iPostcards from Budapest, Hungary

We arrived in Budapest at night. It was beautiful! All the monuments and landmarks were nicely lit. We are all impressed as we entered the city on our way to our hotel. Budapest is the "Pearl on the Danube River" and the capital of Hungary.
The next day we visited the historic Castle District, the Parliamentm, and drove via
Andrassy Avenue and saw famous Hero´s Square. WE ate and shopped at the pedestrian zone at Vaci ut which was near our hotel, Zara Hotel.











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iPostcards from Budapest, Hungary


iReport from Budapest, Hungary

iPostcards from Eger, Hungary

in the afternoon we proceeded to have lunch at Eger, one of the most wonderful baroque towns in Hungary. There we met our guide for Eger and Budapest. She took us around town and Eger Castle.

view of Eger from Eger Castle

sample of Hungarian English
as seen on a restroom sign
LOL

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iPostcards from Eger, Hungary


iReport from Eger, Hungary

iPostcards from Miskolc-Tapolca, Hungary

We spent the night in Miskolc-Tapolca, which was our fist stop in Hungary. I wanted us to have a break from all the touring and just relax. The next day we went to Barlang-fürdő, the curative effect of the special microclimate of the cave was proven long ago, the constant 14-16 C temperature, the nearly 100% relative humidity and the extremely clear air free of pollens and dust provide total relief for those suffering from allergy, asthma and other respiratory disorders.

a sample of Hungarian English
as seen on a sign at a thermal bath
(Their way of indicating that it is "Out of Order"/"Not Working")
LOL

Since I figured that it would be quite a long drive from the border of Slovakia-Hungary to Budapest, I figured that it would be a good idea for my group to make a pit stop/take a respite at Miskolc-Tapolca and relax at the thermal baths.

Face removed to protect myself from any future blackmail...LOL

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iPostcards from Miskolc-Tapolca, Hungary


iReport from Miskolc, Hungary


iReport from Miskolc-Tapolca, Hungary

iPostcards from Vyšný Medzev, Slovakia

During our breakfast in Smokovec, we checked a map to see if our itinerary was in the right order. We were schedule to make a pit stop in the village Medzev in Slovenske Rudohorie, Slovakia, to trace our friend, Tom's family origins, then drive to the capital, Bratislava and then backtrack to our next stop in Hungary. We all deemed, including our driver, that this was going to be a waste of time and gas. So I had our tour operator make another change and find us a hotel at the next stop in Hungary instead of Bratislava and move our hotel in Bratislava two nights later.


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iPostcards from Vyšný Medzev, Slovakia


iReport from Vyšný Medzev, Slovakia

iPostcards from Starý Smokovec, Slovakia

We continued to Starý Smokovec, Slovakia´s High Tatra area. We spent the night at the Grand Hotel. ...


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iPostcards from Starý Smokovec


iReport from Starý Smokovec, Slovakia

iPostcards from Zapokane, Poland

Our last stop in Poland was Zapokane, the most famous mountain resort in Poland and the winter sports capital. We walked the Krupówki streets to reach the large stone Neo-Romanesque parish church and a much smaller old parish church - a rustic wooden construction dating from 1847 with its charming folk decorations inside. We continued to Villa Koliba, the first of Witkiewicz’s designs in the ”Zakopane style” and further to Villa Atma, once the home of the famous Polish composer Karol Szymanowski. We then took a funicular to Gubałówka Hill to admire the excellent panorama of the Tatra Mountains.


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iPostcards from Zapokane, Poland


iReport from Zapokane, Poland

iPostcards from Auschwitz-Birkenau

We were supposed to have a day trip to salt mine of Wieliczka, one the oldest mines in Europe with three kilometres of corridors, the Chapel of St. King and the Crystal Grottos. But when I discovered that we had this unique opportunity to see Auschwitz...


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iPostcards from Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland


iReport from Auschwitz I


iReport from Auschwitz II-Birkenau

iPostcards from Kraków, Poland

It was already nightfall, by the time we arrived in Kraków, a historical town and the former capital of Poland with a thousand-year-long tradition as a center of science, culture and art. We stayed at the Ostoya Palace, an old-fashioned hotel in historical centre. There we rendezvoused with our friend, Bob, who was joining us from his covert CIA operation to monitor the Ukraine elections in Kiev in behalf of the government of Big Brother.
The next day we visited the Main Market Square (one of the largest town squares in Medieval Europe), walked through the Florianska streets leading to the famous Florian Gate and the Barbican (remains of the former city fortifications), visited the Wawel Castle (the royal residence and the seat of Polish kings) and saw the interiors of St. Mary´s Church.


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iPostcards from Kraków, Poland


iReport from Old Town Square, Kraków


iReport from Wawel Hill

IPostcards from Olomouc, Czech Republic

After Kutna Hora, our next and last stop in Czech Republic, before proceeding to Poland, was Olomouc. It is the Baroque Metropolis of Moravia, a former royal town and the capital of Moravia till 1641, the seat of the Bishops of Moravia.
We arrived later than scheduled, so as soon as we met our tour guide (a 80-year old lady professor of history, who had more energy than all of us men combined), she hurriedly showed us all around the historical center, like a school teacher pulling a train of her young students out of the zoo before it closes ... LOL.

