Mike Kraus: danube river

Showing posts with label danube river. Show all posts

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Danube Reflection - The Wachau Valley

WELCOME TO THE WACHAU VALLEY! A region known for its high-quality wines and delightful villages.

Dürnstein was founded in 1019 AD as "Tirnstein," which means "dry stone."

Dürnstein is a village of 800+ people living on one street between the castle and the river.

Dürnstein is famous for its wine and the place of imprisonment of King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart). Apparently, King Richard went to Acre in the Crusades. While there, he took down Leopold V, Duke of Austria's flag and stepped on it. Obviously, this offended Leopold. So, when Richard was returning from the Holy Lands he had to make a detour through Vienna on his way back to England. Knowing he upset Leopold, he dressed as a common soldier while in the city. But, he was recognized in a bar because he wore a fancy ring. Richard was arrested and shipped down to Dürnstein Castle for his imprisonment. Of course, he was held for a King's Ransom (about 100,000 pounds of silver).

Interesting mural in a pediment.

Stift Dürnstein (Abbey Church of Durnstein) - Constructed in 1410, this was a monastery for monks until 1788. Emperor Joseph II required monasteries to provide schools in exchange for the privilege of having these institutions. The monks refused, were kicked out, and part of it is a school today for 18 local students.

How's this for a grand entrance?

Another grand entrance with the tower in the background.

The Baroque Alter inside the church.

Sankt Quirin (?) Church, which we passed on our bike ride to Krems and back.

Vineyard grapes working hard to become Riesling or Grüner Veltliner wines.

The Wachau Valley has the perfect micro-climate for making dry wines.

Dick biking by one of the many fine wineries.

Vineyards and churches everywhere!

ACHTUNG KINDER!
1) What kind of mischief is this kid up to?
2) Who did a caricature of me as a kid and turned it into a sign?

Wine Tasting in Weissenkirchen

Inez and Marianne with their big glasses of wine.

More vacation blog posts at:
Vienna, Austria - http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/10/danube-reflection-vienna-austria.html

Bratislava, Slovakia - http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/10/danube-reflection-bratislava-
slovakia.html

Grein, Austria - http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/10/danube-reflection-grein-austria.html

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic/Linz, Austria -
http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/10/danube-reflection-cesky-krumlov-czech.html

Passau, Germany - http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/10/danube-reflection-passau-germany.html

Regenburg, Germany - http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/10/danube-reflection-regensburg-germany.html

Prague, Czech Republic - http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/10/danube-reflection-prague-czech-republic.html

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Danube Reflection - Bratislava, Slovakia

WELCOME TO BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA! The capital of Slovakia on the Danube River.

Slovenská filharmónia (Slovakia Philharmonic) Building. The European Union (EU) just wrapped up a summit here right before we arrived. That's why there's all the barriers.

Slovenské národné divadlo (Slovak National Theatre) - Constructed in 1885-86 for the opera and ballet.

View from Hviezdoslav Square

Morový stĺp (Holy Trinity Column) - You guessed it, the Plague came here too and a lot of people died. So, this is a "thank you" from those that survived.

Pavol Hviezdoslavovo overlooking Hviezdoslavovo námestie (Square) - He was a poet and a member of the Czechoslovakian Parliament.

Katedrála svätého Martina (St. Martin's Cathedral) - This was the coronation church for Hungary from the 1500s-1800s.

View down Panská Street

Lekáreň u Salvátora (Pharmacy Salvator) - Constructed in 1904 and a great example of Neo-Renaissance architecture.

View of Michalska brana (Michael's Gate) looking down Michalska Street. Built sometime around 1300 and it's the last surviving gate from that fortification.

Romantic little street leading up to the castle

Hlavné námestie (Main Square) looking toward Old Town Hall

Rolandova fontána or Maximiliánova fontána (Roland Fountain or Maximilian Fountain) was built in 1572 as a public water supply.

