Portugal to Vienna

This is in Baleal, Portugal... amazing geological formations. 

Baleal, on the other side of the island I was surfing at. 

Fishing boats in Baleal

I realised that its been a while since my last post and I have been to a few countries since then so time for an update! I flew from Porto, Portugal to Frankfurt, Germany last Tuesday. I hadn't planned to spend any time in Frankfurt as it has nothing that interests me and I would rather get farther east sooner. I took a long train/bus ride to Prague where I spent 3 short days trying to pack in the entire city. My rail pass timeline is running out and will expire on January 25th so I am trying to travel far within that time frame then I will slow down and not rush as much. So Prague: amazing city, I was so sad to leave. There is so much to see and do plus its so cheap!! I am very much into architecture and Prague is pretty much the birth place of the Romanesque style with some Gothic style thrown in the mix. I could have wandered Prague for days just staring up at the buildings.

Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square, Prague. It was raining all day this day hence the ugly umbrella that just walked into my picture. 

One side of the Old Town Square. Love the buildings! 

Old Town Square at night. Lovely cathedral. 

View of Prague from Prague Castle grounds. 

St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle... containing the tombs of many Bohemian and holy Roman Emperors. Its in mostly Neo-Gothic style. 

Gargoyles spitting water from St Vitus. 

Gloomy day in Prague and my poor ability to hold my phone and an umbrella while trying to take a photo. Good thing about the rain: almost no tourists in the photos! 

Babies by David Cerny. These used to be "climbing" up the tv tower in Prague. 

After 3 days in Prague I travelled to Vienna which is of course famous for being the so called "birth place" of modern culture, music, science, mathmatics...etc. Many of these new ideas where thought of over a cup of coffee in the many little cafes in old town Vienna making Viennese coffee and cafes famous. I sampled the coffee in Vienna, not so great. My quest to find a good cup of coffee while in Europe continues... one month left. 

Earlier in my trip while traveling through France I picked up a novel with a plot line that was mainly based in Vienna during the late 1890s so I was excited to see this city and its famous Ring Strasse (ring road that surrounds the old city). I didn't need more than a full day here as like Venice, unless you are willing to pay the minimum 14euro entrance fee to get into the museums, opera, art galleries, palaces, etc. then there really isn't too much to do in Vienna. Here are the few photos I took on my phone. I have many more on my "big" camera as again, the architecture was amazing. 

The apartment where Sigmund Freud lived in Vienna between 1891-1938 before fleeing Austria and the Nazis to London. Its a museum now. 

Backside of the famous fountain in front the Vienna Parliament building (Ring Strasse in the background!).  Athena up at the top of the podium just outside of the picture. She was quite lovely with lots of gold decoration. 

Not sure whats going on here but I know when I am comforting an upset friend, we do not take off our shirts and hug. Just sayin'. 

I am now in lovely Budapest. I have a feeling I will be here for awhile as having done my research ahead of time, I am excited to spend some quality time here. Oh, and having found an amazing hostel for only 3euro a night?! Thats CRAZY! 

Gosh me oh my January has flown by. Before you know it I will be back in Canada!

KRG