M/V VIKING PRIMADONNA at Passau. Catamaran design. Built in 1998 to carry 148 guests, this ship’s special amenities include a sauna and whirlpool, hair salon and two lounge/bar areas.
Passau, Germany: The view of Passau from stateroom 105. Passau was settled in prehistoric times and was a Roman military settlement, guardinng the Empire from the Germantic tribes on the north side of the Danube. Although the area fell under a bishop in the 5th century under the Romans, it was wiped out with the fall of the Empire. In the 730's, Pope Gregory III appointed the first Bishop of Passau. From Passau, Christianity was spread down the Danube to Bulgaria. The bishops were also secular rulers over a wide area of the Danube Valley until 1552.
Passau, Germany: View of the Rathaus tower.
Passau, Germany: Flood guage, from what datum?
Passau, Germany: Across the Danube is the Lower Fortress, a fortified site used as a refuge by the Bishops of Passau, when they angered the inhabitants to revolt through taxation and other actions.
Passau, Germany: The Upper Fortress, bishops' fortified refuge, extends from the river to the top of the hill. It now serves the public for education and recreation. The building draped in contruction netting is undergoing renovation to become a performing arts center.
Passau, Germany: We saw this type of crow all the way down the river.
Passau, Germany: A common sight on the Danube.
Passau, Germany: This hotel is uptodate kitch.
Passau, Germany: View from the river.
Passau, Germany: St Pauls Church
Passau, Germany: The Rathaus and its square from the river.
Passau, Germany: Passau calls itself the City of the Three Rivers. It sits on a peninsula formed by the juncture of the Danube and Inns rivers. The third river, the smaller Itz, joins the Danube on the north bank at the Lower Fortress. The large white building on the hill across the Inns is the Marianhilf, a pilgrimage hurch and Pauline Fathers' monastery from the 17th Century .
Passau, Germany: View from downstream on the Danube. Mouth of the Inns at the extreme left.
Passau, Germany: St Pauls
Passau, Germany: Public garden
Passau, Germany: New wheels, old city.
Passau, Germany: Behins St Stephan's Dom. As christianity spread downriver, this cathedral became the mother church of other St Stephans, most notably the cathedral in Vienna.
Passau, Germany: A tourist in the platz behind the dom. Note the baroque archtecture around the square.
Passau, Germany: St Stepha's dome.
Passau, Germany: St Christopher mus be there to protect travelers as the leave the cathedral presincts.
Passau, Germany: St Stephen's ceiling. We attended an organ concert one afternoon. The organ is Europe's largest with 17,774 pipes. one feels the music as much as hears it.
Passau, Germany: St Stephan's; the organ.
Passau, Germany: St Stephan's, looking toward the altar.
Passau, Germany: St Stephan's decorative detail.
Passau, Germany: St Stephan's pulpit.
Passau, Germany: The Rathaus Platz
Passau, Germany: High water on the Inns.
Upper Austria: Underway downstream. The right bank is Austria. Germany extends downriver on the left bank to just past the town of Jochenheim.
Upper Austria: Krempelstein Castle, first used by the Bishops of Passau to collect tolls and later by robber barons.
Upper Austria: Lazy day on the Danube.
Upper Austria: Rural village.
Upper Austria: Obernzell, Germany.
Upper Austria: The hydroelectric dam and lock at Jochenstein extend from Germany on the north bank to Austria on the south. It was the first of ten that we would encounter between Passau and Novi Sad.
Upper Austria: In the lock.
Upper Austria: The PRIMADONNA leaves the lock as an upriver bound vessel enters.
Upper Austria: Shrine to St Nepochuk, who drove out Isa, a relative of the Rhine's Lorelei.
Upper Austria: The power dam.
Upper Austria: Linz. Morning in Linz. Althouth this church dominates the skyline on the north side of the river, I am unble to find out anything about it.
Upper Austria: Linz. Danau Park, where PRIMADONNA tied up, and the city behind it.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. Construction of the town and castle began in the late 13th century at a ford in the Vltava River, which was important in trade in Bohemia. In 1302 the town and castle were owned by the House of Rosenberg. Emperor Rudolf II bought Krumlov in 1602 and gave it to his natural son Julius d’Austria. During the Thirty Years War, the town was held by Protestants under their nobility. After the Protestants were defeated by the Hapsburgs, Emperor Ferdinand II gave Krumlov to the House of Eggenberg. From 1719 until 1945 the castle belonged to the House of Schwarzenberg. Most of the architecture of the old town and castle dates from the 14th through 17th centuries; the town's structures are mostly in Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. The core of the old town is within a horseshoe bend of the river, with the old Latrán neighborhood and castle on the other side of the Vltava. This structure spans a gap in the rock formation on which the castle is built, connecting two parts of it.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. This tower of the castle serves no defensive purpose, but was built as a status symbol for thr lords of the castle.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. A portion of the castle residence.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. The Red Gate.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. Detail of decoration on the castle. Trompe-l'œil and other such decoration were popular on buildings in the Baroque period. Preservation laws in Český Krumlov prohibit altering the outward appearnce of any buildings in the historic Old Town.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. The Vlatav (Mo;dau in German) River flows north through Prague and joins the Elbe upriver from Decin. It had been used for centuries to power mills in the town
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. Rafting on the Vlatava.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. The castle.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. Old doors. The seats on either side seved as front porch furniture and were an element of 16th Century architecture.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. Although the stucco or wash on this building may be new, the murals probably date back to 1660, the date above the large picture.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. The artist, Egon Scheile, lived in Český Krumlov, his mother's home town.Because of the subject matter of a lot of his art, the townspeople banned him from from ever returning.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. Building decoration.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. On a square.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. This is an example of scratch decoration. Awhite finish coat is applied over stucco and then removed to reveal the coat underneath. In this example the decoration is a geometric pattern, but it can also be pictoral.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. The town and castle.
Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. A tourist enjoys the views.
Czech Republic: Budvar. the real Budweiser brewery. The visitors center.
Czech Republic: Budvar. the real Budweiser brewery. Waiting for pickup.
Czech Republic: Budvar. the real Budweiser brewery. Mashing.
Czech Republic: Budvar. the real Budweiser brewery. Tapping the lagering tanks.
Czech Republic: Budvar. The real Budweiser brewery. The genuine article. Although not quite finished (It had not been filtered at this point and had a lot of dead yeast floating in it) it was much better than Anheuser's slop.
Czech Republic: Budvar. the real Budweiser brewery.
Czech Republic: Budvar. the real Budweiser brewery. The bottling plant.
Czech Republic: Budvar. the real Budweiser brewery. Like a beer and a bump? Fill the small one with scnapps, whiskey, etc, the one with Budvar. Raise the stein to your mouth with with handle below your chin, tilt your head back, and enjoy.
Upper Austria: Linz. Sunset.
Upper Austria: Linz. Evening on the Danube.
Upper Austria: Linz. The ARS Electronica Center is lighted with lights that change colors every minute or so.
Upper Austria: Linz. The main square in Old Town with the Trinity Column, erected by a grateful citizenry in the 16th Century after escaping a devestating fire, the pestilence, and a Turkish invasion.
Upper Austria: Linz. Night on the Danube.
Upper Austria: Mauthausen. Pragstein Castle is the large square building on the right that does not look like a castle
Upper Austria: On the Danube
Lower Austria: Persenbeug Castle. The 17th Century castle is still in the possession of the Hapsburgs. The last emperor, Karl I, was born here.
Lower Austria: Riverside village.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The abbey and town of Melk are situated on the Melk River where it enters the Danube from from the south.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. During the 9th Century, Melk was the seat of the Margraves of Babenberg and later the Dukes of the East Mark. The site was originally a castle. The abbey was founded in the 11th Century when the Margrave Leopold II invited Benedictine monks from Lambach to establish a monastery and gave them a castle.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The abbey contains many works of art, secular as well as religious.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The abbey now has about thirty-five monks who operate a school open to any student and supported by the state.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The abbey museum displays many works of religious art. This is a hand carved ivory casket which, I believe, was used to store some relic. (The pink color is not natural, but was an attempt to remove the color from the image caused by the special lighting.)
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. An abbey treasure.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. This is a gold and crystal reliquary said to contain a peice of the True Cross. If all the peices of the True Cross in the world were brought together, there would be enough lumber to build Noah's Ark.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. Museum treasures on display.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. A reseption hall.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The church.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. In the librbay.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The library ceiling, like many in the other public rooms, is richly decorated.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey Church.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey Church. A side altar.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey Church. The ceiling.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey Church. The altar.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey Church. Organ pipes.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey Church. Behind this altar is a case containing human skeleton, posed and adorned, and wearing a gold crown. I believe these are the remains of some saint.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. This clock and much of its works are made entirely of wood.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The courtyard.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. The Orangery.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. In the rose abbey rose garden.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. Garden path.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. View of the Wachau Valley from the abbey terrace.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. Austrian soldier poses with a tourist.
Lower Austria: Melk Abbey. View from the Melk River.
Lower Austria: The Wachau Valley. Schonbuhel Castle was the property of the Bishops of Passau. It was rebuilt in its present form in the 19th Century.
Lower Austria: The Wachau Valley. Vineyards rise up the hill behind this riverside village. The Wachau was long known for vinecuture.
Lower Austria: The Wachau Valley. The ruins of Kuenring Castle sit hight above the village of Durnstein. Richard the Lionheart, returning from the 3rd Crusade, was held in the castle for ramsom by Duke Leopold V.
Lower Austria: The Wachau Valley. Kuenringer Castle.
Lower Austria: The Wachau Valley. The village of Durnstein.
Lower Austria: Vienna. The tile roof of St. Stephan's Cathedral. The mother church of St. Stephan's is St. Stephan's in Passau.
Lower Austria: Vienna. St. Stephan's Cathedral
Lower Austria: Vienna. the altar.
Lower Austria: Vienna. St. Stephan's is as much a tourist attraction as a church.
Lower Austria: Vienna. One of the many monuments erected in thanks to God for some favor.
Lower Austria: Vienna. Going to the concert hall.
Lower Austria: Vienna. The concert hall.
Lower Austria: Vienna. On the concert hall square.
Lower Austria: Vienna. A view of St. Stephan's.
Lower Austria: Vienna.
Lower Austria: Vienna. Reflections of the past
Lower Austria: Vienna. Art nouveau building decoration.
Lower Austria: Vienna. The Belvedere Palace. This former imperial palace is now an art museum with a collection of Klempts, Scheile, and other modern Austrian artists.
Lower Austria: Vienna. View from the Belvedere Palace.
Lower Austria: Vienna. The opera house.
Lower Austria: Vienna. Flowers along the Danube.
Lower Austria: Vienna. TV tower in the New Town.
Lower Austria: Vienna. The Austrian Navy.
Lower Austria: Vienna. An opera poster and a tourist.
Lower Austria: Vienna. Alpen glow on the buildings of New Town.
Lower Austria: Vienna. The Church of St. Francis of Assissi.
Lower Austria: Vienna. Sunset on the Danube. The Vienna Woods cover the hills in the distance.
Lower Austria: Hainburg is the last Austrian town on the Danube before the Slovakian border. The fortress on the hill dates from about 1000 when it was built to defend the eastern border of the empire.
Slovakia: An upriver bound cruise boat passes the ruins of Devin Castle. This is an important frontier area where the borders of Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary meet. A forification has existed here since at least Roman times. The castle was torn down by Napolean's troops in 1809.
