Europe summer of 2023 - seventh segment

 Well, it is now time to board the train and go from Budapest, Hungary to Prague, Czech Republic.  It was a pleasant 5-6 hour ride. 

When we arrived in Prague, we took a taxi from the train station to our apartment which was about a 5 minute walk to Old Town Prague. These pictures are from Old Town market square.

The astronomical clock in Prague, is the oldest such clock in the world.

We were also a 5 minute walk from Charles Bridge where you can see a palace and government buildings.

More cathedrals in Prague

A view over Prague and Prague city gate

There was a treat we discovered called Chimney Cakes. Think of it as donut dough baked on a cylinder. You know you are in a tourist area when the signs are in English.

The history museum and Wenceslas Square

The apartment where we stayed

And finally, here are some pictures of our longship

The next two pictures are on the sun deck.

It was really nice how they kept you informed. You could turn on your TV and go to My Calendar and it would show what you had signed up for that day.

Europe summer of 2023 - sixth segment

Continuing on around Vienna, Austria, the iconic St. Stephen's Cathedral can be seen from just about any place in the city.

Located not from the cathedral is the Hofburg Palace which is home to the Spanish riding school for Lippizaner horses.

As we continue on to our final destination, the best thing to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery of small villages, castle ruins, and vineyards.

Now we are approaching Budapest, Hungary.  Budapest (pronounced BU-da-pescht) is actually two separate cities. Buda is on one side of the river and Pest is on the other. Buda is hillier and more costly and Pest is flat and has more of a nightlife vibe. Either way, this is a beautiful area, starting with a couple of the bridges we pass under.

Then, as we continue, we see the iconic Hungarian Parliament building as well as other government buildings.

There was a very old monastery built into the rock where monks still live today.

The view of the city at night was beautiful

Across the street from where we docked was a market where both locals and tourists shop. A great place to get sausages and paprika.

Looking towards Pest from the Buda side up on the hill, the cathedral was not quite as huge.