October 21, 2009

europe in pictures (ok, and a few words)

hello, my lovelies! alyssa and i are back from europe - and actually have been since saturday, whoops - but i've been lounging around in a post-travel haze for the past week. between recovering from the trip and recovering from pbandtuna, there's been a lot of recovering to do. at least i didn't catch the pbandtuna plague. (SO FAR.)

i always do this when i get back from trips: i want to put off posting until i've compiled all my photos, except that always takes me about 38475 years, because i want to edit the photos, sort the photos, caption the photos... and next thing i know, it's 6 months later, and i never posted about the trip. so while i'm sure no one really wants an in-depth recap of what i've been up to, i'll just post a few dozen photos to give a glimpse of how awesome this trip was...

we started in Prague, which i immediately fell in love with.

it was my birthday, which meant this super-complicated astrological clock they're famous for over there was showing info specifically for me - my zodiac sign, saint day, etc. :-)

we had a lovely dinner at Allegro that night - the only Michelin starred restaurant in Eastern Europe! - and when the waiter found out it was my birthday, he brought this out:

..which says "Happy Birthday" in Czech in chocolate around the edge :-)

we saw.. well, a lot, in Prague. the Castle Quarter,

the Jewish Quarter,

the Market..

..and.. well.. a ton more.

[all the pictures from prague are here.]

next was Český Krumlov, which was just adorable. unfortunately, it was overcast for most of the day, but it pretty much looks like a fake town from a fairy tale.

[Český Krumlov photos here.]

and then! Budapest! so awesome, aside from the weather forecast of 55ish, vs. the ACTUAL weather of "42F, but feels like 34F, overcast, with 40mph wind gusts," which made things a little.. numb. still full of gorgeousness, though.

St. Istvan's Basilica:

the Chain Bridge:

the Great Synagogue:

goulash!! very important, when it's that effing cold outside:

and the fun Memento Park, where they've relocated a bunch of huge Communist statues that used to grace downtown Budapest, which are now fun to pose with:

the best part of Budapest, though, was the baths. oh man. after chattering and shivering around the city for 10 hours, slipping into basically an enormous hot tub for the evening? DIVINE. not my photo, but this is what it looks like there:

ahhhhhh. i highly recommend installing some hot springs in your home town.

[Budapest photos: here.]

and finally: Dubrovnik, OH MY GOD. what a phenominal place to finish off the trip.

this is the door to our hotel. note the street, which is made up entirely of stairs.

[um, still working on this photo set. stand by.]

it was an amazing trip. i recommend starting an eastern europe fund for yourselves asap.

30 comments:

  1. Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man! Plum Brandy! The weird dungeon bar! Oh, I am so happy you made it to Cesky Krumlov! Oh, I miss it.

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  2. Your photos are AMAZING! I am now adding ALL of those places to my must see list! I love how fairy tale-ish most of Europre looks! It's so enchanting! I wonder if it loses its charm to the people living there. Maybe they never think its special. Oh, the horror! :)

    I can't wait to hear more details about the trip!

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  3. Wow, so jealous! We had every intent of going to Europe this year for our 1-year anniversary/delayed honeymoon. Then my husband had to have gallbladder surgery and Europe went out the window. Next year for sure, and I've added these places to the list!

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  4. I am so filled with envy I can barely type. Also? You look fabulous!!! Can I come over and you can bore me for six hours straight with your pictures and tales? I am GREEN over here. Sigh.

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  5. Does my fund include you as a tour guide? I'm thinking YES!

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  6. I miss goulash! I lived in Europe for 7 years, and sadly, I didn't appreciate it when trying to live day to day. Now, as kilax says, I am horrified!

    Glad you are back. Gladder you had such fun!!

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  7. My browser hates me and the only picture it will allow me to view is the one of the hot springs. Gorgeous picture nevertheless.

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  8. Those are incredible photos! I'm jealous!

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  9. your trip looks and sounds so amazing! i know next to nothing about cesky and budapest, but Prague? I LOVE! Everything is so cheap there well I went back in 2003 when i studied abroad, maybe they are on the Euro now? It was such a beautiful city, but i spend way too much time at the 5 story dance club on the river. with absinthe.

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  10. Beautiful pictures! I almost took a bite out of my screen when I saw those berries.

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  11. Looks like you had an awesome time! So jealous!

    My friends just went to Dubrovnik and they LOVED it!

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  12. Looks like you had a fantastically gorgeous trip. I'm very jealous indeed. Hope the recovering from all your fun goes well.

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  13. OK, so I'm quite jealous but at least there are no pictures of Ireland here so I don't have to slit my wrists or anything.

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  14. Your photos are lovely! Eastern Europe is definitely on my list of places I'd like to visit.

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  15. Oh! So lovely! I love Prague, and your photos remind me why. I remember that clock! I can picture exactly where it is in the city and what everything around it looks like! Must go back!

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  16. Gorgeous! Looks like an awesome trip!

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  17. Holy cow! That looks amazing! I can't wait to go!

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  18. Would you believe I haven;t been to Croatia or Prague? I am so jealous and these photos are SO amazing! Really well done. ACE.

    PS Tonya Harding? Best costume idea EVER!!!!

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  19. Awww. It looks amazing, hon. Glad you had such a great bday trip!!!

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  20. Looks like an awesome trip Alice! What a great way to spend your b-day. I totally need to get your itinerary so that I can follow it some day!!

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  21. Dude! My moms pics were nothing like this (she's been, I haven't). I can't wait until I've got time to go ogle your flickr pics.

    And my wv is "prosti"...

    PROST!

    [taking a little break until the craziest week(s) are over]

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  22. Ok, pretty much like everyone else, I am green with envy. You suck (which really means you're awesome and I want to be you.)

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  23. amazing amazing amazing - excellent photos!! what a great time it looks like you two had.

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  24. Looks like an absolutely glorious trip! Happy belated birthday! My mother, who is Hungarian/Czech, has not taught me how to say "Happy Birthday" in either language (to be fair, I never asked) but I do know how to say "Stick your finger down your throat" in Czech. I am not making this up. So... you know.. that comes in handy.

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  25. Amazing photos! Looks like you had an awesome time! Those strawberries look tasty! Can't believe the chocolate around them.

    xoxo
    J

    www.talkprettytome.blogspot.com

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