Slovakia: Bratislava. This was originally a monument to the communist partisans who fought the Nazis. After the fall of Communism, it was rededicated to all guerillas who resisted the German invaders.
Slovakia: Bratislava. The site of Braislava has been occupied since the Stone Age. The area has been ruled by Romans, Germans, Austrians, Moravians, Bohemians, and Hungarians. It had been a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until after WW I, when it was united with Czech territory to form Czechoslavakia. In 1993, Slovakia and the Czech Republic went their separate ways. Bratislava has been the capital of the Republic of Slovakia since then. The building is a museum of Slovakian life.
Slovakia: Bratislava. The opera house. Bratislva is known for great opera. It is about 70 km from Vienna, and it is not unusual for Viennese to drive here to see a performance.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Class picture day in front of the opera house.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Street art.
Slovakia: Bratislava. The rathaus square. The Japanese embassy is the green building on the right.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Art nouveau building, Renaissance fountain.
Slovakia: Bratislva. A door of the Jesuit collge.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Courtyard in the Jesuit College; St. George and the dragon.
Slovakia: Bratislava. an old city gate.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Down the streeet oward Bratislava Castle.
Slovakia: Bratislava. The castle.
Slovakia: Bratislava. The Slovakian Ministry of Defense. This had been the townhouse of a general of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, hence the doorway decoration.
Slovakia: Bratislava.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Monument to Slovakian Holocaust victims. Befor the Nazi invasion, there was a thriving Jewish communiy in Bratislava. Today, there are only about 1000 Jews in the city.
Slovakia: Bratislava. The new bridge over the Danube with its UFO Restaurant.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Back to the opera house.
Slovakia: Bratislava. Busker with traditonal wind instrument in folk costume.
On the Danube: The dam and locks near Dunakiliti. The Danube forms the border between Hungary and Slovakia until just past Esztergom. This is in the Lesser Hungarian Plain. The land is generally flat and featurelrss until near Esztergom.
On the Danube: Our Slovakian tour director, Martin, and the waitress from the lounge demonstrate some Slovakian folk dances.
On the Danube: On the Danube. Folk dancing.
Hungary: On the Danube. Float-in restaurant.
Hungary: On the Danube. Fortification.
Slovakia: On the Danube: Spires of Komorn.
Slovakia: On the Danube: The river port of Komorn.
Hungary: On the Danube: Self-propelled barges, such as this one, carry most of the freight on the Danube. This one was being overtaken near Sutto.
Slovakia: On the Danube: A ray of sun pierces the clouds.
Hungary: On the Danube: An old cement plant near Labatlan. The banks of the Danube in Hungary are heavily exploited to produce sand, gravel, and other building materials.
Hungary: On the Danube. Esztergom Was the ancient seat of Hugarian kings. When the nomaic Magyars were defeated by Otto I at Lechfeld in 955, they gave up their dream to conquer Europe. Prince Gera and his son, Stephan, ordered their subjects to settle down and accept Christianity. When the Mongolians overran the area, the capital was moved to Buda. Construction of the green domed cathedral, the largest in Hungary, was was begun in 1820 and is the seat of the country's primate..
Hungary: On the Danube. Esztergom, the cahedral.
Hungary: On the Danube. Esztergom, the fortress.
Hungary: On the Danube. Esztergom.
Hungary: Budapest. The royal palace and the Chain Bridge.
Hungary: Budapest. The Hungarian Parliament building.
Hungary: Budapest. A coup;e of tourists.
Hungary: Budapest. The Liberty Statue. Originally erected in 1947 to commemorate the Soviet liberation. Following the fall of Communism the staue was rededicated to all who have given their lives for Hungary.
Hungary: Budapest. Heroes' Square.
Hungary: Budapest. Heroes' Square. The monument to commemorated the entry of the nomadic Magyars into the Hungarian Plain.
Hungary: Budapest. Heroes' Square. The Fine Arts Museum, or as they say in Hungarian, Szépművészeti Múzeum.
Hungary: Budapest. Heroes' Square. I wondered why we were spending all our time looking at relatively modern sghts on Heroes' Square when these buildings were just across this construction site. It turns out that these were build around 1900 to give examples of Hungarian architecture through the centuries.
Hungary: Budapest. Looking upriver from heights in the traditional side of the city, "Buda".
Hungary: Budapest. Parliament Building as seen from Buda.
Hungary: Budapest. The dome of St. Stephen's from across the Danube.
Hungary: Budapest. In the Castle District.
Hungary: Budapest. Approaching the Matthias Church.
Hungary: Budapest. The Matthias Church roof. Officially The Church of Our Lady, it is called the Matthias Curch after King Matthias who ordered the redesing and construction of the original south tower. The church was built in the 14th Century on the sight of a Romanesque church dating back to 1015.
Hungary: Budapest. Matthias Church.
Hungary: Budapest. Mathias Church altar.
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion. View of the parliament building from the Fishermens Bastion.
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion. Statue of King Matthias.
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion. so named because the fishermen used to sell their catch in the Matthias Church Square of old Buda. When danger threatened the city, the fishermen were assigned to man this part of the city's defenses. The present Fishermans Bastion is a scenic overlook of Budapest and was constructed between 1895 and 1902.
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion. The Matthias Church.
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion. The band giving this concert is from Norway and the piece they were playing was "Anchors Away".
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion.
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion. M/V VIKING MADONNA from the bastion.
Hungary: Budapest. Fishermans Bastion. Parliament building and the city beyond.
Hungary: Budapest. View to the south from the Castle District.
Hungary: Budapest. The Calvinist Church.
