New Years in Vienna

So New Years in Vienna.

We actually left on Friday and stopped at Lake Bled Slovenia.  It is a beautiful little town on a grand lake. After exploring we think it would be even better place to visit in the summer time because there are a lot of outdoor and water activities.  But in the winter it was a sleeping little gem.  Our hotel may have been the best part. Despite having made the reservation for the wrong night (yes I am my mother's daughter) they were overly accommodating. They sent us away for about a half hour so they could get the room ready - turn on the heat.  During our half hour we explored the lake region driving down to the end by the Church of Assumption and enjoying the great views.   

Sunlight bouncing off Slovenian Alps.

Church of Assumption in the middle of Lake Bled.

When we came back to the hotel they provided a nice local snapps to enjoy by their wood burning grill/fireplace before we went up to the room. The room was huge - it had a small table and a day bed with a trundle could have slept four people.  The bathroom which we were told when we made the reservation would not be attached, was attached but a little cold (we didn't notice the separate heater until we were getting ready to check out the next day).

After seeing the food being cooked on an open grill table side we also decided to dine at the hotel. The food was amazing - I had a steak with gorgonzola and Phil had lots of meat. Of course we also enjoyed some local wine and desert. We also enjoyed breakfast at the hotel the next morning; cooked just for us because we were the only guests also sitting fireside.

After dinner we took a stroll back to the lake and started to experiment with the new camera. 

Moonlit barns in Slovenia.

Then on Saturday morning before we drove to Vienna we hiked up to the Castle for more breathtaking views.


 

 

Saturday we got to Vienna and ended up walking most of the downtown major sights.  It was nice to see a little in the day light and then watch as the city lit up.  St. Stephens is a little church hidden in the center of the city very Gothic from the outside. As soon as we arrived it reminded me of Paris which of course was a great trip so I had high hopes. While I really enjoyed it I think it would be exponentially better in warmer weather we are just not cut out for the cold.

St. Stephens Cathedral in the center of Wein.

Sunday it was so cold we decided to take a hop on hop off bus around the city.  We really just rode the bus the while day to get a feel of the lay out and see the sights from afar so we could decide what we wanted to go back to.  Our first stop was Schonbrunn Palace which sits outside the city - think Versailles for Paris but on a smaller scale.  Since it was cold/winter time there were no flowers and all the fountains were off, so again we missed the real beauty of it.  



View from behind Schobrunn Palace.

Due to the timing of the buses we didn't get off anywhere else just rode and saw the sights from afar - I would love to go back to the Prater area and explore on a summer day I think this would win my heart as much as the parks in Paris did.

So then we walked the city a little - Phil was trying to find a bar to watch the Skins game at, but since it didn't start till 2am local time even the "American" bars were not showing it. But we did have a few beers while we watched one of the earlier games - Giants I think. 

We had planned to go back to the history museum on Monday but alas because it was new years eve day it was closed. So we ended up exploring the outside of Belevdere palace. Also very beautiful but would be better in the summer.



Belevedere Palace and the frozen reflection pools.

Phil was a little disappointed to say the least but I was able to appease him with a ride on an old trolley which we ended up going in a few circles on but finally figured it out.

 

After a little nap on Monday evening we had a nice dinner followed by a fun night at Ratzplatz to ring in the new year. 

Tuesday we got up and going pretty early so that we could get back and but for another almost gas fiasco we made it back for a little more relaxation before going back to work on Wednesday. 

Where in the World?

I just noticed that despite the fact that I swear I wrote about New Years the last thing I posted was about Christmas and I wrote that in February (almost 4 months ago now)! I would say I am sorry and it won’t happen again but that would be a big lie because we all know when lives get busy we cut something out and unfortunately this isn’t high on the priority list at the moment.  But for those of you that care why I haven’t written I will defend myself a little. 

First of all we have done A LOT of travelling in the last five months, which I will briefly describe below.

Second, we have done a lot of school work: Phil completed his masters at the end of April and I am in the exam class which I will hopefully complete and pass by the end of June at which time I will have one less excuse not to write.  

Third, unfortunately I have still been dealing with pretty bad neck pain.  I have seen specialists had a lot of tests and some procedures involving lots of needles.  But all to no avail; the pain started over a year ago at this point and I have had little relief. I will see a specialist again at the end of June and hope that will bring some light to the issue and the way forward.

Ok done with excuses onto our travel. Hopefully at some point I will go back and explain these trips in further detail but no promises so for now this will have to do:

January

We got quite a few small storms that brought a lot of snow for the area.  

View from our window.

So in January we took a day trip  with some friends down to Venice to see the annual gondola Witch Race on the Grand Canal. We took a view from the Rialto Bridge. This is the first real shots Amy took with her new Camera.

View of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge 
with the Fog burning off.

We spent another weekend in Garmisch with some fellow TDS folks.  Visited Zugspitze and Neuschwanstein Castle. We accidentally walked into Austria in our attempt to get down the mountain. Then we took a train ride down the mountain, well actually through the mountain.

Snow covered from the bridge behind the Castle.

