Wednesday, July 2, 2008

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.

Monday, June 30, 2008

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!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

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.

Friday, June 27, 2008

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.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

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!


Monday, June 23, 2008

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.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

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.