Hungary: Budapest. The funicular from the river to the Castle District.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Basilica. Construction of the Neo-Renaissance basilica was started in 1851 and completed in 1905. We wanted to see the inside, but when we got there, found that it was closed for private weddings.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. As we wallked to St. Stephen's Square, we encountered groups of people in traditional dress. This group is from Bulgaria.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. More in traditional dress.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. Bandsmen.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. In the square, there wer other groups assembled by nationality. we learned that there was a folk dance competion in Budapest that weekend and the groups were assmbling on the square to march to the site of the competition. I believe this group is from Hungary.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. These kids are from Turkey.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. This is a fire company band. They will play as the dancers parade to the competion site.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. This base is strapped around the player's neck so she can walk and play at the same time.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. The parade starts.
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. I'm sure that every Hungarian knows what this sign means, and it's not the same as it would be in English, no doubt. But, the first thing that popped into my mind was, "I wonder if they have a Causian menu".
Hungary: Budapest. St. Stephen's Square. A tourist and the law.
Hungary: Budapest. At the Chain Bridge. The Matthias Church and fishermans Bastion are across the Danube.
Hungary: Budapest. Traditional Hungarian music and dancing aboard the MADONNA. The instrument in the center is a large hammered dulcimer.
Hungary: Budapest. Traditional Hungarian music and dancing aboard the MADONNA. The dancer will place the carafe of wine on her head and dance around.
Hungary: Budapest. Traditional Hungarian music and dancing aboard the MADONNA. One of the audience gets to balance the carafe.
Hungary: Budapest. Traditional Hungarian music and dancing aboard the MADONNA.
Hungary: Budapest. The Chain Bridge and Royal Palace in moonlight.
Hungary: Budapest. The Matthias Church.
Hungary: On the Danube.
Hungary: On the Danube. Flood or no flood, the dedicated fisherman will fish. The main game fish are pike and pike perch (similar to walleye). Also, carp, if you consider them game fish.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. This is a working farm dedicated to preserving the ways of the Puszta, the traditional Hungarian cowboy. We are greeted with traditional putszta music, played not on a guitar, but a clarinet.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. The putszta. I doubt the working putszta have worn clothes like this for at least 150 years.
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SONYHungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. traditional farm wagon drawn by six gray cattle steers. A relatively large number of dray animals were needed before paved roads not because of heavy loads, but the muddy condition on the flat Hungarian Plain.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. Gray steer.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. like Florida cowboys, the putsza depend on a whip to herd cattle.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. the putsza horses are trained to lay flat on the ground on one side. This goes back to the days when the plain was lawless covered by tall grass. In order to hide from brigands, the putsza and there horses would get down in the grass.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. The horses are trained lie motionless regrdless of what goes on around them. As the putsza snapped their whips, their horses never flinched.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. Adept at using their whips, they wrap them around volunteers without hurting them.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. The putsza can hit target with their whips whil at a gallop.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. A game of tag on horseback. The object is to keep the scarf away from the other riders.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. Herding gray cattle.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. The Putsza Eight. This bit of trick riding did not originate with the putsza, but with a Hungarian artist in the 1950's. He painted a picture of a putsza standing astride two horses while holding the reins of two others and going at a gallop. None of the horses were connected to the others except through the reins in the putsza's hands. No one was able to perform the feat until years later. Still later, someone did it with six horses and now eight.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. The Putsza Eight.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Bakodpuszta Equestrian Center. Locust blooms.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house. This house was originally the home of a family of folk craftsmen and is now of a museum of Hungarian folk craft. The interior appears much as it would have in a typical Hubgarian house of the late 19th Century.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house. This stencil design is found throught the house and under the eaves on the exterior.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house. A combination work and sitting room.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house. Hungarian lace of the type that may have been made in the house.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house. Wall decoration.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house. Kolacsa is in the paprika growing area.
Hungary: Kalocsa: Craftsman's house. Bind weed.
Hungary: Kalocsa: The Cathedral. We attende an organ concert in the cathederal.
Hungary: Kalocsa: The Cathedral. Stained glass.
Hungary: Kalocsa: The Cathedral. The organ.
Hungary: Kalocsa: The Cathedral. Pulpit.
Hungary: Kalocsa: The Cathedral. King Stephen (?).
Hungary: Kalocsa: The Cathedral. The altar.
Croatia: On the Danube; the Hungarian-Croation border. Since Croatia is not an EU country, we had to stop for customs and immigration. The captain went ashore with a couple of bottles of wine from the lounge bar to grease the wheels of bureaucracy.
Croatia: The road from Vukovar to Osijek. The Serbs came down this road to attack Vukovar when they invaded Croatia in 1991. A large tank battle insued along the road. Masonry houses lined the road and the feilds behind them were heavily mined forcing the Serbs to stay on the road. The Croats claim to have destroyed 300 serbian tanks in the battle. This tank, like the ones used by the Croats, was manufactured in Croatia and serves a a monument to the Croation tank forces engaged in the battle.
Croatia: The road from Vukovar to Osijek. This sign warns that the feilds beyond are uncleared of land mines from the Serbian war. Many such fields line this road, all with these signs.
Croatia: Osijek. The Franciscan Monastery of Saint Cross.
Croatia: Osijek. The Franciscan Monastery of Saint Cross. The church is in the Baroque style.
Croatia: Osijek. The Franciscan Monastery of Saint Cross. The altar.
Croatia: Osijek. The site of Osijek has been occupied since prehistory. It has been important as a crossing point of the Drava River, 20 km above its juncture with the Danube. There was a Celtic settlement here as well a Roman town. Later, Slavs moved into the area in the 8th Century. The area later fell under the rule of Hungary. The Turks conquered the town in 1526. When the Turks were finally driven from the town in 1687, the Austrians took control. The Austrians had built the fortress by 1719, using many bricks from Roman structures. A portion of the fortress wall can be seen on the right.
Croatia: Osijek. The fortress.
Croatia: Osijek. Osijek was relatively lightly damaged in the Serbian war and is one of the best preserved cities in croatia.. It is the capital of of the Slaonia region and the fourth largest city in Croatia.
