Geo: 47.4984, 19.0408Szia (Hello) from Budapest!Waiting for our ride to the train station for our overnight train ride to Krakow, Poland after three wonderful and activity-packed days in Budapest. While our time in Prague was great, we loved Budapest even more.We'll try to tell most of our Budapest story in pictures attached to this blog entry, but here's a summary of our time here:Arrived in Budapest the morning of Saturday, October 1 rummy as all get-out after the all-night train ride from Prague. Couldn't check into our hotel room yet, so we dumped the bags and staggered out into the bright sunshine, heading over to the Absolute Budapest walking tour company (founded and owned by an Oregonian, by the way). We were signed up for the 3 1/2 hour walking tour of Budapest the next day, ... read more

Geo: 50.0878, 14.4205Szia (Hi) from Budapest!Busy day yesterday, checked out of hotel at 11:00am and then homeless for the next 12 hours, day ending in an 8-hour overnight train to Budapest (more on that later).Walked over to Petrin Hill after checking out and storing our luggage for later. It's a large beautiful city park 15 minutes from the hotel with rose gardens, the 650-year old Hunger Wall (built as a public works project to employ and feed the hungry), and a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower at the top of the hill. Climbed a couple of hundred stairs (who needs a Stairmaster?) to the observation deck at the top of the tower for some great vistas over Prague.Dropped off at the train station for our 11:58pm all-night train to Budapest. This was a big experiment ... read more

Geo: 50.0878, 14.4205Dobrý večer (Good evening), all!Toured almost the entire historical part of Prague on foot today, including Old Town, a glimpse of New Town, the Jewish Quarter, and Little Quarter.Mike went out early to get a preview of the route to the Old Town Square and to try to get some early morning pictures before the crowds showed up.  With Sharon a little later, the walking tour took in the Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock (quite a delight!), the Tyn Church, Wenceslas Square, the open-air Halveska Market, the Old-New Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, and the church belfry at the Church of St. Nicholas, all 299 stairs up to the top and its dramatic views over the whole city.We ran out of time for the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, so that'll be Friday ... read more

Geo: 45.0148, -123.016Happy sunny afternoon from Salem, Oregon! (Dzień dobry! in Polish)We're packed and leaving on a jet plane in the morning for our Eastern Europe adventure. Three countries in 10 days on this whirlwind. We plan to blog (somewhat), but will probably spend less time writing this trip and just stick to posting pictures and captions as we go. Here's our ambitious itinerary:Mon, September 26, 2016 – Depart PDX 10:30 AMSeptember 27, 2016 -- Arrival in PragueSeptember 28, 2016 -- PragueSeptember 29, 2016 -- Bus Trip from Prague to Český KrumlovSeptember 30, 2016 – Prague, Overnight Rail Journey from Prague to BudapestOctober 01, 2016 -- Arrival in BudapestOctober 02, 2016 -- BudapestOctober 03, 2016 – Budapest, Overnight Rail Journey to KrakowOctober 04, 2016 -- Arrival at KrakowOctober 05, 2016 – Krakow, Guide... read more

Geo: 37.1882, -3.60667On this, our last full day in Spain, we were up early to catch a 7:30 AM bus up the hill to the Alhambra.We had an 8:30 AM entry time to the Nazrid Palace (Palacios Nazaries), so we walked down the hill from the main entrance to queue up at the Justice Gate near the entrance to the palace.It was a cool overcast day that turned sunny by mid-morning, a glorious day for a stroll through the last and greatest Moorish palace, village, fort, gardens, and stronghold in Europe.We'll just use our photos to illustrate the splendor and wonder of this place, including the Palacios Nazaries, the Charles V Palace, the Alcazaba (the fort, the original "red castle," Alhambra), the Medina (village), and the Generalife Gardens.After a full morning at the Alhambra, it was ... read more