All the pictures on this page are from our (Michaela, John, Megan, and Jim) 2019 trip to Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Malta, and France. Michaela and John were with us for most of the trip, but they returned home about a week before we did. They flew back home after Munich, while Megan and myself continued on traveling. We started in Prague, Czech Republic. We spent 4 full days (5 nights) in Czech Republic, mostly in Prague, but we did do a day trip from Prague to Kutna Hora, which is a little town about an hour train ride outside Prague. From Prague we took the train to Budapest, Hungary and spend 4 full days in Budapest (5 nights), then from Budapest, we took the train to Salzburg, Austria. We were in Salzburg for 2 full days (3 nights). After Salzburg, we took the train to Munich, Germany where we only spent a couple of nights. After Munich, we rented a car and drove to the little town in Germany called Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which is an amazing little town that you wouldn't want to miss if you are ever in the area. And, I have to say, the drive there on the Autobahn was an experience in itself. We had our little Fiat Panda up to 150 kph (about 93 mph) and cars were still flying past us. We were in Rothenburg ob der Tauber for only 1 night, then we drove back to Munich and got on a plane to Malta. We spent the next four nights in Malta, then flew to Paris for a couple of nights before flying back home.
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague has changed A LOT since my first visit in 1999. The city buildings and architecture are the same, but the whole tourist experience has changed. In 1999 there weren't a whole lot of tourists in the city and there weren't a whole lot of hotel accommodations. I just stayed in someone's house for $8 a night, but tourism in Prague has exploded over the last 20-30 years. It is still amazing, just a lot more crowded. See below for some pictures from our 2019 trip to Prague. (Note: we were also in the Czech Republic in 2013, we visited Prague and ÄŒeský Krumlov).
Mucha Museum.
Having a little Gelato in the Old Town Square.
From the Charles Bridge with Prague Castle in the background.
From the top of the Klementinum overlooking Prague.
Looking across the Vltava River with the Charles Bridge and the old town in the background.
This is one of the two libraries at the Strahov Monastery. These libraries are really cool. You can't go inside the library, but you can look in the library and for a small fee you can take pictures. I paid a small fee to take the picture shown above.
The Pinkas Synagogue is a Holocaust memorial to nearly 80,000 Jewish victims. The walls contain the names of the victims. The picture above just shows a small percentage of all the names on the walls. If you visit the synagogue be sure to visit the Old Jewish Cemetery, which is right next to the synagogue.
Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
This is a small town that is about an hour's train ride from Prague. It makes for a quick and easy day trip from Prague. It is a cute little town that has a church, the Sedlec Ossuary, which is estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people. The picture below are of the town and the Sedlec Ossuary.
At the train station in Kutna Hora.
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The Sedlec Ossuary, also known as The Bone Chuch.
Another picture from the Sedlec Ossuary.
Kutna Hora.
Looking out over Kutna Hora.
Budapest, Hungary
We spent 4 full days in Budapest (5 nights). Budapest is a big city with a lot to see, so even with 4 full days, there were still some things we missed. There are also a number of good day trips we could have taken from Budapest if we had enough time.
The Vajdahunyad Castle in the Budapest City Park.
The Széchenyi Thermal Bath in the Budapest City Park.
The Central Market Hall. This has all kinds of options for inexpensive Hungarian food, and also some random souvenirs.
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Having a little snack in the New York Café in Budapest.
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One of the Lions on the Chain Bridge, and across the Danube in the background is the Parliament building.
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Inside the Parliament building.
There are a number of Ruin pubs of Budapest. The picture above is from the Szimpla Kert ruin pub.
Salzburg, Austria
We spent 3 nights, 2 full days in Salzburg. Salzburg is a much smaller city, than somewhere like Budapest. In 2 or 3 days you can pretty much hit most of the major sites.
In the Mirabellgarten with the Fortress Hohensalzburg on the hill in the background.
The Salzach river with Salzburg's historic center and the Fortress Hohensalzburg in the background.
In the Friedhof Salzburg (Petersfriedhof) Cemetery.