Croatia: Vukovar This water tower was a prime target for serbian gunners during the batle for Vukovar because the Croatian flag flew atop it. They must have been lousey aimers or had bad equipment as, according to the Croats, the flag remained in place until after the city was conquered.
Croatia: Vukovar. Church of St. Philip and Jacob. This Franciscan monastery church dates to the 1720's. It was heavily damaged in the Serbian war, intentionally according to the Catholic Croats; the Serbs are predominately Orthodox. The Church has been undergoing restoration since the end of the war.
Church of St. Philip and Jacob. Aportion of the structure is left as it was found at the end of the war.
Church of St. Philip and Jacob.
Church of St. Philip and Jacob. Peacock in the courtyard. While visiting the church, we were subject to a propaganda film and talk about the Serbian occupation of Vukovar conducted by the priest.
Croatia: Vukovar. The water tower from the quay wall on the Danube.
Croatia: Vukovar. A picture of this building with its flowers appeared in "National Geographic. According to our guide, they supposedly sprouted spontaneously following the devastation. The building has been left in this condition to symbolize the rebirth of Vukovar from the ruins. Indications on the spot indicate that there may be a human hand involved.
Croatia: Vukovar. A newly restored building next to unrestored ones.
Croatia: Vukovar. The main downtown shopping street.
Croatia: Vukovar. A peaceful courtyard behind the war damaged facade.
Croatia: Vukovar.
Croatia: Vukovar. Fishing in the flooded Danube.
Croatia: On the Danube.
Serbia: As we travelled down the Danube, the water continued to rise. Although it rained much of the time since we left Passau, the high water was not a result of local rains, rather from climate change. Moisture that would have fallen in the higher elevations upriver (The Alps, etc) as snow, recently has fallen as rain. Additionally, the rise in average annual temperatures has caused glaciers to melt.
Serbia: A vacation cabin surrounded by flood water, which reaches the levee. Much of the Danube has been channelized and restrained by levees.
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade is the largest city in, and capital of, Serbia. The general area has been inhabited for the past 7000 years. the city began as a Celtic settlement and later a Roman town. Slavs first entered the area in the 7th Century. The city was ruled by in succession by Byzantine, the Franks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Serbs, becoming an independent Serb state in 1403. In 1521, Belgrade was conqured by tje Turks, and was ruled by them until the Serbs revolted and became a Serb state in 1835. After WW I, Serbia became a part of Jugoslavia and Belgrade its capital. This is a statue of Prince Mihailo in Republic Square.
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade Fortress.
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade Fortress. Entering the fortress.
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade Fortress. The first fortress on this site was built by the Romans in the 1st Century at the junction of the Sava and Danube Rivers. With the onslaught of barbarians after the fall of Rome, local residents took refuge the Roman castrum and further fortified it with materials salvaged from Roman buildings. The fortress became the starting nucleus of a fortified town and a frontier outpost of Byzantium..
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade Fortress. The Sava River, on the right, at its juncture with the Danube.
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade Fortress. Tourists at the fortress.
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade Fortress. This statue, "Winner", commemorates the vanquishing of the Turks from Serbia. It was completed at the end of the 19th Century, but not place for many years because of contraversy' the figure had not a stitch of clothes on. Finally, it was placed facing out from the fortress so that the front was not easily visible close up.
Serbia: Belgrade. Belgrade Fortress. The mausoleum of Ali Pasha, who governed Serbia under the Ottomans, was built in 1783, and is one of the few remaining Ottoman buildings in Belgrade.
Serbia: Belgrade. Tito's mansion.
Serbia: Belgrade. Cathedral of St Sava. St Sava was a Serbian nobleman and first archbishop of the Sebian church who proposed the first Sebian constitution in the 13th Century. He was later canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church. His remains were venerated by the Serbian people, who attributed miraculous power to them and expected that veneration of them would lead to liberation from the Turks. To discourage any ideas of a holy assisted uprising, the Turks burned the remains in the late 16th Century. Construction on the cathedral was begun in 1935 on the site of the burning of St Sava's remains and remains under construction in 2010.
Serbia: Belgrade. Cathedral of St Sava.
Serbia: Belgrade. We stopped for lunch at a resaurant in a parklike setting. At the intersection of the driveway with the main road was this shrine. Apparently the young woman was killed in an auto accident at this spot.
Serbia: Novi Sad; the fortress. We were supposed to moor in Belgrade, but this was as far as we could get on the Danube because rising water made it impossible for the PRIMADONNA to get under the next bridge. Novi Sad is upriver from Belgrade and we were bussed there and back.
Serbia: Novi Sad. Tourists at dinner their last night aboard PRIMADONNA.
Serbia: Novi Sad. Serbian folk dancers. Folk dancing appears to be a popular activity and entertainment in Eastern Europe. This group was one of the best we saw.
Serbia: Novi Sad. Serbian folk dancers.
Serbia: Novi Sad. Serbian folk dancers. they performed a sampling of traditional dances of different regions and ethnic groups around Serbia. This is a Turkish dance.
Bulgaria: Sophia. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Named for a pius Russian prince and military hero of the 13th Century, construction was started in 1882 and completed in 1914. It is the seat of the Patriarch of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria: Sophia. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. This dome is gold plated.
Bulgaria: Sophia. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
Bulgaria: Sophia. A statuary park across from the cathedral.
Bulgaria: Sophia. The russian Church.
Bulgaria: Sophia. The former Communist Party headquarters now houses the National Assembly. Sophia was not on our original itinerary, but was a convenient waystop on the road to our next destination.
Bulgaria: Sophia. The presidential office and the guards.
Bulgaria: Sophia. Statue of Sofia. we saw a lot of construction around the center of Sofia, mostly for an extension of the subway system.
Bulgaria: Sophia. There were quite a few older buildings in Sofia in the Russian Baroque style.
