談山神社

談山神社

11.10.2011

My Autumn trip in Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest

This time I traveled at Prague and Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic and Vienna in Austria and Budapest in Hungary.

The airport in Helsinki   We changed planes here.
  

Cesky Krumlov    The World Heritage Site
The view from the  Cesky Krumlov Castle


many marionettes were sold at the shops


The central square of Cesky Krumlov


Cesky krumlov Castle



Prague
Prague is said that it has 100 towers. Almost  roofs are dark orange that look lovely. Among  orange roofs  many towers,spires,steeples grow to sky and The Prague Castle soars over them. It's gorgeous view. Buildings built in a Gothic style,Baroque style, Art nouveau etc brought down and  the medieval remnant is seen here and there.


The Prague Castle


The City of Prague and the Karluv Bridge


The clock tower --- The two doors open and some kind of figures appear at the fixed time.

Cathedral Vita  It's inside  the wall of the Prague castle.


The St.Vaclav Crown This was used at the coronation ceremony of  Rudolf the Second of the Holy Roman Empire or Maria Theresia etc.  It's decorated by big sapphires or rubies  or pearls etc.

I met works by Mucha for the first time. I was interested in the mood his works have, especially "Princess Hyacinth"
I'm easy to get drunk even light beers but I didn't get drunk here. So I enjoyed them much.
Many shops of bohemian glasses or garnet jewels were observable.
Illumination in the night was a bit dark, I think. It's for energy saving like Japan?


"Princess hyacinth"


We got on a shuttle bus bound for the central station from the airport. There were no customer without us. So I asked to the driver to take us our hotel because the bus was supposed to pass near our hotel and go to the central station. The driver rejected at first but the place he stopped was in front of our hotel.
He was a kind person. But I didn't have proper money for tip, so I handed him all coins I had. But maybe it's small amount. As in Japan we don't have custom of tip, I get confused about the amount of money.
Powder tower



Prague at night



Vienna
When I visited Vienna last summer, it was not opera season. But this time we could enjoyed an opera "La Traviata" at Wiener Staatsoper(Vienna State Opera House), Mozart piano concerto, Mahler at Musikverein( the concert hall) and an opera "La Tosca" at Magyar Allami Operhay( Budapest state opera theater).
Vivid voice of  Natalie Dessay( this is her voice but her voice on that day was better than this) in La Traviata was marvelous coloratura soprano I heard for the first time. It's  superb. It's so wonderful that  even I could understand its goodness.
We stayed Hotel Sacher for two nights. It's famous hotel for the movie " The third man" I heard  and cosy gorgeous ,in addition it is built opposite the Wiener Staatsoper( Vienna State Opera House). So it's convenient to visit   each other   after or before an opera.
Speaking to Sacher, it's famous for Sacher Torte ( chocolate torte),too. There was a struggle for original of chocolate torte  between Sacher and Demel. And the judgment was Sacher's winning. So we visited some cafes to taste tortes including Demel or Sacher. They all were delicious and delicious.

Vienna from  top of the  St.Stephansdom


Wiener Staatsoper



Karlsplatz Station


Musikverein( the concert hall of home of the Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra) The New Year concert by the Wiener Phil is held here.



Inside of the hall.  A lot of beautiful flowers are decorated at the New Year Concert.


 A cafe inside the art museum  The torte here was delicious,too.


The dome celling of the art museum there is a cafe on this celling


I appreciated Klimt's works in Belvedere Palace or other places closely. Many small flowers in the paintings casually fascinated me though much gold were used in his paintings.



Budapest
Budapest is called " a pearl of Danube"
In Budapest, the grand Danube and illuminations of the Royal Palace or the Diet Building standing both side of Danube river and the Chain Bridge between both banks are highlight. So we booked a hotel room of Danube view.

Matyas temple in the morning

Budapest  and the Danube

The central market

The royal Palace lit up


The chain bridge over the tram station


The chain bridge from a night cruise


There were abundant farm products in the Central Market. Cans of foie gras were sold with reasonable price,too. Hungary gets publicity foie gras next to France. We were glad that the exchange rate is 10 Ft(hungary forint)=4 yen
So a cuisine of real foie gras, not pate is about 2000 yen or Herend-made chinas were about half price of Japans'.

 The foie gras sandwiched by baked  apples. The garnish is also potato.


The Diet Building


Many trams run in these three cities and as we got free pass ticket, it was very convenient . Why don't we Nara city take this system?

I was surprised to the coldness of three countries. It has  already fallen till 5 degrees Celsius( it's between 15 and 24 degrees in Japan).  I couldn't  do anything  without my down coat.

Dear friends,
 After travel, my computer broke but only just I could post this. Thank you for reading.

19 件のコメント:

Arti さんのコメント...

Welcome back Sarah:)
Such a beautiful post to start things off again. The castles, towers, shops are so colorful. The night shots are taken exquisitely, very pretty. The brightly lit palace in Budapest looks glorious. All pics are pretty.
Even here in Mumbai, the temperature is around 20-25 degrees in winter...
Have a fabulous week ahead Sarah:)

cosmos さんのコメント...

Since I've never been to any Europian countries, I looked at each picture with wonder and admiration. Especially lit-up views of Royal Palace and the Diet building dazzle me. What is Powder Tower, by the way?
The Crown embedded with jewels, fancy works of artists, genuine operas..all must be remembered as precious memories of yours.
Thank you for sharing,Sarah.

haricot さんのコメント...

So many beautiful images! I like the contrast between Cesky krumlov Castle in daylight and at dusk.
The dish looks delicious. I want to know how the difference look of Sacher Torte, though I can't compare the taste.

