were sound asleep! The phone rang and it startled us out of a deep sleep. The hotel desk called to let us know that our luggage had arrived. It felt like the middle of the night but it was only 10:00 PM when the front desk called! It was nice to have our luggage earlier than expected because now we had our currency converter to charge our devices! We learned a valuable lesson to pack the converter in our carry on luggage. In all of our travels this was the first time both of our bags didn’t arrive at the airport with us! We even packed half of our clothes in each other’s suitcase. This was a great thing to do in case one suitcase didn’t arrive but unfortunately this was a unique situation.

We went back to sleep so we would be rested for our tour of Budapest!

France Odyssey: Seine River, Reims, & Paris Day 13 & 14

Sunday, October 15th, 2023

This morning we had a timed entrance ticket to visit Sainte-Chapelle. The sun was rising as we were walking toward the chapel.

There was a restaurant nearby so we had some breakfast before it was time for our entrance. We had a great breakfast at Brasserie Les Deux Palais.

It was a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky. Sainte Chapelle and the Palais de Justice were Part of the former royal palace. The Palais de Justice was a courthouse that contained the Court of Appeals. Sainte Chapelle was the Royal Chapel and was built in the middle of the 13th century and of the High Gothic architecture.

King Louis IX built this chapel to hold his sacred relics. He went on crusades and paid enormous prices. His chapel was specifically designed to follow his wishes. Louis IX was considered a saint during his lifetime and was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1297 and was Saint Louis.

The security checkpoint was backed up and we were a little delayed getting into Sainte Chapelle. It was worth the wait! Sainte Chapelle had two levels. The upper chapel housed the king’s most precious relics: the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross. The Crown was a wreath of thorns that was supposedly placed on Jesus Christ at his crucifixion. The fragment of the True Cross which was made of wood of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The relics were no longer kept there.

Panoramic picture of the second level of Sainte Chapelle

We went up the spiral stairs to the second level first. It had 1,113 stained glass windows that depicted scenes from the Old and New Testament. It was gorgeous.

Facing west and almost 30 feet in width was the Rose of the Apocalypse which was rebuilt around 1485 under Charles VIII and consisted of 87 panels.

When we were finished admiring all of the beauty of the stained glass we then went to the lower chapel (first floor) was fro the royal palace staff. The ceiling was lower and it was much darker because there were fewer windows. The lower level was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the area was divided into a nave and side aisles. The ceiling was filled with the fleur-de-lis pattern and had decorated columns.

There were 13th century original elements from Sainte Chapelle before the French Revolution destroyed them.

The scary gargoyles outside Sainte Chapelle were quite fun to see.

After Sainte Chapelle we walked to the Eiffel Tower to get tickets to go up the tower. We walked along the bank of the Seine River for most of the way. We passed many of the 240 bouquinistes (book sellers) who sell out of green boxes that house over 300,000 old books, journals, stamps and trading cards. In 1991 the bouquinistes of Paris became an UNESCO World Heritage site. These green boxes are located on both sides of the Seine.

It was a great day for a three mile walk to the Eiffel Tower entrance. Below were some of our sites on our walk!

We stopped for a drink at a small cafe on the way because we needed to use the restroom before going in the Eiffel Tower security entrance.

We stood in line to purchase our tickets for the Eiffel Tower and when we were almost to the ticket counter the sign for the tower summit changed from open to close. Three of our group had really wanted to go to the summit and it was a perfect day for it so they were disappointed. We found out later from our hotel clerk that they closed the summit due to the winds!

In a nearby neighborhood was an Italian restaurant that’s menu was 100% gluten free! The food was delicious. If you need to eat gluten free in Paris we would recommend Tasca Bio.

By the time we finished our meal we walked back to the Louvre mall entrance. We wanted to check out the Paris 2024 Olympic store. We looked around but didn’t find anything we had to have other than we purchased the Paris 2024 mascot (the Phryges) for our granddaughter. We stopped by the hotel to freshen up and since it was our last night in Paris we walked around the neighborhood from our hotel.

We passed the Church of Sainte Marie-Madeleine that was built in the style of a Greek temple and was finished in 1842.

There were some interesting head busts by the artist Rero. One had Shift carved on it, one had low resolution and another had Error 404 carved on it.

We eventually stopped at the Cafe Madeleine for wine and shared a charcuterie board. We toasted our great trip and great friends!

Monday, October 16th, 2023

Today we leave Paris for home. We have a late afternoon flight so the hotel gave us a late checkout. The six of us walked for breakfast at Ladurée Paris Royale restaurant. It had a quaint decor.

The hot chocolate was very rich and we enjoyed the gluten free Eugénie which was a shortbread cookie with a soft center and melted coating! Delicious!

After breakfast we said goodbye to our nephew who traveled with us for two weeks. He was staying in Paris for one more day before heading home. We went back to our hotel to pack our bags for flying home and wait for our ride to Charles de Gaulle airport. We said goodbye to the Hotel Du Continent.

Our driver showed up on when scheduled and our flights were on time! We arrived home close to midnight. It was a wonderful adventure in France but as always it was good to be home!

Dave and Kay's Travel Adventures

The Imperial Cities Day 10 & 11

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The Imperial Cities Day 9

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The Imperial Cities Day 8

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The Imperial Cities Day 7

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The Imperial Cities Day 6

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The Imperial Cities Day 5

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The Imperial Cities Day 4

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The Imperial Cities Day 3

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The Imperial Cities Day 1 & 2

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France Odyssey: Seine River, Reims, & Paris Day 13 & 14

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