Bulgaria: Sophia. A mosque. Moslems (Turks) make up about 9% of the population of Bulgaria, but number fewer than 4000 in Sophia.
Bulgaria: Sophia.
Bulgaria: Sophia. St Nedelya Church. The church backs on this wide pedestrian area and is located in an upscale area of the city center.
Bulgaria: Sophia. St Nedelya Church. I watched the priest and the woman in animated conversation during the 20 or so minutes we were in the area. Then, the priest went into the church while the woman remained on the porch. The priest returned and handed her something. One wonders what was being transacted.
Bulgaria: Sophia. The Church of St George. The church is located behind the Sheaton Hotel. It was built by the Romans in the 4th Century. It is noted for the frescoes inside under the dome, which had not been discovered until the 20th Century. They had been painted over by the Ottomans who used as a mosque.
Bulgaria: Sophia. Presidential guard.
Bulgaria: Sophia. Hotel Bulgaria.
Bulgaria: Sophia. Outdoor art and icon market.
Bulgaria: Sophia. Offices of the Holy Synod of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria: Sophia. This appeared to be a political or labor rally, but was very subdued for either. This was behind the Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky.
Bulgaria: We ate lunch at The Mill Resaurant in the hills outside of Sofia.
Bulgaria: Roadside flower.
Bulgaria: On the road to Veliko Tarnovo. In the Balkan Mountains.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. An old city, the site of Veliko Tarnovo, on the banks of the Yantra River, has been settled for the past 5000 years. It had been the seat of Bulgarian Tsars and the Patriarchs of Bulgaria for 200 years until 1393, when the independent state of Bulgaria ended with capture of the city by the Ottoman Turks. This the Tsarevets Hill, where the Tsar, the Patriarch, and many government officials lived behind defensive walls. Today, only ruins remain of 14th Century structures.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. Valley of the Yantra River from the approach to the bridge to the Tarrevets Hill.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. The Tsarevets Hill.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. Tourists at the Tsarevets Hill.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. Coppersmith's wares along the crafts street.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. The street of the craftsmen.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. This cafe obviously does not intend to draw a lot of Bulgarian trade, but apparently is the place to get "coctails", "caces", and "drincs".
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. Religious tract.
Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo. a second floor garden.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. Fortified merchant's house. Arabanasi was originally settled by Albanians. It came became a part of Bulgaria in 1230, when ithe area was conquered by Bulgarian boyars. It is four kilometers from Veliko Tarnovo.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. Fortified merchant's house.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. Fortified merchant's house. A defendable stone wall surrounds the house's yard. There are no openings directly into the house from the street. An accordian playing busker greets the tourists.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. One of the specialties of the area is rose growing and the production of products made of attar. Such items include soap, candy, perfume, brandy, and many others.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. Looks like a flower fly.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. Local handicrafts.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. The Nativity Church. The original part of the church dates from 1597. It is significant for the original murals that decorate interior.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. The Nativity Church. The church was enlarged in several stages. Modern steel bracing on the outside strengthen the structure.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. Bulgarian folk dancers.
Bulgaria: Historic Arbanasi. Poppy.
Bulgaria: On the road to Bucharest. Sunflower field.
Bulgaria: On the road to Bucharest. Stork nest.
Romania: On the road to Bucharest. As we entered Bucharest, traffic stopped in front of this store were you can stop in and buy a coffin, an artificial funeral spray, a monument, other funeral items "Non Stop", according to the sign. We saw "Non Stop" signs on shops in Romania. My guess is it means that the shop is open 24/7.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. After spending the night in our Bucharest hotel, the Athena, we set out on a day trip to Constanta on the Black Sea.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. Thistle.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. Flower.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. Poppies.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. Black bee.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. Crows in a row.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. The road crossed a lock of a channel of the Danube. We had heard that some people living near the Danube in Romania had been evacuated because of the rising water.
Romania: The road to the Black Sea. Country church.
Romania: Constanta.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. Roman glass. Constanta was settled as a Greek colony in 600 BC. The Romans annexed the area in 29 BC. It was ruled successively by Byzantium, The Bulgarian Empire, and in 1419, the Ottomans. After the Romanian Revolution of 1878, Constanta was ceded to Romania by the Ottoman Empire and became the main seaport of that country. During WW I, it was occupied by the Central Powers until liberated by the Allies in 1918.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. Dacian burial.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. Roman statuary.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. Roman coin.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. Mosaic floor.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. The Archeology Park is on the site of the excavation of what is believed to have been a Roman customs house. These amphorae were found on the site, The pile in the center is the solidified wine contained in amphorae.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. View of the modern port past Roman anchors.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. View of the port.
Romania: Constanta. Archeology Park. Mosaic swatika. The swastika is an ancient Indo-European symbol, expropriated by the Nazis.
Romania: Constanta. The Promenade along the Black Sea. A tourist enjoys the sea air.
Romania: Constanta. The Promenade along the Black Sea.
Romania: Constanta. The Promenade along the Black Sea. Completed between the two World Wars, the Casino is in the art nouveau style. It has been unused since 1964.
Romania: Constanta. The Promenade along the Black Sea. Although these large concrete shapes are being used for riprap, I believe they were originally anti-tank or anti-vehicle obastacles.
Romania: Mamaia. The beach resort of Mamaia on the Black Sea
Romania: The road from the Black Sea. Flowers.
Romania: The road from the Black Sea. Poppiesand purple flower.
Romania: Bucharest. The city of Bucharest was founded in the 14th Century and became the capital of Romania in 1859 with the merging of Moldavia and Walachia. Because of close ties with France, much of the architecture of the 19th and 20th Centuries shows a strong French influence. Bucharest likes to think of itself as the Paris of the East.
Romania: Bucharest. The former Military Club, now a museum.
Romania: Bucharest. Obviously not a visit to churches.
Romania: Bucharest. Academy of Science Building.