Inside the courtyard of Stará radnica (Old Town Hall)

Marianne with the Pig Knighty of Bratislava

View overlooking the Danube from the Castle. To the left, you'll see the Nový most (New Bridge) that appears to have a UFO on it. Appropriately enough, it house's a restaurant called UFO.

Bratislavský hrad (Bratislava Castle: previously Pressburg Castle) was constructed in the 9th century

View of the Danube River from Bratislava Castle's fortification wall.

Megan and I

Dick, Megan, and I

Old Town Bratislava from Bratislava Castle

"Oh, Bratislava is so beautiful!"

Wandering the lanes of Bratislava

Large section of the old city walls that was built in the 1200s

Glass flower sculpture in pediment of building on Gorkého street.

The most famous man in Bratislava: Cumil the Sewer Worker.

Megan finally found a bagel to fulfill her hunger at Bagel and Coffee Story

Kostol trinitárov (Trinity Church) - We peeked in just long enough to take this shot. The original church on this site was destroy in the Ottoman War in 1529. This church was it's replacement starting in 1717-27. Everything above the round windows is flat and painted (trompe-l'œil fresco)

Disko cookies and Erdinger Dunkel Beer for people watching in the main square. When we travel, Megan and I like to get some snacks and hang out in a public gathering place. It's pretty entertaining and we meet some interesting people.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Danube Reflection - Vienna, Austria

HELLO EUROPE! Megan and I went took a river cruise that started in Vienna, Austria recently. So, you'll see a few blogs coming up about all the places we saw. Enjoy.

Megan loves duty free shopping at Toronto Pearson International Airport

Look at this enormous Airbus A380. It's so big as a double-decker plane that it needs two sky ramps. Makes me want to fly Emirates Airlines just to see what it's like to ride in one.

This is our home for the next few days at the Grand Hotel Wien

St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom). Construction started in 1137 and completed in 1160. This tower itself took 65 years to build.

This tower was suppose to look like the other tower. But, it was very expensive and Gothic architecture was falling out of favor. So, they just capped it off instead.

Capistran Chancel

Stephansplaz

Capistran Chancel

230,000+ tiles were used on the roof. This portion of the roof was rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire after bombing in World War II.

A view of Stephansplatz city square and the Graben pedestrian only shopping district

St Peter's Church (Peterskirche) was erected to thank god for letting a few people live through the plague. I guess that happens when a third of the population dies (about 76,000 people).

A sunny afternoon of wonderful architecture.

Hofburg Palace at the end of the Kohlmarkt. This is the street you visit to see all the material objects you cannot afford.

Hofburg Palace was home to the Habsburg monarchs, who used it as their winter residence. Today, a portion is used as the residence and executive offices of the Austrian president.

The four sculptures at the base are Hurcules facing his great challenges, which Emperor Franz Josef seemed to have some empathy.

Roman ruins in the center of Michaelerplatz

More Roman ruins

Panorama of Michaelerplatz.

Rotunda of Hofburg Palace

In der Burg of Hofburg Palace.

Sculpture of Habsburg Emperor Franz II

Gateway over former moat to the Swiss Court (Schweizerhof).

The New Palace (Neue Burg) was another residence for the Habsburgs. There was suppose to be a matching structure, but it wasn't build because Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This started World War I and ended the Habsburg Dynasty.

Today, this palace is a museum full of a wide range of items.

The Austrian Parliament Building on the Ringstrasße (Ring Road).

The Volksgarten in the center of Vienna. This is the rose garden that features over 13,000 varieties of roses.

A random church we came across.

Interior of random church

Backdoor of the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek).

Bitzinger Wurstelstand. There is always a line a block long to get sausage and beer here. And the rabbit on top is to celebrate Albrecht Dürer's Young Hare watercolor at the Albertina Museum.

The world famous Vienna State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper). Since 1869, if you played classical music or sang opera here, you knew you made it.

The Albertina Museum with the contemporary "diving board" additions. According to our guide "We Viennese hate it. But, we hate everything new. In 3-400 years, we may start to tolerate it."