Our first stop was St. Stephens Cathedral in the Old Town. The Cathedral was completed in 1160 CE and was built in the romanesque style. It is known for its tile roof. It had some pretty funny figures in the church. After the Church we walked around the Old Town. Vienna has incredible buildings and… Read More First day in Vienna

With the group we went to the Schonbrunn Palace. After lunch Reggie and I went to the Upper Belvedere Palace to look at some Gustav Klimt paintings. Takes look at Klimt’s rendition of Judith. By the way we are pros at riding the trams and subway of Vienna.

We started the day with a music lecture given by Julia and Walter Ayer. He is the principal flutist in the Vienna Orchestra. They played some delightful duets by Mozart and others. We then went to the Jugendsil Steinhof Church, an example of arte nouveau, built on the grounds of a huge mental health facility.… Read More Third day in Vienna

We made two rest stops at a McDonald’s. They are so different than the ones in the states. They had a separate area for coffee and pastries and boy did they look good. For lunch we stopped at this cute Bohemian town that had a huge brewery. By the way, Budweiser is the name for… Read More On the way to Prague

On our first day, we went through the Jewish Quarter in the Old Town of Prague. Here are some of the buildings in this area. We then visited the Krausen Synagogue, the largest synagogue in the Jewish Quarter. It was built in the early baroque style and currently houses a Jewish museum. Next to the… Read More Jewish Quarter, Old Town, Prague

We went to the Old Town Square where the old Town Hall with an astronomical clock. Established in 1338, the oldest Gothic part includes a tower richly decorated by coats of arms but the most interesting is the top part of the astronomical clock with 12 apostles who appear every hour in little windows. This… Read More First day in Prague

In the morning we went to the Strahov Monastery which contains the Strahov Library, an incredible collection of manuscripts dating back to the 9th century and housed in historic halls in the Baroque and Classical style built in the 17th and 18th centuries. We were treated to a guitar and flute concert. Pictures include shots… Read More Third day in Prague

I had a wonderful trip to Central Europe. I have many thoughts about the trip. It was obvious that the countries that I visited are dealing with some of the same problems that we have here. For example, a nationalist movement that has elected right wing governments, an immigration problem and income inequality. However I… Read More In Boston, on my way home

The town of Ronda is separated by a chasm with the old city on one side and the relatively new city on the other. The River Guadalevin lies at the bottom of the gorge. The moors mostly built on the side of the new city. There are also Roman ruins in the town. There are… Read More Ronda