Romania: Bucharest.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church. Crucifiction of St Andrew.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church. We visited on a Sunday morning during a four hour mass. One stands for an Orthodox mass. The devout and tourists alike wandered in and out during the service. I felt like an intruder, taking pictures during the service, but it was permitted.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church. Murals of the Judgement Day are commonly found on the walls outside the front doors. This is the mural on the left side of souls being judged unfit for Heaven.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church. The saved.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church. Votive candles in a separate bulding beside the church, to lower the risk of fire and cut down on smoke, I guess.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church. Offices of the Holy Synod, a former government building under the monarchy. Notice the French influence.
Romania: Bucharest. The 17th Century Patriarchal Greek Church. An early Romanian hero.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. Construction of the palace was started under Nikolae Ceausescu in 1984, and was nearly completed at his overthrow in 1989. It is the world's largest civil administration building, but second to the Pentagon, the world's largest office building. Ceausecu chose to erct the palace, which dubbed the Palace of the Republic, in the city's old historic district. This required the demolition of nineteen Orthodox churces, six synagogues, three Protestant churches, and 30,000 residences. It contins 1,100 rooms of various sizes and is constructed only with materials produced in Romania. Today, it houses the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. Most of the public areas are richly decorated. Ceausecu envisioned the building as a monument to himself.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. This carpet is woven in the "Tree of Life" patern, which is the motif of much of the decoration throughout.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. This reception area is served by two grand staircases, one visible in the background another behind the camera location. During formal affairs, Ceausecu would descend the stairs in the background, his wife the other and meet on the red carpet. He was an egomaniac and also short, and mandated that all stairs in the palace have a riser height sized to his step, noticably less than the standard riser.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. A tourist on Madame Ceausecu's staircase.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. The ballroom.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. A door to ceausecu's balcony where he would address the assembled throng in Republic Square.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. The ballroom was supposed to have a sliding ceiling that would open to the sky. Because it was structurally difficult to build, a false glass ceiling was installed with theater lighting behind it to mimic the sky.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. A tourist on Ceausescu's balcony. Republic Square is in the background.
Romania: Bucharest. Palace of the Parliament. View from Republic Square.
Romania: Bucharest. Clocks like this one were put up around the city in celebration of some historic milestone. The rims are solid gold. It didn't take long for some people to find out where the could gold min in Bucharest. The solution: Each night a manned police car is parked beneath every clock in the city.
Romania: Bucharest. A tourist at a popular lakeside restaurant.
Romania: Bucharest. Symbol of the afinity to France; their very own scaled down Arc de Triomphe.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Created in 1936 in Herastrau Park, the outdoor museum contains 272 traditional Romanian buildings from around the country. The Maramures wooden church.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Peasant house.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Flower fly.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Orthodox chapel built 1772.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Detail of the Orthodox chapel.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. I believe this is a house from the Saxon (German) area of Transylvania.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Folk dance troupe.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Peasant women.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Cherry tree.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Museum cat.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Farmstead.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Rooster.
Romania: Bucharest. The Atheneum, Romania's most prestigious concert hall.
Romania: Bucharest. The Rebirth Memorial erected to commemorate the fall of Communism. It is supposed to represent the skein of Communism skewered by democracy, but most locals refer to it as "the potato on a stick".
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Kretzulescu Church. Commissioned in 1720, the frescoes on the porch date from that time.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. National Library of Romania.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Odeon movie theater, Romania's first in 1923.
Romania: Bucharest. The Village Museum. Modern office building incorporating the original building on the site.
Romania: On the road to Transylvania.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. The site was originally fortified by the Teutonic Knights, who built a wooden fort in 1212, to control the mountain pass between Walachia and Transylvania. The fort was destroyed by the Mongols in 1242. In 1377, Louis I of Hungary, which then controlled the region, gave the Saxons of Kronstadt (now Brasov), German settlers of the area, authorization to build a stone fortification at their own expense. The first test of the defenses was in 1378, when the Ottoman Turks were repelled. From 1920, the castle became a Romanian royal residence. It was the principal home of Queen Marie and passed to her daughter Princess Ileana on Marie's death. It was seized by the Communists in 1948. In 2006, the government returned the castle to Archduke Dominic of Austria-Tuscany, a New York architect and son of Ileana.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. The courtyard. Dracula, Vlad Tepes, never lived in Bran Castle, but did use it as a headquarters on several campaigns to regain control of Transylvania.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. The music room. Most of the furnishings and decoration were accumulated by Queen Marie.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. Sitting room. Note the tiled stove used for heating.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. Crown and mace of the Royal Family.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. The dining room.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. A defender.
Romania: Bran Castle, alleged home of Dracula. The way down. And, up.
Romania: Brasov. The Black Church. The church was started in 1385, and construction continued for the next 100 years as Turkish raids left the town partially in ruins. It takes its name from the soot on the walls following The Great Fire of 1689, that burned much of the city of Kronstadt (Brasov), a town founded by Saxon settlers. Originally a Roman church, under the leadership of Johannes Honterus, the Reformer of Transylvanian Saxons, the church converted to Lutheranism with Honterus its first minister. Today, it serves the German speaking residents of the area.
Romania: Brasov.
Romania: Brasov. The Casa Statalui on Republic Square. The city of Brasov is situated in the Brasov Basin. Archeology around the city has turned up traces of Neolithic, Dacian, and Roman settlement. The present city was founded by the Teutoic Knights on the site of the Romanian village in 1211 as Kronstadt. German settlers were first invited to the region by King Geza II of Hungary to make the area productive and defend the eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary. Sited at the intersection of trade routes, the settlers were engaged in trade and crafts, and because of a tax exemption to the town by the Hungarian king, many residents obtained great wealth. Local Romanians were not allowed to be residents of Brasov and other German towns until the Holy Roman Emperor awarde full citizenship to them in the 18th Century.
