Vienna, Austria - The Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) is an icon in the Vienna skyline. |
Austria Albania Kosovo Slovak Republic Hungary
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In August 2019 I spent 3 weeks going to Austria, Albania, and Hungary, with a couple side trips to the countries of Kosovo and Slovakia...
More coming soon...
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Vienna, Austria - The Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) is an icon in the Vienna skyline. |
Vienna, Austria - The 1,441 room Schönbrunn Palace is just a short Straßenbahn (tram) ride from the city center. |
Vienna, Austria - The Donauturm (Danube Tower) is the tallest structure in Austria at 252-metres (827-feet). |
Vienna, Austria - Just across the Danube River from the old town, there are great views from the top of the tower. |
Vienna, Austria - The Prater is an amusement park on the edge of the city with about 250 attractions, including the 65-metre (212-foot) tall Wiener Riesenrad (Vienna Giant Wheel) at the entrance. |
Vienna, Austria - I couldn't resist the wonderful apfelstrudel (apple strudel). |
Vienna, Austria - Since I already saw his birthplace last year in the Czech Republic, it seemed appropriate to visit The Sigmund Freud Museum, his home for 47 years. |
Vienna, Austria - I already had desert, so some hearty Austrian street food should hit the spot for lunch, wurst mit brod. |
Vienna, Austria - In the Stadtpark (City Park) is the Strauss Monument. You can almost hear his Blue Danube waltz playing as you hear the Danube River flowing by in the distance. |
Vienna, Austria - An enjoyable Wiener schnitzel dinner at WeinerWald. Not fancy, but fulfilling. |
Krujë, Albania - The Pazari i Vjetër (Old Bazaar) is an interesting place to walk through. |
Krujë, Albania - The Muzeu Kombëtar Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu (National Museum George Castrioti Skanderbeg) is the most visited museum in Albania, and honors their national hero Skanderbeg. |
Krujë, Albania - A modern view of the city as seen from Kalaja e Krujës (Krujë Castle). |
Durrës, Albania - The Durrës Muzeu Arkeologjik (Archaeological Museum) is the largest in the country, and I was provided a private tour. |
Durrës, Albania - From the looks of it, you would think I also had a private tour of the whole country. This is the Amfiteatri i Durrësit (Amphitheatre of Durrës) built in the 2nd century to hold 20,000 people. |
Durrës, Albania - The Sheshi Liria (Town Square) in Durres, the second largest city in Albania (175,000 people), provides a more modern view of the city. |
Durrës, Albania - Located on the Adriatic Sea, I finally found some people! Probably tourists... |
Berat, Albania - Originally built in the 2nd century, the current Kalaja e Beratit (Berat Castle) was built in the 13th century and is on the Albanian 10 lekë coin. |
Berat, Albania - A view of the city high up from the castle shows the River Osum flowing through town. |
Apollonia, Albania - Apollonia is an archaeological site with Roman ruins dating back to the 4th century, and is where Roman Emperor Augustus studied philosophy. Toga party anyone? |
Tirana, Albania - The Postbllok (Checkpoint) Memorial about communism includes a portion of the Berlin Wall, an Albanian bunker, and concrete supports from the Albanian Spaç labour camp mine. |
Tirana, Albania - The Pallati presidencial (Presidential Palace) is where the President of Albania resides. |
Tirana, Albania - Sheshi Nënë Tereza (Mother Teresa Square) during rush hour traffic. She lived in Tirana for a while but left because of the traffic congestion. |
Tirana, Albania - The Mother of Albanian statues. The Nëna Shqipëri (Mother Albania) statue located at the Dëshmorët e Kombit (National Martyrs Cemetery of Albania) honors those who gave their lives for Albania's freedom. |
Tirana, Albania - View from Mother Albania overlooking the modern and large capital city of Tirana. |
Tirana, Albania - The Bunk'Art is an atomic bunker built in Tirana to protect the communist officials at the time and includes a history of communist Albania. |
Tirana, Albania - At the edge of the city, the Dajti Ekspres (Express) cable car takes you to the top of Dajti Mountain at 1,613 metres (5,292 feet) for panoramic views of the city. |
Tirana, Albania - Don't let the traffic fool you, the citizens have only owned cars since around 1991 and are still learning to drive. |
Tirana, Albania - Sheshi Skënderbej (Skanderbeg Square) is the main square and is surrounded by many important buildings, along with the Skanderbeg Monument. Classic photo. |
Prizren, Kosovo - Statue of Ismet Jashari, considered the Hero of Kosovo independence. |
Prizren, Kosovo - The Lumbardh River runs through the city, with the old town to the one side of it. |
Prizren, Kosovo - Me overlooking the city from the Kaljaja (Prizren Fortress) 11th century ruins. |