Then we spend a weekend in Lisbon with Rory, Johanna, & River who have a great blog describing our experience here. Best part (other than the company) was the wine which kept us warm in the rain and wind. 

February

Phil spent two weeks back in Virginia for a class and I spent a week at Landstuhl getting lots of needles.

Then we went to Florence together which is probably one of my favorite places so far.  We saw David who is just magnificent along with a lot of other great art and the city itself which is gorgeous! On the way back we took a short stop through Pisa to see the iconic tower.

This is the replica and does not do the real thing justice.

The tower leans a lot, its actually shaped more like a banana! 

I also spent a week in Kuwait trying a court martial with Jon, my first and last co-counsel as TDS.

March

I went on a lovely girls weekend to Tuscany with the ladies of the JAG office from Germany.  The highlights were our cooking class and my jaunt with Johanna into a sleepy town above Greve which had cobblestone streets, beautiful views, and fabulous wine & cheese.

Phil and I also went to Istanbul for a weekend which was a lot of fun. We had some great food and just the sounds and smells and taking in the atmosphere was fabulous. 

The Blue Mosque at Sunset during final prayers!

The Hagia Sophia at night, the Sistine Chapel of the Western Roman Empire.

Not to mention the great historical places, beautiful Mosques, churches, Bazaar's and of course fortifications. Phil had a great time looking at the aftermath of the invention of siege fire arms.

Walls of Constantinople "Theodosian Walls"
breached by the first successful usage of cannon fire on 29 May 1453.

Phil and I walking on the Walls.

The Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.
Yeah fish still live here.

Amy looking through the Spice Bazaar in downtown Istanbul,
We also went to the Grand Bazaar built 1455.

April

April was a slow month as far as actual travelling as we only had one weekend trip to Sicily.  We saw a lot of ruins and again had some fabulous food and wine.  One of the highlights was a small wine shop with a bread bar where they put all different spreads onto bread; the combination of flavors was great.

We also drove down the coast and through the country side of Sicily to check out the Ancient ruins of Selinunte. One of the oldest Greek Colonies in Sicily. We also went to the Valley of temples for more ruins.

The views of the ruins we saw were amazing. We walked up and down the hillsides over ancient Greek ruins, fortifications and Temples. We also walked around the Port city of Trapani. It has been an important since antiquity to the salt trade for the Carthaginians  Romans, Normans and many other medieval fiefdoms.

An Ancient Greek Temple at Segeste.

Trapani, Sicily

Greek Theater on the hill side of Segeste.

Temple of Hera in Selinunte.

One of the most interesting visits we took was the simple way on manufacturing Sea Salt, in the shallows of of the Mediterranean the ancient villages would make limestone lagoons fill them with sea water and let it evaporate to make salt, the windmills were used to pump the water in. There was an old village in the lagoon called Mozia that was destroyed but eventually resettled at Marsala and made a better and longer lasting city with better fortifications.

Marsala, and Mozia Salt flats and evaporation lagoons
with windmills that produce the Sicilian Sea Salt!

We also did do a day trip to Saove which is just 30 minutes from us and something we have wanted to do for a while now. We met up with friends (Jim, Lauren, & Lydia)  and walked around and visited several wineries in the area.

Soave Castle from the bottom.

After climbing to the top of the hill and seeing the castle and beautiful views we made our way around the town to different cafes and wineries tasting and buying.  Phil finally had Amarone and we started our wine collection.

On another local venture Phil and I dragged Catherine and her kids to La Rotunda, which Thomas Jefferson's house is modeled after in the pouring rain! Despite the rain it was beautiful to see a monument that is so close to home (walking distance).  

La Rotunda in Vicenza in the Pouring Rain.

Monte Berico from La Rotunda
which can also be viewed from our spare bedroom!

Catherine also dragged me on my first ODR trip.  We went to Villa Godi Malinverni,  Palladio’s first villa.  Despite the needlessly long bus ride, the just ok wine and the fact that we didn't recognize it as a Palladian Villa due to the lack of columns it was a great day with a great friend who I miss dearly!  

Catherine and I at the Villa sampling Vino.

May

May was also a slow month we only went on one weekend trip to Genoa, Nice and Monaco. The highlight of this was seeing the Grand Prix.  We stopped at a few villages on the way including Eze, Villefranches-sur-Mer, Touluon, Antibes, Couldron, and a nice little Italian village looking for gas. So we pretty much saw the highlights of the French Riveria. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t what it was.  The area around Monaco (The French Riviera) is also amazing.  It is dotted with a ton of little towns with a lot of character where you can get lost in all day.  

What is left of Christopher Columbus' House in Genoa

Looking for gas in Italy and discovered this town.

Eze church and Castle, great French village.

The Church in Eze.

Touluon on the French Riveria.

Amy had a chance to try her new skills with photographing water.

Amy's second try.

The Grand Prix from the cheap Seats!

Having a beer on the track afterwards!

Another small town on the Riveria called Antibes. It had a Castle.

Well just rehashing all of that made me exhausted, I can't believe we are able to do all this but am so thankful for the opportunity.  While we have a busy summer planned as well but we are hoping that not having classes will give us a little more downtime and hopefully allow me to keep you all updated a little more.