Romania: Brasov. Coat of arms of Brasov.
Romania: Brasov. An outlying fortification. Originally connected to the main city walls and connected by a covered walkway, this tower denied use of the heights outside the walls by attackers.
Romania: Brasov. Gate in a part of the old city wall. This one was used by animal drawn vehicles.
Romania: Brasov. Allegedly the narrowest street in Europe, it looks like an allety to me.
Romania: Brasov. The synagogue.
Romania: Brasov. A main gate through the old city walls. The spires indicate that the town was entitled to have its own judicial courts and administer capital punishment.
Romania: Brasov. Brasov from a mountain road.
Romania: Brasov to Sighisoara. A fortified Saxon church. As the Germans were induced to settle in this frontier region by the kings of Hungary, they built their churches not only as houses of worship, also places of refuge and defence.
Romania: Brasov to Sighisoara. Hilltp fortification. If I understood our guide correctly, this is not a Saxon fortification, but was built the local Romanians.
Romania: Brasov to Sighisoara. Real horsepower still plays a roll in Romanian agriculture.
Romania: Sighisoara. The clock tower. Originally a Roman outpost known as Castrum Sex (Castle Six), Sighisoara was a Saxon settlement by 1191. It is called Schassburg in German. In 1337, it became a royal center for the kings of Hungary and was granted urban status in 1367. During the Medieval period, Schassburg was one of the most important cities in Transylvania and a center for artisans and craftsmen. The Wallachian prince, Vlad Dracul spent an exile in Schassburg and his son. Vlad Tepes (Dracula) was born here. George I Rakoczi was elected Prince of Transylvania here in 1631.
Romania: Sighisoara. The clock tower.
Romania: Sighisoara. Like Munich, Prague, and other cities, Sighisoara has a glockenspeil.
Romania: Sighisoara. Gate below the clock tower. The clock tower is a part of the old city walls.
Romania: Sighisoara. The tourist information office.
Romania: Sighisoara.
Romania: Sighisoara. The Scholars Steps. Used to reach the German School and the Church on the Hill, these 172 steps and covering were built in 1642.
Romania: Sighisoara. The Church on the Hill. This Lutheran Church holds services about once a year. According to the guide and congragent, about 35 people had attended the last service.
Romania: Sighisoara. The Church on the Hill. Once a part of the defenses, The Ropemakers Tower sits in a corner of the church yard. It was built upon the foundation of the original fortifications, Roman, I guess, and one of the oldest buildings Sighasoara, dating from the 13th Century. Different towers were assigned to different guilds for defence, this one to the Ropemakers Guild. It now serves as a home for the keeper of the Lutheran cemetery.
Romania: Sighisoara. The Church on the Hill. Begun in 1345 and completed in 1525, the church has a pulpit carved in 1480, and numerous works of religious art. Unfortuneately, no photography is permitted inside.
Romania: Sighisoara. Sighisoara is one of the best preserved Medieval cities in Europe.
Romania: Sighisoara. At the end of this street on the right, just before the clock tower, is the birth house of Vlad Tepes the Impaler, aka Dracula. It is now a resaurant that trades on the Dracula name, but the food is decent.
Romania: Sighisoara. An antique shop displays its wares on the street.
Romania: Sighisoara. The Clock Tower. Some of the glockenspeil figures seen from inside the tower.
Romania: Sighisoara. The Clock Tower. View from the top.
Romania: Sighisoara. The Clock Tower. The workings of the clock were originally made of wood in 1604. The clock was rebuilt in 1645, and the rotating figures were added, one for each day of the week. A metal mechanism was installed in 1906, but the original wooden figures remain. An electric motor was added in 1964.
Romania: Sighisoara. A tourist and the head of Dracula.
Romania: From Sighisoara to Brasov.
Romania: From Sighisoara to Brasov. Fortified church.
Romania: From Sighisoara to Brasov. Gypsies.
Romania: From Sighisoara to Brasov. In the Brasov Basin.
Romania: Brasov. View from our roomm in the Ramada Inn Brasov.
Romania: In the Carpathians.
Romania: Sinaia. The Sinaia Monastery Church. The Sinaia Monastery was founded by Prince Mihai Cantacuzino in 1695 and named after the great Sinai Monastery on Mount Sinai.
Romania: Sinaia. The Sinaia Monastery Church. Behind the screen is the Holy of Holies, which contains the Holy Table or altar. This is in keeping with the tradition of Slomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
Romania: Sinaia. The Sinaia Monastery Church.
Romania: Sinaia. The Sinaia Monastery.
Romania: Sinaia. The Sinaia Monastery Church. Flower fly.
Romania: Sinaia. Peles Castle. The gate house.
Romania: Sinaia. Peles Castle. Built between 1873 and 1914, in the Neo Renaissance style by King Carol I of Romania, the greatest Romanian king in modern times. It was under his rule that the war gaining complete independence from the Turks was fought in 1877. It is in a beautiful setting in the Carpatians.
Romania: Sinaia. Peles Castle.
Romania: Sinaia. Peles Castle. The castle is full of hand carved fixtures and panelling. The wood is walnut and the carvers were German. I got two images before a guide said there was no photography allowed inside the castle. I found out after the tour that I could have gotten a license to photograph for 30 Leu, or about $10.00. It would have been worth it.
Romania: Sinaia. Peles Castle. Statue of Carol I.
Romania: Sinaia. Peles Castle. A tourist enjoys the grounds.
Romania: Sinaia. Peles Castle. Pelisor Castle is on the grounds and served a guest house.
Romania: Sinaia. One car garage.
Romania: Sinaia.
Romania: Sinaia. Fly and flower.
Romania: Sinaia to Bucharest. Oil field.
Romania: Sinaia to Bucharest. Wasp and thistle.
Romania: Sinaia to Bucharest. Field of sunflowers.