Prizren, Kosovo - View of the Lumbardh River, along with several bridges that cross into the old town on the left. |
Prizren, Kosovo - The League of Prizren, or 1878 Building, was formed to seek the national unification and liberation of Albanians within the Ottoman Empire. |
Prizren, Kosovo - Lunch! Kosovo style. Whatever it is... |
Prizren, Kosovo - Shadervan (Fountain) Square is the central square in the city, and has been since the 16th century. |
Prizren, Kosovo - Me in front of the Old Stone Bridge, a landmark of Prizren. The Kaljaja (Prizren Fortress) is on the top left. |
Štúrovo, Slovakia - View of the town from the Mária Valéria Bridge across the Danube River. |
Štúrovo, Slovakia - Their tourism board for 'I heart Štúrovo'. |
Štúrovo, Slovakia - The main pedestrian zone, Štúrovo Hlavná ulica, is the hub of the town. |
Štúrovo, Slovakia - Who says there's nothing to do in Štúrovo? |
Budapest, Hungary - Szent István-bazilika (St. Stephen's Basilica) is named in honor of the first King of Hungary. |
Budapest, Hungary - As seen across the Danube River, the Országház (Hungarian Parliament) is the largest building in Hungary. |
Budapest, Hungary - Hősök tere (Heroes' Square) highlights figures from Hungary's two millenniums of history. |
Budapest, Hungary - Castle Hill has many sites to see including winding cobblestone streets and Budavári Palota (Buda Castle). |
Budapest, Hungary - Széchenyi lánchíd (Chain Bridge) is the most scenic bridge crossing the Danube River, and connects most of the sites to see in the city on the Buda and Pest sides. |
Budapest, Hungary - Lots to see on Castle Hill (left to right), including the 14th century Mátyás-templom (Matthias Church), Statue of St Stephen, and the Halászbástya (Fisherman's Bastion). |
Budapest, Hungary - Known to most of the world as Hungarian Goulash, they prefer to simply call it Gulyás (shown here with a side of dumplings). |
Budapest, Hungary - The Szabadság-szobor (Liberation Monument) on Gellért Hill commemorates those who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and prosperity of Hungary. |
Budapest, Hungary - The delicious flódni cake made up of plum jam, walnut, apple, and poppy seed. Very tasty. Oh, and the view isn't bad either. |
Székesfehérvár, Hungary - This colorful town has royal history and was at one time the capital of Hungary. |
Székesfehérvár, Hungary - The Városház tér (Town Square) with the Town Hall dominating the square. |
Nagyvázsony, Hungary - In the center of this small town is Kinizsi-vár (Kinizsi Castle), a 14th-century fortification. |
Keszthely, Hungary - Lake Balaton, is one of the biggest lakes in Central Europe, and also a popular resort area. |
Keszthely, Hungary - Keszthely is located on the northwest corner of Lake Balaton, and a great jumping off point to the area. |
Veszprém, Hungary - The city is situated on 7 hills, which makes not only for great views but also for fun walking. |
Sümeg, Hungary - Sümeg Castle built in the 13th century is really the only highlight of the town and you can't help but see it. |
Szombathely, Hungary - You couldn't tell by looking at it now, but this is the oldest city in Hungary, founded in 45 AD. |
Kőszeg, Hungary - Referred to as the Jewel Box of Hungary, the town has been able to retain many of its medieval historical monuments, sights, and buildings. This includes the castle and city walls. |
Sopron, Hungary - While I was in Sopron, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and the Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were there. Angela Merkel was down the hall from me in the hotel, loads of security. |
Sopron, Hungary - The 60-metre (197-foot) Firewatch Tower is the symbol of the city, with the Town Hall to the right. |
Sopron, Hungary - A symbol of Hungary, the Lángos (láng means flame in Hungarian) is deep fried dough topped with cheese and other toppings before being placed in an open flame brick oven. Tasty! |
Fertőd, Hungary - Esterházy Palace, the Hungarian Versailles, was completed in 1766. Austrian composer Joseph Haydn lived here for 24 years (probably invited to a party and never left). |
Győr, Hungary - Halfway between Budapest and Vienna along the Danube River, Győr was an important city and the historical buildings and monuments reflect that in this beautiful city. |
Esztergom, Hungary - The Esztergomi bazilika (Esztergom Basilica) as viewed from the Danube River, is the largest church and tallest building in Hungary. There were 400 steps to the top and I did all of them. |
Esztergom, Hungary - Being one of the oldest towns in Hungary, there are many winding streets to explore and interesting buildings besides the basilica. |
Budapest, Hungary - I found the Gabor sisters birthplace home! |
Magda (6/11/1915 – 6/6/1997), Zsa Zsa (2/6/1917 – 12/18/2016), and Eva (2/11/1919 – 7/4/1995) |
My research never ends. That's dedication on my part to bring you the lesser known highlights of a country. |
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