Prague, The Capital of Bohemia

With a few friends in tow, we finally made it to Prague, Czech Republic, only a 4 hour drive from Wiesbaden.  Since I am told I have Bohemian blood, it was a necessary right of passage to visit. This gorgeous city has only really been seen by foreigners since the fall of communism in 1989.  Prague is the only major city in Central Europe to escape WWII bombs - and it shows.  Everywhere you turn, you're met with a beautiful view like the picture above of the Old Town Square. 

What a history - on May 8, 1945, the Nazis left town.  The very next day, the Russians "liberated" them.  Between then and 1989, Czechoslovakia was part of the USSR and closed off to the world. It is now the second most visited city in Europe after Paris! 

On our February visit, we awoke on Saturday morning to a full on snowstorm that eventually left over 5" of snow.  It did not seem to deter the tourists and made the city look like even more like a fairy tale. 

An example of the architecture in the Old Town Square

The famous Charles Bridge built in 1357

A couple of German tourists in front of the Vltava river.   In the distance is the Prague Castle and church.

Prague castle without tourists standing in front

St. Vitus Cathedral in a driving snow storm



This amazing Art Nouveau stained glass window is in the cathedral, completed in 1931 by a Czech artist





When John Lennon was killed in 1980, a memorial wall filled with graffiti appeared overnite.  Every night the police would spray paint it and every night, Lennon's words would reappear.  During the dark days leading up to the fall of communism in 1989, this wall stood for freedom for many Czechs



I don't leave home without my leopard-print umbrella.

When the snow finally subsided, Heidi and Marcus found this little hut with gluhwein and a great fireplace.

Here's the whole gang on the Charles Bridge (Pete, Mary, Sue, Chris, Heidi, Marcus

A view looking toward the city from the Charles Bridge

We found this great photograph of the bridge from a local artist and tried to find the exact location where he took the picture.

Look at the detail on the side of this building.  The river runs underneath it.

Marcus talked us into getting a drink in the Ice Pub Prague.  Awesomely cool silver jackets!

The Last DJ



So many Russian dolls, so little time.  How would you like to setup this window every day.



More than 500 years ago, the Old Town Hall Astronomical Clock was built.  It's really complex with signs of the Zodiac, Bohemian time, modern time, and even the time of tonight's sunset.  I have no idea how it works.

Another view of the Old Town Square with the fairy tale spires



And a final look at the Old Town during the daytime from a rooftop restaurant
Tschus!!



The Magic of Majorca

We took advantage of a winter getaway to the Island of Majorca just off the coast of Barcelona Spain in the Mediterranean Sea.  The winter had been long, gray, cold and basically ugly up until this visit in mid-February.  There was plenty of sunshine and azure blue water.  It felt like a mix of the Florida Keys, Mexico, and Sardinia with Spanish culture mixed in.  The temperature was about 60 degrees but it felt like heaven compared to Wiesbaden. We visited before the massive invasion of British and German tourists.  Our travel agent in Germany placed us in an area that was bilingual - German and Spanish!  There were Bavarian bier gartens everywhere!  Of course, we visited them and felt like the locals.

There seems to be a micro climate here with a combination of palm trees, cypress trees and pines.  And the almond trees were in full bloom!  Boats and Goats are everywhere.  We stayed in Playa de Palma and had a car for 3 days to sightsee the island.  All sides of the island were less than a few hours away.  Majorca is named the island of calm because of the light winds. 

The town square of Soller inland near the west coast.

Port de Soller on the west coast.

Our friends from Wiesbaden, Ed and Laura, came along with us.

This is the entry into Port de Soller looking west towards Spain.



Another beautiful coastline and accompanying twisty road.



The El Calvario (Calvary Path) 365 steps surrounded by Cypress trees leading to a chapel containing images of the crucifixion.  





This is the stone carving in the chapel that legend has it were found by local fishermen in their nets in the 13th century.





Port de Pollenca



Us girls enjoying the view.  Where's the wine when you need it?

I am standing on the edge of the Cape de Formentor on the north coast.

Ed and Mary walking up to the top...

...to get this unbelievable view.



And finally to the infamous lighthouse at the northernmost cape... and, it was closed!!



Sheep grazing below the flowering almond trees.

One of the many hairpin turns on the way back from the lighhouse.

A flowering almond up close and personal.

Port d' Andratx

Camp de Mar

Laura and Pete taking a break in the harbor of Port d' Andratx with a San Miguel Beer!

The harbor of Port d' Andratx.

These iconic windmills were everywhere on the island.  They are one of the most historic landmarks.  Every farm had one of these to either grind grain or pump water.

Nice to finally be in the sun and feel like Spring is near.
Adios Amigos!

I Love Paris in the Wintertime

Bon Jour!

I accompanied Pete on a business trip to Paris and woke up to a fresh coating of snow.  Very unusual for this city.  We walked through the city on Saturday and it was surprising how many people were out in the 5" of snow....

The iconic Paris benches with a fresh coating of snow.

This is the beautiful Galeries Lafayette which looks like the interior of an old opera house.

The neo-Byzantine dome in the Galeries was built in 1912!  This is the second most visited location in Paris after the Louvre.

A beautiful fountain waiting for Spring.

Not sure what this place was but I like the sculptured heads.

If you look real hard, you will see the Eiffel Tower through the winter haze.

Sternschnuppen Markt in Wiesbaden

In Wiesbaden, the Christmas Market is called Sternschnuppen Markt or "Twinkling Star Christmas Market."  The town comes alive at dusk each night for about 4 weeks leading up to Christmas Eve.  No matter what the weather, you will find people here enjoying Gluhwein, flammkuchen and brats.  Of course there are many booths with Christmas ornaments and even a leather artist making custom-made belts while you wait.  Near the theater, a compressor-equipped ice skating rink was erected with a warming house and even a curling rink.  A group of local friends and some of Pete's visiting colleagues joined up one evening for a German-style curling match.  As more Gluhwein was sipped, the curling got aggressive and the players and fans grew more rowdy.  A good time was had by all at below freezing temperatures.  Thank God I had my Ugg boots.

Where we entered the market, this icon greeted us.  We called it the manger bar - it was a Christmas pyramid with manger scene above a very busy Gluhwein bar.  We always began our evening here!

A view of the city center leading into the Market.

Some of the beautiful twinkling stars that lit up the night.

Another view towards the old city hall (Alt Ratskeller).

Our very own Ferris Wheel - not quite as impressive as Berlin's Christmas market that we attended last year.

The always active ice arena.

That's me in front of the warming house...

...and inside -quite cozy with lambswool on the benches and a fireplace.

Outside the ice rink were these fireplaces that gave the whole area a wonderful aroma.

The Bavarian curling rink with non professional curlers.  This version of curling uses these "curling stocks" that look like the pieces you play with on the game of "Sorry" - but much larger. 

A Curling break so Ed and Pete can sip more Gluhwein.

We found another traditional Bavarian game called Hammerschlagen while visiting the warming house.  Using the narrow end of a blacksmith's hammer, you compete to see who can bury the nail first, taking turns hitting only once each time.

Our Bavarian host "nailed it" !  Through many hours of hammering nails doing my glass work, I wasn't too bad. 

A group shot of the Bavarian Curling Team... no one got hurt.

... Happy New Year 2013....Tschus!!