The Streets of Melk, Lower Austria, Austria

Eiskaffee on a hot day!

Melk Garden, Melk, Austria

Melk Abbey Benedictine Monastery, Melk, Austria

The Melk Abbey sits on some sort of a hill above the town of Melk.  It is a world-famous monastic site housing an extensive manuscript collection.

The library

Conch-like staircase

New Tools of the Trade, Diana F+

Thanks, Ariane, for my new camera!

Venezia, Italia

The pastel walls in contrast with the wind-swept sky in the summer; the cruise ships and yachts lining up at the docks; the buildings adorned with artworks of paint, glass or metal-- these things make Venice easy to fall in love with. But what I appreciated most was the smell of the sea, waking up to a sun rising from behind the clouds over a hazy horizon, and knowing this: though man can make beautiful works of art, God's handiwork in nature remains unmatched.

Supper in the Sky, Donauturm, Vienna, Austria

Donauturm, also known as the Danube Tower, is the tallest structure in Austria.  Two high-speed elevators transport visitors to the observation deck where there is a revolving restaurant and a cafe.  The elevator ride takes only a little over 30 seconds from the ground to the viewing deck.

I got a ticket to ride...

Beef gulasch for supper.

Yup, we were there until after the sunset.

Walking Around, Karlsplatz, Vienna, Austria

A Wiener Eiskaffee (Viennese iced coffee) to start the day!

Karlskirche (St. Charles' Church), a baroque structure famous for its elongated ellipsoid dome and bas-relief columns.  This design is the result of an architectural competition sponsored by Roman emperor Charles VI.

Karlskirche from afar.  If you will notice, the columns look something like Trajan's column in Rome because they were really modeled after it.

Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library)

Coffee in all its Greeky Goodness - Donauinsel, Vienna, Austria

Authentic Greek coffee, you boggle me.

When you arrived, I didn't even notice you.

Just the container you were in.

I thought to myself, "niiice.. next time i'll try this with ice." (yeah, I rhyme in my head because I'm cool like that)

And when I remembered I had you to drink, I was caught in befuddlement on how to begin.

Do I pour sugar on you or are you already sweet?

Do I stir you with something? Do I mix you with milk?

Alas, a friend by my side, who didn't really like coffee, told me I had to pour you into the accompanying cup.

So I started rush you to your new home

Like a very dark brown mini waterfall

In chocolatey thickness the bittersweet aroma escaped.

I knew right there I was in for a treat

After draining and stirring, lift you up to my lip.

Then I took a sip.

O.o LASANG LUPA.

Sensational Transylvania - Budapest, Hungary

Chain Bridge

The House of Parliament

As a child, I liked reading about vampires. Not the sparkly, full-of-hair-putty types. The black and red Batman's distant relative types. Say, Dracula. Or Louis de Pointe du Lac. Or Lestat.

I would have picked up a replica of the handwritten notes of Bram Stoker's Dracula if I could understand what was written in it. Two days after, I'm still thinking about the labyrinth, the castles, the possibility of vampires becoming real.

The 'real' Dracula was born somewhere in Romania. But it was called Transylvania then, and Hungary was a part of it.

24-hour travel card for trains and buses.  Very cheap for unlimited rides. (~U$7)

The steel balls on the wall of the Agriculture Building marking the "gunshots" fired by Soviet snipers at kids during the revolution in 1956.

Metal shoes on the embankment of the Danube River that commemorates the Hungarian Jewish victims.

A lion's head at the end of the Chain Bridge.  This is the first bridge built in Budapest.

We were there in time for the Foie Gras festival.  That rolled bread is a traditional Transylvanian pastry.

The fountain of Mathias.  This fountain drips with wine instead of water.  

St. Stephen's Cathedral right on the next street from our lodging.  It has a beautiful exterior....

...and the interior is equally stunning!

The Millenium Monument

Statue of Anonymous.