Prague Sept 2008

Jason and I traveled to Eastern Europe for the first time last weekend as we visited Prague in the Czech Republic. We dined on Friday evening in a stone cellar that was built in the 12th century, then tested out the "club scene". Saturday we stumbled upon an Adidas 5k and 10k international road race and could bear to just sit and watch so we both signed up and took part. In my opinion, its tough to beat seeing the city by running through the streets at sunset. Lucky for me the women only had to run 5k, unlucky for Jason, the men's race was a 10k. We both ran well and really enjoyed seeing the city and running with such elite athletes. Dinner was in a great restaurant in the main square where a live jazz band was playing next to our table. Sunday we spent the day touring the Prague castle, the old city, the Charles Bridge and getting lost in the winding streets around the main square. We ate at a delightful Italian joint, i promise we had Czech food and drink at lunch, and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the city. I would put Prague towards the top of the list of favorite European capital cities and would definitely repeat the visit if i ever got the chance.

Prague Castle on the hill

JR and CJ on the Charles Bridge

CJ and the "old city" of Prague

Inside the Prague Cathedral

Astronomical Clock

CJ in the 12th century restaurant

Jason in the cellar restaurant

Jason getting ready for the race

Prague

Jason and I traveled to Eastern Europe for the first time last weekend as we visited Prague in the Czech Republic. We dined on Friday evening in a stone cellar that was built in the 12th century, then tested out the "club scene". Saturday we stumbled upon an Adidas 5k and 10k international road race and could bear to just sit and watch so we both signed up and took part. In my opinion, its tough to beat seeing the city by running through the streets at sunset. Lucky for me the women only had to run 5k, unlucky for Jason, the men's race was a 10k. We both ran well and really enjoyed seeing the city and running with such elite athletes. Dinner was in a great restaurant in the main square where a live jazz band was playing next to our table. Sunday we spent the day touring the Prague castle, the old city, the Charles Bridge and getting lost in the winding streets around the main square. We ate at a delightful Italian joint, i promise we had Czech food and drink at lunch, and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the city. I would put Prague towards the top of the list of favorite European capital cities and would definitely repeat the visit if i ever got the chance.

The famous Viennese Opera House

The mosaic roof of the Cathedral in Vienna

Snack time in Austria

Jumping off the fountain

The back facade of the house from the SOM film

The Old City of Salzburg

Sound of Music/Sound of Mozart Weekend in Austria

For the August bank holiday weekend (a week before labor day in the states) I went with 4 girlfriends to Austria to explore Salzburg and the history of the Von Trapp family and Vienna and the history of Strauss and Mozart. We had a blast riding bicycles through the old town of Salzburg, visiting many of the famous sites from the film, all the while singing and imitating the family as much as we could. We drank good Austrian beer, ate pretzels, sausages and strudel and loved every minute of it. You will see from the photos, this was much more of a "silly" girls trip. Sunday and Monday morning we spent in Vienna - an impressive city with a proper and governmental feel - reminded me a lot of DC - just the buildings are a bit older. The city was VERY clean and the parks were quite lovely. We enjoyed the Strauss and Mozart performance on Sunday evening and had drinks at a cool bar overlooking the main square and the amazing mosaic tiled roof of the cathedral in the heart of the city.

Ah, Santorini

One of two incredible sunsets

Such dramatic contrast of colors on the island

Standing on the balcony of our 5 room mini-hotel in Santorini

I was going for the wind blown effect

Jason standing guard like an Athenian solider

The Pantheon

JR and I in the ruins of the ampitheatre in the Acropolis

Greece - August 2008

In August, JR and I took a wonderful trip to Greece to explore Athens, teh capital of Greece and Santorini, the most famous of all the Greek Islands. Athens is a bit dirty and over crowded as the country capital but the trip to the top of the Acropolis to see the Pantheon and dinner on the roof over looking the old ruins made it all worth it. The ruins were amazing and it is truly humbling to stand stop the hill, look out of the city and think about the people and the society that flourished there thousands of years ago - truly awe inspiring. We hiked up to the top during the August heat in the middle of the day but there was a strong breeze at the top that cooled us down (which you will see in the picture that i post of me with my crazy hair!). A dinner recommendation from my friend Marina proved to to be perfect and we enjoyed a lovely Greek meal while looking out at the lit Pantheon, Temple of Nike and other temples all light up by flood lights.

Saturday and Sunday were spent in Santorini and it was not long before J and I agreed that this island would rival our Austria ski trip for the title of "favorite place to visit" during our year of European adventures. Although a bit more dry and rough then i was anticipating, Santorini blew us away with its winding alleyways built in the side of the volcano, its beautiful blue and white painted churches around every corner, its stunning sunsets and its HOT black sand beaches. Over the course of two days, we were able to explore a good part of the island, part on foot and part on ATV, lay out on the black sand while listening to music pumping out of the bars that flank the ocean boulevards, hike the remains of the volcano, ride by the light of a full moon along the coast to dinner, and watch 2 glorious sunsets while being spoiled with Greek white wine and delicious cheese. Its going to be hard to top this trip!! Enjoy the photos.