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iPostcards from Olomouc, Czech Republic


iReport from Olomouc, Czech Republic

iPostcards from Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

After an early breakfast it was time to leave Prague to go to our next stop, Kutna Hora, the royal mining town and a gem of Gothic architecture. It was called the "Silver Treasure House of the Kingdom" in the Middle Ages. We visited the magnificant St. Barbara Cathedral and famous ossuary in Kutna Hora-Sedlec.

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iPostcards from Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

iReport from Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

iPostcards from Prague, Czech Republic - Part I

Yehey we're finally in Eastern Europe! Our point of entry and exit is Prague, an ancient European city renowned for its beauty and unique wealth of historical sights, the capital of the Czech Republic.
We did a walking tour of the Old Town of Prague, visited the Old Town Square with
famous astronomical clock, continued through famous Paris Street and cross historical Charles Bridge. The next day we did a half-day sightseeing tour othe New and Old Town of Prague, saw the National Museum, the State Opera House and visited the Prague Castle area with famous St.Vitus Cathedral, picturesque Golden Lane and Gothic Vladislav Hall.
We also visited the Black Theatre Metro to watch a interesting and unique audio-visual show using black light. It was very entertaining.


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iPostcards from Prague, Czech Republic

view of the Charles Bridge

Old Town Square

Schwarzenbersky Palac,
Prague Castle complex

St. Vitus Cathedral

Leonard, Bill, Ian, and Tom in front of
The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn,
Old Town Square - by night

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn,
Old Town Square - by day

Old Town Hall Tower, Old Town Square - by day

The Astronomical Clock on the Old Town Hall Tower,
Old Town Square - by day

Powder Tower - by day

National Museum @ Wenceslas Square - by day

National Museum @ Wenceslas Square

iPostcards from Washington & Oregon

We're back!
Had a fabulous time!
Please click on the following destinations to be directed to the specific posting:

Seatlle, WA
Portland, OR
Cannon Beach, OR

iPostcards from Seattle, WA

Seattle as a place to visit was exciting for me,

since some of my high school buddies

and some of Bill's relatives live in the area.

But as far as considering Seattle as a place to live,

I felt unsure about leaving sunny Los Angeles for the rain.

But I went in with an open mind.

Since we went in August,

we were blessed with beautiful sunny days

and clear skies during our visit.

in front of our hotel, Seattle's premier boutique hotel,

Inn at the Market and the Pike Place Market

My friend, Troy, the DSM, was nice enough to have us stay for free.

in front of Seattle's world-famous public market

at the foot of Pike Street

by Seattle's Space Needle

in front of the original/first Starbucks location/store

on the ferry leaving Seattle ...

for Bainbridge Island to look at homes with ...

a view of Seattle's skyline

or have Bill's cousin, Jeff, custom-build a house for us

or get a condo with ...

a view of the Space Needle, Queen Anne, and Elliott Bay

or a townhouse in Queen Anne with
a view of Seattle's skyline

... and a view of Elliott Bay and marina

or view of Mt. Rainier

As for the real estate market,
we did learn that Seattle is at the top of
most overpriced cities in the U.S.
My high school buddies inadvertently
helped me in making up my mind,
when they asked me
if I was ready to wear flannel on a regular basis ... LOL

iPostcards from Portland, OR

Now that Bill and I work remotely from home, he, for quite sometime now, has been itching for us to explore the possibility of living somewhere else outside California. Since I wanted to travel for my birthday, we decided to go visit friends & family in Portland, Oregon & Seattle, Washington and check out the real estate market in both cities. We met with some realtors and checked out several properties:

... condos with river/marina views,

houses with city/downtown/mountain views,

properties with a view of Mount Hood,

townhouses by the river, etc.

having dinner with our friends David & Denise

iPostcards from Cannon Beach, OR

We spent my birthday on a road trip

from Portland, OR to the beautiful Oregon Coast:

with John Dale, Bill's nephew, in Cannon Beach, OR

picturesque Cannon Beach, OR

view from some of the homes

at Manzanita Beach, OR

view of Mount Hood from Portland, OR

iPostcards from New York, NY - Spring 2007

view of Manhattan from the plane

at my eldest sister's apartment in Murray Hill,

which has a magnificent view of ...

the Empire State Building

My company flew me in for our annual sales meeting.

We had a very successful meeting and fun party

held at the Marquee New York.

Here I am in front of our head quarters in NYC
and in front of the head quarters building

of my main account, Alliance Bernstein.

You may have seen this building falling apart

in the movie, Spider-Man 3.

We got to see the following Broadway musicals:
The Drowsy Chaperone at the Marquis Theater and

The Color Purple, the Musical, at the Broadway Theater,
starring American Idol, Fantasia.

at Central Park