Saturday, August 5, 2017

SU17: Germany/Budapest/CZ



Hey I have an admission to make. I've been terrible about posting for the last year plus. And you know what, that ain't gonna change. I won't list off a bunch of excuses for that. I just wanted to acknowledge it, for my sake mostly. To be honest I sometimes wonder about the point of this blog. I suppose it is basically an outlet for the photos I take on my way to make other photos. And a way of sharing personal experiences that I think are photo worthy. You are probably thinking, dude, that's what Instagram is. Yeah, I know. But I'm old (fashioned) and I like cameras with lenses better than cameras that make phone calls. And I'm also not doing this for likes. In fact, I don't even know that you are reading this right now.

Anyway, I did a TON of travel this summer and I have some pictures to share with you, whoever you are. This post will focus on Europe and then maybe I'll do another on US travels. Or maybe I'll go see the Tiger's play the O's tomorrow instead. We'll see. 

Let's start with Kassel, Germany!












Translation: looking for snow


Alexanderplatz, Berlin

Now on to Budapest. Such a cool city. I haven't been there in 16 years so I was excited to go back. Of course I was on a mission and those photos will come later. That country has done a great job of dealing with what was clearly a very traumatic point in their history, the failed 1956 revolution. The signs of it are everywhere around you. I spent a lot of time looking up, mostly at bullet holes.


A great example of socialist realism




The facade of the House of Terror is lined with pictures of the people who died in the building when it was used by the Arrow Cross Party, and later the AVH.



After going to the House of Terror I kept feeling like I was being watched



Memorial to the 1956 revolution




 The Danube






On to what I guess is now being called Czechia. I really wished they had checked with me about that before doing it but whatever. First stop is the oddly beautiful town of Olomouc.


Socialist realism in the train station 

I was stumbling upon these in Hungary as well. It turns out each gold cobblestone is for a Jew that was removed from the building where they are placed. These people were all sent to Terezin in 1942.





The astronomical clock in the town square was given a communist make over at some point 


And now for a four family, kids galore, one week excursion to a mountain cottage in the Jeseniky Mountain region, not far from the Polish border. It rained every damn day, but the up side is we saw a lot of rainbows!







Exploring castels









Picking raspberries






 Commy TV tower



Got to see a rainbow from the top of a mountain. That was a first for me. 



Guess, what! Me and this beautiful lady have been married 15 years! And so to celebrate we dropped the kids with grandma and went on a little road trip in southern Moravia, known as the wine region of CZ. It was a beautiful trip on tiny roads with more than one tractor encounter and sunshine the whole time. And a LOT of castles! 

First stop, Mikulov, CZ












Valtice, CZ












A refurbished Trabant!

Znojmo, CZ






A Jewish cemetery in Telc, CZ




Stolen images












A sunset in Telc seems like a good place to leave it. It looks like a Rorschach test doesn't it?