One last chance to play tourist.

Westminster Abbey




Look kids, Big Ben



We discovered this interesting crosswalk between two building



Ballerina statue outside the National Opera House



On the way home we flew over Greenland which looked incredible. It was this huge expanse of ice except along the shore where the glaciers were breaking off and floating into the ocean.







Well we've made it home and are both thrilled to be back. It was a great trip and is still taking a while to sink in exactly what all we have seen. We've had fun but it is really good to be home. Hopefully we will be able to see everyone real soon.

Last stop, London

We made it, just barely, to the train this morning to London. We will be here today and leave early tomorrow morning.

Paris was great. Brandon knew he was going to like that town when we first got on the subway and a guy started playing When the Saints go marching in on a sax. He was the only one saying Who Dat though.

We only sat down for about 15 minutes in Paris and saw as much as we could before our feet gave out on us.

We got a few hours sleep and are going to head out to see some of the sights we missed last time and see if we can get in to Wimbledon.

If we don't post again we will be back tomorrow!

Where's the Looouuuu Verrrr?

We had a great day in Paris. After checking into the hotel we went and saw the Eiffel tower and had this as a backdrop to our breakfast.



By 10 am we had seen the Eiffel tower, the Louvre (or Louuuu verrrr as we like to say in our best Paula Dean voice) which included the Mona Lisa and Notre Dame. The museum is just unimaginably big and Notre Dame is incredibly detailed.

For the evening we ended up going back to the Eiffel tower to see it lit up and had a nice long picnic on the lawn looking up at this sight.



We slept in a little today but we are about to go out and see more sights. Hopefully we can make another post otherwise we have to catch a bullet train real early in the morning for a day back in London.

We made it to Paris!

We said goodbye to Salzburg and took a night train from Munich to Paris but not before a quick stop by the Englisher Garden in Munich (Pictures should be in an earlier post).

Sleeping on a train is interesting to say the least but it's 8am and we are in Paris and have dropped off our bags. We're heading straight to the Eiffel tower and then to see the sights. We'll post more later tonight as we have internet access at the hotel.

Goodbye Salzburg

We're not sure if we will have time to post again before we leave for Paris on Friday. Kelly is busy studying for her final and we're tying up loose ends along with packing. Here is one last parting shot of Salzburg that was taken today. We've been told that we will have internet access in our hotel in Paris so we will try to make a post as soon as we can. We should arrive around 7am on Saturday but will try to get to the sights as we only have a couple of days there.

The good news is that this means we will be back home very soon!

Our last weekend in Salzburg

We spent the weekend trying to see a few things we just haven't had time for yet.

This is a night view of the city. This was Kelly's first night picture and it turned out great!



We spent most of Saturday at the white castle or fortress that is in a lot of the previous pictures above the city. There were a couple of museums within the grounds that were really interesting.





This is a view from the fortress looking down to the city of Salzburg.



This fortress apparently is the only in Europe to never be conquered. This picture gives an idea of why.



There was a marionette exhibit within the museum that had some interesting marionettes like this one of Mozart.




Sunday we took a bus out to the Eagle's Nest which was Hitler's second home. It was built literally on the peak of a mountain and was a birthday gift.

This was taken on the road up to the home. It was just wide enough for one bus to pass one way.



Hitler was apparently afraid of enclosed spaces and heights which is kind of funny being that you had to take this tunnel which was about 50 yards deep into the mountain and take a elevator up 600' to get to the house itself.



But once you did you are awarded with this view.



A view from the home.



This was just a river we passed in the town where the home was located. It was extremely blue for some reason.



This is a picture of doorbells used on the homes in the old part of Salzburg. They look like they are still in use today and the numbers indicate what floor you want to ring.


We're taking it easy today after a busy weekend. Kelly will be finishing up school this week and Friday we're off to Paris. Hopefully we will be able to post more before we leave.

A few more pictures

Salzburg is surronded by mountains. This tunnel originally started out as clearing a path through the whole mountain to the other side of town but quickly gave up an made a tunnel. The entrance is carved out of the mountainside.



This is the back of a theater but I found it very nice. Up at the top is part of pipe organ that was overpowering the theater inside. (Sometimes it pays to lurk around a tour group)











This is a famous bridge from the Sound of Music.



Although the city protects is historic buildings with a passion it seems when allowed to do something modern it is done extremely well.







Here is a panoramic view from one of the hills surrounding the city.

Just a few more pictures

The bus system here is great. We usually wait no longer than 10 minutes for a bus and can go anywhere in the city within minutes.

When we don't want to take the bus home from downtown this is our walking commute. It only takes about a 15 minute stroll to get home.



This is one of the main streets in the old part of town where there are a bunch of stores. Back in the old days when people couldn't read the store owners would make their signs resemble images of what they sold. Now it is a law that every store still continue this practice. Even the ever present McDonald's has to do so. Many of the stores have a symbol that indicates how long they have been in business. The oldest one I have seen so far is 245 years.



This shop sells traditional clothing.



This is off one of the side streets in the "new" part of town. Some of these streets get very very narrow.





This is our last weekend in Salzburg so we are going to try to get to everything we haven't seen such as the castle that is on top of the hill over looking the city. We've taken more pictures than we have had time to get ready to post but hopefully we can catch up soon.

Kelly made an A on her verb test and is doing outstanding in school! Brandon is doing outstanding on vacation!

No more jacket!

I think the clouds finally broke for good.



Kelly made an equivalent of an A on her midterm! Soccer is over and this town is returning to normal. I have taken a bunch of more pictures and should post more soon.

Mehr Pictures!

I finally found a place to upload more pictures. There's quite a few! Remember you can always click on them for larger images but if you have dialup it may take a little while.

Salzburg!






In the old part of Salzburg the streets can get very narrow and through a lot of the passage ways you can find little cafes or rester aunts like this one.



This is what it looks like on a day when the Soccer tournament is going on. This is the small group waiting to get into one of the outdoor viewing areas for the game.



The next group of pictures is from a place called Mirabelle gardens. There are several different gardens and sections of the garden. It is always free and open to the public. One evening a week there are concerts free to the public.















Last Friday, we went to the house where Mozart was born and lived in for some time. They wouldn't allow pictures but I did snap this one looking down to the square below. The cafe on the left is where we had coffee the first night we were here.




Saturday we took a train to a small town called Oberndorf to see this tiny chapel where the song Silent Night was written and first performed.

This is the entrance bridge to Oberndorf.


We walked down the river a ways until we got to here.



and finally reached the chapel.









Afterwards we went back to Salzburg and realized we lived right around the corner from the Augustiner brewery. This is a brewery that is owned and ran by the monks who live there. The beer is kept in real wooden kegs and served in ceramic mugs that you first cool down by rinsing in a cold water fountain. It is huge with all sorts or indoor halls and an outdoor beer garden along with several places to eat. We will get more pictures soon.



This is the person who heads over the brewery.



Sunday for Kelly's birthday we took a high speed train and went to Munich which was celebrating it's 850th birthday party. It was packed with people and all kinds of bands and traditional dancing going on.

The train was extremely nice.



Here is the Munich train station where the trains come straight into this massive building.



Train interior.



Breakfast on the train.



Englisher Garden where we spent most of the day. There was a traditional German band playing on the second level of the tower.

The Englisher Garden is in the middle of Munich and is similar in size to Central Park. There is a lot of little trails and streams that run throughout the area.




That's it for now. Kelly had her midterm today which means we are just a couple of weeks from coming home. Once the weather gets better again we'll get some more pictures of Salzburg.

Hope all is well!