Another picture in the Friedhof Salzburg (Petersfriedhof) Cemetery.
On the walk up to the Fortress Hohensalzburg. At the top, there are great views of Salzburg and there is a lot to see in the Fortress.
Giant Human? Tiny Tree? A little of both? In the Mirabellgarten.
Munich, Germany
We did a real quick stop in Munich. It was just a couple of nights. Megan and I were in Munich in 2016 and I was in Munich in 1999, so we decided that we had already seen most of Munich, but Michaela and John were flying back to the States from Munich, and Megan and myself wanted to rent a car in Munich so we did a quick stop in Munich.
In the garden of the Munich Residenz. The Munich Residenz is a large palace that is a group of a whole bunch of different buildings, gardens and museums.
Inside the Munich Residenz.
Another one from inside the Munich Residenz.
Marienplatz square with the Old Town Hall and the Glockenspiel in the background.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
In Munich we rented and car a drove to the little amazing town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The drive was a couple hours and some of the drive was on the Autobahn, which was an interesting experience. I had our little tiny Fiat up to almost 95mph and cars were flying past us. The little town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is an amazing little town. If you are in the area be sure to visit one of the cutest towns we've ever been to.
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Out little Fiat Panda that we drove from Munich to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, then back to Munich.
At the Plönlein. What is the Plönlein? Here is the description taken directly from the website for Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Many think that the name Plönlein refers to a yellow timber-frame house at the entrance of the Spital quarter. It’s true that the tilted, crooked house is in the center of the Plönlein. The term Plönlein is actually translated as a “small square at a fountain”, which means that the ensemble at the Plönlein also includes the fountain in front of the lone timber-frame house and the two towers of the old city wall that rise to its left and right – on the left the Siebersturm leading to Spital quarter, on the right the tower for the Kobolzeller Tor from 1360, which opens towards the Tauber Valley.
The Weißer Turm tower.
Another picture at the Plönlein. The one above was of Megan and it was from a nice sunny day, while this one here is with me on a cold overcast day. In the two days we were there we had some good weather and some ugly weather.
This building is the Youth Hostel Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
At the city walls of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
One of the many, many cute streets in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
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Malta
Malta is really interesting and cool. We stayed in the city of Sliema, close to the Sliema ferry station, which allowed us easy access to all the cities around the Grand Harbour. This was a great way to get around and see the cities of Valletta, Senglea, and Birgu in the Grand Harbour area. We also visited the city of Mdina, which you can get to by bus or taxi from Siliema.
Mesquita Square, Mdina, Malta. This was one of the many filming locations in Malta for Game of Thrones.
In the Manoel Theatre in Valletta.
On the streets of Valletta.
From the city of Valletta, looking across the Grand Harbour at Fort St. Angelo.
This picture was taken at the shore, next to Fort St. Angelo, looking back at Valletta.
On one of the many narrow walkways through Mdina.
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Paris, France
Our flight home was out of Paris, so we flew from Malta to Paris, then spent a couple of nights in Paris. Both Megan and I had been to Paris previously in 2007, and myself in 1999 and 2000. We had already seen most of the sites in Paris.
Just after sunset at the Eiffel Tower. This picture was taken at the Trocadéro Gardens, accros the Sienne river from the Eiffel Tower.
Sainte-Chapelle. There are many, many amazing churches in Europe, but this is one that is not to be missed. This church is very unique compared to the other churches we've visited in Europe. It is much smaller and almost entirely covered with stained glass windows. This was our second time seeing this awesome church. The first time we saw it in 2007 there were very few visitors. It was almost empty. You can check out the picture of Megan at the church in 2007 on the 2007 trip page, or the France page and compare it to the crowd shown in the picture below.
Another picture from inside Sainte-Chapelle.
This picture is from the Le Train Bleu restaurant located in the hall of the Gare de Lyon railway station.
Uhmmmmmm. Ok.
There was a big crazy celebration near the Eiffel Tower following a Soccer-Football match that took place earlier that day.
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