Tania さんのコメント...

Welcome back!:-)
What a great trip and so much to see. Your picture is wonderful and makes me wish to go this places.
That Diet Building must be a favorite to photograph in the evening.
I am glad your computer is ok again:-) and not freezing in Japan.
It is about 7 degrees here, but we have good clothes:-)
Hugs from north

Tomoko さんのコメント...

Hi,Sarah.
おはようございます!
ヨーロッパの国々に3度ほど行きましたけど。日本とは全く違う町並みや文化は魅力的で洗練されいて素晴らしいです。何度も行ってみたくなりますね。でも最近は体力がなくて長旅する自信がありません。沢山の写真みせて下さってありがとう。Matyas temple が一番好きです。歴史はもっと古いと思いますが、スペインの古都トレドを思い出しました。水の上にぽっかりと古い教会と町が浮かんでいました。

Wendy さんのコメント...

What magnificent pictures!!!! You must have had a wonderful trip. I'm glad your computer is working now.
Welcome home!

stardust さんのコメント...

Hi, Sarah! First of all, I got enchanted by the second photo - it’s like one page of a fairy tale book. Among all the lovely places, I’m attracted by Cesky Krumlov and Praque best. A pretty tower with its spires, the imposing castle, and the red roofs of the houses are creating a wondrous landscape. Thank you for sharing your precious experience.

snowwhite さんのコメント...

Sarah,
Welcome back! What gorgeous tour you made!! I am very pleased with harmonious colors of the towns. Each house has each characteristics, but totally they stand perfectly in harmony. Especially I like the view from the Cesky Krumlov Castle. I always enjoy your blog of the tours. Thanks a lot for taking me to these lovely ones.

今、この一瞬を さんのコメント...

sarahさん こんにちわ

今にも妖精が、現れて来そうな街の風景です。
夜景は一層、その美しさを際立たせているようです。

Forest Dream Weaver さんのコメント...

Hello Sarah!
What an interesting trip you've had.
So many lovely and informative photos,and text. I'll come back to view again.....I love the Helsinki airport image,there's something quite surreal about it!
Thanks for sharing.
Best wishes,
Ruby

sarah さんのコメント...

To Arti,
Yes, these cities are pretty. There are many nice points to take pictures. The 20 to 25 degree is comfortable. Thank you for comment!

To Cosmos,
The scean of lit up was breathtaking. Our hotel room was Danube view so we can see it from the room,too. Speaking to Powder tower, it was used to store gunpowder. Thank you for comment!

To Haricot,
The appearance of two is almost same. Demel's has a triangle chocolate bar on the chocolate coating and Sacher's has a round choco bar on it. Apricot jum is sandwitched in different place inside cakes.
The branch of Demel are at the departments in Osaka but I don't know if they have Sachertorte.

To Spiderdama,
I didn't know it's such cold in Europe in October. When I saw the color of sky at the airport of Finland I thought it's different from japan. I think Norwegian sky resemble to Finland.

To Redrose,
To tell the truth, I took that picture that you like with a compact camera. There is nothing much difference between pictures by a single-lens reflex and by a compact camera.

sarah さんのコメント...

To Wendy,
Yes, I had a wonderful experience. But I had a little bit cold. Thank you for comment.

To Stardust,
For lovely view, Prague and Cesky Krumlov may be the best. For me,the experience in vienna is the best. La Traviata and hotel Sacher.
Thank you for comment.

To Snowwhite,
The view of Cesky Krumlov is very lovely. All sceans look like picture postcard. It's small town but World Heritage Site. Thank you for comment.

To 今、この一瞬を
中央ヨーロッパの町は中世の建物がのこり、脈々と伝えられてきた文化に圧倒されます。
コメント有難うございました。

To Forest Dream Weaver,
Yes,I've never seen such blue color of sky and trees surround the air port. I saw many yellow colored leaves among a plenty of lakes around Helsinki from the plane. Very beautiful.

Ramakrishnan さんのコメント...

Hi I visited by surfing. What a fantastic series of photographs on Czech Republic & Austria/Hungary. These places are awesome and amazingly beautiful.The castles,marionettes, clock tower,cathedral & Vaclav crown, and pictures of Prague by night, Wiener Staatsoper,Karlsplatz Station, Musikverein,The royal Palace lit up,The chain bridge are all so magnificent.Must have been a wonderful trip. I am so happy to read your post and see the wonderful pictures. Have a great weekend.

sarah さんのコメント...

To R.Ramakrishnan,
I am glad to know that you became happy to read this blog.
Thank you for nice comment.

Ramakrishnan さんのコメント...

And I forgot to mention. The illuminated Diet Building is the best shot - was this magnificent monument an erstwhile Palace of former Royalty ?

Arti さんのコメント...

Hi Sarah,
Yes your pics tell and show of the beauty. The castles are magnificient and the night shots are extremely compelling...
Loved it.
Have a fabulous week ahead sarah:)

sarah さんのコメント...

To Arti,
Thank you for a nice comment again.
I like those night shots. They were taken from a ship.

PETRO50 さんのコメント...

Also I wish you a happy and a happy new year 2012. Thank you for the nice comments and congratulations on the new year. Notable sights in our country. I could not visit them all. I admire your traditions, your photos. Sincerely, Peter.

Admin さんのコメント...

you seems to have a great time in your travel..that is great..

me and my blogs are happy to follow your blog..feel free to follow mine..thanks..

See The World
Travel Euroasia
Europe Travel Pad
Countryside Trip
Travel Snapshots