I don't have too many photos from their first few days here or from when we went to Budapest. The lack of Budapest photos result from the fact that is was raining and windy pretty much alllllllllllllllllllllllll the time which wasn't the best motivation for me to want to look up at buildings or take any sort of photos. Also, my dad may or may not have documented every single place we went or every single thing we did with taking a picture (hint, he totally did) so if need be I'll just snag those from my parents.
After our return from soggy, chilly Budapest we arrived to a slightly less chilly and almost not at all rainy Vienna. So yay for that!! The first day back (Monday 17th) I couldn't really take them to see things since I had an exam so I just took them to my uni so they could see the campus. However, my prof didn't show up so me and my classmates just sat in the room for an hour before leaving a note on the board. Later we all got an e-mail from him saying that he was there, but we weren't, so the common theory is he just forgot or fell asleep or something (as he is oldish). For the rest of the week activities included showing them around the city to marvel at all the buildings with statues (there are quite a bunch), see Bepa's house, wandering through the two main markets, going to Mariahilferstrasse, Museums Quartier, a comic book store (of course, a requirement for my padre), and eating a tasty Austrian meal courtasy of Rebecca.
Oh yeah, we also went to the Museum of Natural History which turns out to be AMAZING!!! It's increadibly big and I'm definitaly going to return to view all the exhibits, maybe even this week (since my friends want to come along). An amusing anecdote, was that my mom was more impressed by how old the display cases looked than by all the lovely shiny things within (we were in the mineral display). I chuckled greatly at this.
Most importantly, there were...
Dinosaurs!!!
How some dinosaurs may have actually looked. Feathered fury
On Thursday we departed for a 5 hour train ride to Prague, but we didn't get in till like 10.00 so we just went straight to the hotel. The next day we met up with some friends of my parents (odd I know) who happened to be in Prague the same time as we were. First thing first, we journied to the castle district which has, (brace yourself this may come as a shock) a castle!! Though the thing which makes the whole area so photogenic is the church. The drop-off led to Deer Moat, because a ruler was too lazy to leave the castle to go hunting.
After the castle we strolled over the Charles Bridge which is constantly under construction but also is where several (see many) artists sit to hawk their wares (which are all pretty awesome looking). Most of it was jewerly, but there was also things like magnets or photographs or painted pictures or just random metalwork. Oddly, the people selling the items weren't necessarily the people who made them. I could tell because each stand had a permit with a photo, and said photo did not always match up with the seller. But I guess if the stand owner is good enough, why not hire extra help?Mom rubbing a plaque on the bridge that is supposed to bring luck. There's another plaque that's also all shiny but only because some locals buffed it up to make a joke.
After the castle area we went to this big square in the center to grab a drink and get some sitting down time (for the oldies :-P). At the square there was this fancy astronomical clock and since it was near the hour we paused to admire its intricate movements. These consisted of statues appearing in the window and then turning away. Also, a trumpeter (a real person) trumpeted at the top of the tower. Then we chilled at the Hilton (where my parent's friends were staying) before it was off to dinner. This restauraunt was ULTRA fancy. I could tell because the food was presented all pretty-like. Also, it was super tasty.
The next day we took part in a free walking tour, at which point we were supposed to meet up with my parent's friends, but we weren't able to locate them. Our lovely guide James
The tour was actually really really good and we got to learn a lot of history about the area. Which led to my decision that my most favorite thing about Prague is, the word "defenstrate" is in great usage throughout their history. We went all throughout the main part of the city, including the Jewish Quarter which was pretty neat to see, considering there was an ultra old synogague. Powder tower
Oldest functional synogogue in Europe.
Also, the Golem of Prague is located in the ceiling.
After the free walking tour my parents and I decided to go on the castle tour, also led by James, so we could learn a bit more about the district. We didn't actually go inside any of the buildings (but we had done that yesterday) but we got to learn more about the actual history and just how bad-ass the Czech people are (apparently it is very).
Famous pissing statue
A guard, keeping it real
Overlooking the city
The next day we were walking back along the Charle's Bridge so we could actually get something from one of the artists when we stumbled upon an extremely odd looking individual.
On the Charle's Bridge. I totally got seperated from my folks and had a brief moment of "uh-oh"
Apparently marrionets are pretty common around here. I dub this one very pretty.
Concert in the Spanish Synagogue
View of the church and castle district
Back in Vienna we only had a day so I just took them to Naschmarkt again (they loved that place) and then to the Manner store so mom could get her pink umbrella. After going to a restaurant that is named after some kind of big black bird (but I don't think it's a crow or raven so I have no clue) I left their hotel since they were leaving at 6 in the morning and didn't want to take the last tram at 12.00 to the airport (since the trams stop running from 12.00 till 5.00) so they ordered a kind of cab. I however, am planning on kicking it student style and will probably be spending the night at the airport (since my plane leaves at 8). So, whoever wants to keep me company that night is welcome. :-D
