Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Home Again



Well, hello there. It's been awhile. We were off gallivanting for 3 weeks and arrived home late on Monday night. We left Budapest at 3 pm and arrived in Victoria at 10:30 pm, however, there is a 9 hour time difference, so it felt much, much later. We're still recovering from jet lag - last night I tried my best to stay up until 9:30 and almost made it, but not quite. Then I was awake at 2:30, so I got up to see if I could see the meteor shower - no luck. I crawled back into bed and dozed a very little bit and thought a lot. 


On our trip we visited the Czech Republic, went on an 8-day river cruise, and spent a week in Budapest, Hungary. Because the river cruise started in Linz, Austria, and included air fare, that's where we landed, on a hot afternoon that just happened to be our 42nd wedding anniversary. We figured out public transit and made our way to our Airbnb on a farm property in Leonding, a small community just outside of Linz. Those striking blue doors were part of the farm complex where we stayed.

Although we were in Leonding for less than a day, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We wandered around the town and found a restaurant with a terrace where we enjoyed a dinner that featured local chanterelle mushrooms. Yum! Better than dinner was breakfast. In the freshness of early morning we walked to a bakery just across the square from the restaurant. There we sat outside enjoying fresh bread, a boiled egg, and coffee and tea. It was one of those "pinch me" moments. 


Later, we caught the train to Prague. I had asked our three eldest grandchildren to draw me a picture of themselves to take along on the trip. They did such a great job. The Flat Grands had many adventures along the way that I posted on Facebook for their entertainment. Here they are on the train, settling nicely into their seats.


We arrived in Prague 4 hours later and made our way to our lodgings. It was hot, very hot, during our 6 days there. Prague is beautiful, with striking architecture at almost every view. It was not damaged during WWII, so there are old buildings from medieval to Baroque to Gothic.   


Prague is known as the City of 100 Spires, but in actuality there are between 500 and 1000 spires, depending on one's definition of a spire.

We had an amazing trip, and I'll share some highlights over my next posts, but I don't want to bore anyone with the dreaded "come and see our slide show" kind of thing. The garden didn't take a vacation during our absence and we've spent the past two days wrestling it into some sort of order. Tim returns to work tomorrow and so we're slowly getting back into normal everyday life. 



22 comments:

  1. Welcome Home! I love that you had a way to take the grandchildren along! =)
    I can tell your pictures are going to be amazing ... I love European travel!

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  2. My niece very much enjoyed seeing your Instagram photos as she had been there a few weeks earlier. She had photos so we did the compare contrast thing. She was out in the countryside a bit more than you, but also had many of the same city shots. It made for a fun time for us.

    So bring on the photos. It’s the only way I travel. ☺️

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  3. So good to see you back! It sounds like an amazing holiday, and of course taking the three flat grands along must have been fun!

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  4. It sounds like a wonderful trip. I would love to hear more.

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  5. What a wonderful trip and I see that you love the little things...great trait.

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  6. Welcome back!
    I followed you on Instagram so I enjoyed all your snippets of the trip. I imagine we will be faced with a garden gone wild when we return from our weeks at the cottage. Hope your jet lag has eased by now.

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  7. Welcome back. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your cruise.

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  8. Exciting trip, the drawings are adorable great thong to do!

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  9. What a lovely idea to take the Grands with you along in this way! Budapest and Prague are very special places perhaps they will be inspired to visit when they are older, if they haven't already? Lovely pictures.
    Wren x

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  10. Welcome home, Lorrie and a belated Happy Anniversary to you and Tim. Wow, it looks like you had a wonderful vacation. I would enjoy hearing all about it. What a great idea you had to take the "flat" grands along. I like the colorful outfits they chose for the trip.

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  11. What a creative and lovely idea to take the "flat grands" along! I'll bet the non-flat ones enjoyed it thoroughly, and they probably learned more as they were involved!

    I'd love to see more of your trip!

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  12. What a wonderful place to spend your wedding anniversary. Love the idea of the mini grands travelling with you. Looking forward to hearing about your impressions of your travels. It must be lovely being home too; the best bit of travel. B x

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  13. So good to see you safely home. I look forward to seeing lots of pictures. I will never venture there so I will "visit" thru you!. ☺ Kit

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  14. I like a few photos! My relatives are Hungarian so Buda and Pest sound lovely. I have heard many say its clean and wonderful. Prague, is beautiful!!!

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  15. Those blue and white doors at the farm complex are really attractive and welcoming. Both Prague and Budapest are great European cities for a visit - both have so much to see and admire.
    I am pleased that you enjoyed such a wonderful trip and that you are now safely home again.

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  16. What a fantastic trip you've had! The "flat grands" are the best!! They must have just loved seeing those pictures. :)

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  17. What a wonderful trip, lovely photographs you've shared.

    All the best Jan

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  18. I have heard so many wonderful things about Prague. It is just beautiful from the glimpse you share. Love the idea of the flat grands too. I must remember that one.

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  19. I went to Prague in 2008 and enjoy seeing how much the city has stayed the same (or changed) through your pics!

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  20. Ha! The Flat Grands are just grand :-)

    Prague is one city I wouldn't mind visiting - all of those OLD buildings! And some new and interesting ones as well, I understand. I love the buildings.

    Your trip sounds quite satisfying. I hope you have had a couple of weeks to rest? Seems to me it takes that to recover...

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  21. Show as many photos as you would like! What a great idea to take along the "flat grands." I've seen that with other things, but self portraits...the best!

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  22. My parents did that slideshow thing to us way too often and I have already told friends and family that I’m repeating that history on my blog. But part of my purpose in blogging is to solidify our memories, so after all these years, I now have more empathy for mom and dad )). All that being said, there is no chance your wonderful trip will ever be boring. I’m really looking forward to comparing your river cruise to ours and to learning more about the wonders of Eastern Europe (never bored, but might have to admit to tad envious).

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Thank you for your comment. I read and value each one, cherishing the connections we can make although far apart. Usually, I visit your blog in return, although if you ask a question I try to contact you directly.

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