Vienna & Bratislava

Max and I took a trip to Vienna, Austria for a quick 4 day vacation. We'd been planning the trip for a couple of months and the timing worked out well as we seemed to need some time away, especially since Max's work life has gotten a bit more hectic lately. The first place we checked out was the Belvedere Palace (above).

Belvedere Palace was the home of Frenchman and military leader Prince Eugene of Savoy (the same Savoy, I think, as the region we live in now). Currently the palace houses art, most famously that of painter Gustav Klimt, of whom I am a fan. We got to see one of his most notable works, The Kiss, and it was certainly a highlight of the trip.

The food in Vienna was very good. If you are a meat and potatoes person who enjoys a good beer, then you'd be set in Vienna. We had wienerschnitzel, bratwurst, strudel, potato salad, and then some. Yum.

The next morning we headed downtown to see the Hofburg Palace and Imperial Treasury. We learned a lot about the history of the Habsburg monarchy and empire. For six centuries, members of the Habsburg family ruled Austria and many were also rulers of the Holy Roman Empire (which was massive by the way). The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, started WWI and ended the Habsburg rule.

Ever wonder what the world's largest emerald looks like? This 2,680-karat emerald is just part of the Habsburg family jewels. The entire collection is just ridiculous. Considered to be the biggest and most important collection of royal jewels and artifacts, the Treasury documents the political and spiritual power of the Holy Roman Emperor.

That afternoon, we went to see Stephansdom (Saint Stephen's Cathedral) in the city's center. It was difficult to see the entire cathedral since much of the exterior is under construction and entrance to the nave cost a fee, which we weren't up for paying. It was still impressive.

Saturday morning we took the hour train ride over to Bratislava, Slovakia. Max's grandfather had come over from what is now Slovakia, so we thought it'd be neat to see a little bit of the

country from which he came. Bratislava reminded us a lot of Tallinn, Estonia, which makes sense since both are recovering from communist rule. Above is the last surviving tower in the city, St. Michael's Gate.

I understand zero Slovak, but here is my rough interpretation of this sign in the bathroom: "Here is your chance to get some toilet paper before entering the stalls. Should you pass up this chance, no other toilet paper will be provided for you. Have a shi**y day."

Throughout the city, there are several cannon balls lodged in the walls of buildings from Napoleons’ siege on Bratislava. This one is located just to the left of the big window on the Old Town Hall.

We hiked up to the Bratislava Castle to see it and to get a view of the town. This once military fortress was transformed into a royal residence for Maria Theresa, the only female ruler in the Habsburg dynasty. She was also the mother of 16 children (the youngest being Marie Antoinette) whom she married off to other royalty to increase the family's power.

This is a view from the castle of the old town and modern Bratislava. It was a very interesting city. It certainly is no Vienna but it definitely had a charm of its own. Travel writer Rick Steves refers to Slovakia as the "West Virginia of Europe", which it maybe, but it was still worth us exploring and we actually spent most of the day there.

Vienna was great. The people were really nice, the food was delicious, and the culture was really interesting; the dish display in the royal apartments was even interesting, that's right dishes. Our tour to Bratislava added a certain flavor that would have been missing had we not gone. With Max's vacation running low, this may be our last trip for a little while but we'll keep you posted.

One-Third Done!

So, its been a little over a year since I started my major undertaking of a cross stitch project. I have just finished the second row! There are six rows total, so I am a third of the way done. Trying to stay excited here. I'm just kidding, I do enjoy it.

Just in case you forgot, since my last update was so long ago, this is what the finished picture should look like, in about two more years. Bonne travail, as my thread lady says.

Pont du Gard

On the way back to Chambery from Cannes, we took a little detour and stopped by Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge in the Provence region. This is the second highest standing Roman structure, the Colosseum in Rome being the first.

Pont du Gard is part of an aqueduct that transported water over 30 miles to the town of Nimes, at a rate of about 100 gallons per second. Most of the aqueduct is on or underground, except at places such at this where a bridge was needed to transverse the gorge. It is another amazing example of Roman ingenuity.

A Day at the Beach

While it was still warm outside, but after the kids went back to school, we took a short, relaxing trip down to the Riviera. We stayed in Cannes, the city known for the Cannes Film Festival which happens here each May. Above is the Palais du Festival where some films are played.

Some (older) celebrities have left there mark here. The date on the lower right hand corner is from 1987.

In the morning we took a ferry from Cannes to Ile Saint Honarat, an island about 4 or 5 miles off shore from the mainland. Here's Max waiting on the rocky shore of the Vieux Port (Old Port) for the ferry.

This is Ile Saint Honorat. It is the smaller of the two islands in the archipelago known as the Lerins Islands. Both islands are still part of Cannes though Ile Saint Honorat is privately owned.

Visiting Ile Saint Honorat is somewhat of a religious experience. There is an abbey, a fortified monastery (above) and seven churches on the island. Some of the churches date back 15 centuries. Here is one of the churches below.

There is a sense of calm and peace here. There are no motorized vehicles on the island, minus a tractor or two used by the monks to tend to the vineyards. There were hardly any people around, so very quickly you feel surrounded by nature.

Here these boats have found the calm waters between Ile Saint Honorat and Ile Sainte-Marguerite.

This is the life! We spent the afternoon on the beautiful sandy beach. The weather could not have been more perfect and it wasn't even crowded. The water was a little cool, but felt pretty fine once we got used to it. It was hard to drag ourselves away.

We had a really great weekend in Cannes and would maybe go back if there weren't so many other places we wanted to visit! We've reached the half way point to our stay here, as far as we know, and I think we're starting to realize how much we still want to see.