Josh and Susanne

Prague (Praha), Czech Republic 9.5.09-9.8.09 At least three Jan’s We were greeted by a nice guy named Jan (pronounced Yan in Czech) with a Cramer sign in his hands promptly after deplaning at the Prague airport. On the way to the St. George Hotel, Jan sped around and tried to sell us a rental car. As planned, our friend Matt (AKA Kozel) met us at the hotel circa 6:30. He was to be our host for the first night in town. Matt took us to a fine, candlelit restaurant specializing in vegetarian food—which was very good for us since we had had difficulty avoiding pork knuckles and Polish head cheese! We enjoyed nice wine, great food, and some catching up with an old friend and his friend Jessica. After we finished, Matt and Jessica took us ... read more

We arrived around noon yesterday (Thursday I think) on a plane with propellers. This was our first propeller plane trip ever. Again, a nice man with a Cramer sign greeted us at the airport. It is unbelievable to me that this whole porter thing is actually working. He drove us for about 20 minutes to Hotel Polski located just inside of Florian’s Gate (Gothic Tower built in the 1300’s at the entrance of old town). What a beautiful hotel! It was clear to us immediately that the exchange rate for US Dollars must be quite good. The hotel is very old and is on the UNESCO list of historical treasures. It is the first thing you see when you enter the old town of Krakow (inside of a wall the surrounds the entire old town). It ... read more

Budapest, Hungary 9.1.09 We flew into Budapest Hungary after about 12.5 hours of flight from Ottawa. As you could expect we were bushed! At first that our porter friend did not show up at the airport but eventually there was a nice Hungarian man with a sign that said Cramer. He took us to our quaint hotel Erzabet in the old town square. Our first stop in Budapest: the Gellert public bathhouse. The structure was leftover from the Turkish rule of Budapest. A beautiful, art nouveau structure adorned with marble, fountains spouting out of stone creatures, and beautiful domes towering over the courtyard. There were at least 6 different baths in this particular location. A couple of the baths were similar to swimming pools, one was a mineral bath that was heated, there were male and ... read more

This first entry is for those of you who have been squalling for a schedule of our tour. (Sorry, Gram, I know you'll not like that I said you "squalled":) Without further adieu... August 29, 2009 Depart Omaha, NE at 10 AM Arrive Ottawa, Ontario, Canada at 3:24 PM Staying at Monterey Inn Resort, Ottawa August 30, 2009 Attend Dave and Evelyn's Wedding August 31, 2009 Depart Ottawa 2:35 PM Arrive Washington DC (Dulles) 4:07 Depart Dulles 5:31 PM Arrive London Heathrow 5:55 AM Depart Heathrow 8:45 AM Arrive Budapest, Hungary 12:15 PM September 1, 2009. Staying at the Hotel Erzsebet. Activities in Budapest: September 1-the famous thermal bath at Szechenyi to soak our weary bones. (Note: this is NOT a nude bath house.) September 2-the City Market Hall (paprika for all), Castle District (winding statue-filled ... read more