Hello, Blogette, darling! Instead of just uploading a bunch of pics to FaceBook, I decided that maybe I would blog them all and try to comment on those I can - sadly, as age advances and senility grows ever nearer, sometimes I look at a particular picture or two and think to myself, 'Now where the heck was that?'
Well, let's start with the Czech Republic... to make this blog load faster on some of the relics some people are running all pics will be thumbnails. Click on an image to see it full-sized, 'kay?
Brno
Brno, formerly known as Brünn, is where I live these days. It is the second largest city in the Czech Republic with about 400,000 inhabitants. There are a lot of nice things to see and do here, although in actual fact it cannot hold a candle to Prague in terms of consistent splendor and beauty...
Below: Two abandoned houses I happened across while out and about.
Lest you think everything in the Czech Republic is abandoned, let's take a trip to Mikulov, the former seat of the von Liechtenstein and von Dietrichstein dynasties. Yes, the von Liechtenstein family are the ruling prices of the country by the same name. They used to live and rule from Mikulov, back when it was still known as Nikolsburg. Many cities here had German names and were in fact German (or Austrian), but after World War II, the Czechs booted out all the Germans and de-Germanified the entire country, renaming everything and I do mean everything.
Mikulov
Mikulov is about 35 minutes from Brno (which used to be known as Brünn) and is one of the principal towns in the south Moravian wine region. Tons to see and do there, not just tasting wines...
On to some other wonderful sights on my way to Austria. I have a GPS now and it does take me on some of the bizarrest routes you can imagine. So here are sights from along the way, but the location names of most of them escape me... damn, getting older sucks!
Other Places in the Southern Czech Republic
And now on to Austria. One of my wonderful high school friends, Felicity, lives in Linz. Thanks to FaceBook, we reconnected a while ago after about 35 years and I've been over to see her and her charming family a number of times now at their home in Altenberg bei Linz. Felicity always is good about going to see sights with me, so here are some recent shots of Linz and environs to start with...
Linz and Extended Environs
Some of the names one comes across in Austria are good for a laugh... here are two found in Linz. For real!
Steyr
On my most recent trip to Altenberg, Felicity decided to take me to see Steyr, a wonderful, picturesque old, very Baroque town about an hour South of Linz.
Always concerned I might get bored (why? I never do!) Felicity and her family also took me to a wonderful horse show in Wels, a town near Linz. A couple of pictures for the horse-lovers out there...
What would Austria be without Vienna, its beautiful capital city, about an hour South of Brno? These pictures were taken in December 2010 when my sister Peggy and her half-sister Molly (it's complicated...), were visiting. Some were taken with a mobile phone, so the quality is less than stellar...
Vienna
Not far from Vienna is Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, formerly the other half of Czechoslovakia. The two countries 'divorced' peacefully in 1993. Bratislava is one of my favorite cities in Europe as it reminds me very much of the typical operetta capital...compact, old, beautiful... I always expect to see a King in an open carriage dashing through town, even though Slovakia is a republic.
Bratislava
Well, gentle reader, that about wraps up this installment of the Blog to end all Blogs! See you soon with new and even better sutff, I hope...
TTFN, TheLastBaron, aka What A Pain in the Ass!
Wow this looks amazing .Really great pics
Posted by: swtp07 | June 1, 2011 at 11:21