Our journey into Eastern Europe started with a few days in Hungary in the lovely city of Budapest on the Danube River. We were fortunate enough to be there for their national holiday on the 23rd of October celebrating the unsuccessful 1956 uprising against the Soviets. From there we rented a car and drove up through Slovakia to Krakow in Poland and explored the town and visited Oskar Schindler's Factory. We spent a day visiting the nearby Auschwitz concentration camp (moving experience), before driving on to Prague in the Czech Republic, one of the most architecturally stunning cities in Europe. After visiting Český Krumlov in the South of the Czech Republic we drove down through Austria and into Slovenia for a few days exploring Lake Bled and the surrounding mountains.
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| Our Soviet era apartment in Budapest |
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| Budapest's trams and architecture |
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| Hungarian Parliament decorated for their national day on the 23rd Oct and associated festivities |
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| 60 pairs of iron shoes on the bank of the Danube as a memorial to the Jews shot and thrown into the river in WWII |
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| My hero Ronald Regan |
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| The Great Synagogue in Budapest with a willow tree memorial for holocaust victims |
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| The Chain Bridge over the Danube River |
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| Hungarian Parliament on the Danube |
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| The Great Market Hall in Budapest - craft and food |
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| The Hungarians love their paprika |
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| Looking over the Danube River to the Pest side of Budapest |
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| Changing of the guard at the Royal Palace in Budapest |
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| The inventor of the Rubik's Cube was a Hungarian |
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| Birthday dinner with some hearty Hungarian delicacies |
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| The House of Terror detailing the persecution by the Nazi's and then the Soviets (in their old headquarters) |
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| Hero's Square in Budapest |
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| Heroes in Hero's Square |
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| Went to see a show with Hungarian Folk music and dancing |
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| Autumn drive through the beautiful mountains in Northern Slovakia |
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| Oskar Schindler's Factory telling his story and history of the Jews in Krakow in WWII |
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| Interesting floor tiles in Oskar Schindler's Factory |
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| Oskar Schindler's office |
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| Crocheting some new gloves which are coming in handy as it gets colder |
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| Warming up with hot apple pies from a stylish McDonald's in Krakow |
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| Krakow's main square and the Cloth Hall |
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| Checking out the sculptures in Krakow |
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| St Francis Basilica in Krakow where John Paul II used to hang out before heading to Rome (love the colours) |
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| More autumn colours walking by the river in Krakow |
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| "This hair is driving me nuts" |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz II (Birkenau) |
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| Auschwitz II (Birkenau) |
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| Auschwitz II (Birkenau) - ruins of one of 5 gas chambers and crematoriums |
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| Are Kebab's traditional Polish food? |
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| Prague in all it's glory - National Theater in the background |
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| View over the Vltava River toward Charles Bridge and the Castle in the background |
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| Changing of the guard at the Royal Palace |
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| St. Vitus Cathedral in the Castle Quarter |
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| The always bustling Old Town Square in Prague |
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| The Slav Epic - Some of the twenty massive paintings by Alfons Mucha |
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| The most photographed tree in Prague |
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| View over Prague and its bridges |
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| Our favorite street performer in Old Town Square - clever baby |
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| No end to the amazing architecture in Prague |
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| Went to see an opera at the National Theater ($10 seats!!!) |
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| Outside the National Theater heading home after 3 hours of Opera (did I mention $10 a seat!!) |
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| Jan Hus (Czech reformer long before Luther) statue in Old Town Square |
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| More amazing Prague architecture |
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| Prague at night looking over the Vltava River again |
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| Down in the South of the Czech Republic and the quaint old town of Český Krumlov |
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| Český Krumlov gardens |
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| Castle tower in Český Krumlov |
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| Český Krumlov Castle - even have bears living in the moat |
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| Rowing the swan on Lake Bled in beautiful Slovenia |
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| The Island on Lake Bled and 99 steps up to the church |
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| The other swan (before the game of bumper boats) |
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| Successful carp fisherman on the lake |
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| The other type of swan on Lake Bled |
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| Italian Mausoleum near the town of Kobaird in the Julian Alps in Slovenia (significant battles in WWI) |
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| The crystal clear waters of the Soca River in the Julian Alps (in Slovenia near the Italian border) |
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| Ravlnik Outdoor Museum with WWI trenches and tunnels in the Soca Valley (very heavy casualties in this valley) |
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| Kluze Fort guarding a narrow pass in the Soca Vally |
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| The Julian Alps |
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| Testing the suspension bridge over the river |
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| Cemetery's everywhere with 300,000 soldiers killed in the valley in WWI |
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| Mt Triglav, the highest in Slovenia |
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| Driving over the Vrsic Pass with it's 50 hairpin turns |
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| One of many laps walked around Lake Bled |
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| The amazing Vintgar Gorge near Lake Bled |
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| Vintgar Gorge |
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| Vintgar Gorge |
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| Vintgar Gorge |
