Day 0 - At London....soon after arriving from Bristol. In the background is Big Ben and river Thames
We reached Stansted airport in the middle of the night ! [....Slept on the airport floor yet again :) ]
Day 1 - Our first destination - Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. We flew in here from by Ryanair.
In the bus from the Airport to the Train station at Bratislava
The Bratislava train station.
Rama scavenging through our breakfast supplies...on the train from Bratislava to Vienna, Austria
Somewhere in between Bratislava and Vienna
The countryside enroute .....not sure if this was the Slovakian or the Austrian side !
Destination 2 - Vienna SudBahnof (South Train station) ......being just 37 miles apart, Bratislava and Vienna are the closest international capitals in Europe !
Holding our heads high in Vienna - Rama, Anil and Pradeep
The streets of Wiens (Vienna) ....the weather couldn't have been better !
What we saw on the streets of Vienna !
The traffic stops for me :)
Had a lavish meal at this Indian restaurant right outside the Train Station
Rama and I .....viewing the sights of Vienna from the comforts of our Guided Tour bus.
The beauty of Vienna lies in its architecture
Driving past typically Viennese buildings ..around the Ringstrasse !
The impressive Austrian Parliament building .....inspired by ancient Greek architecture !
The Flea Market
Viennese traffic !
Viennese dog ..yeah, they're all the same anywhere in the world :) [ skilfully captured by Rama]
That's Petra - our guide for the Vienna tour !
The world-reknowned Schonbrunn palace - summer retreat of the Hapsburgs !
Behind the palace ...[photography wasn't allowed inside it :( ]
Back view of the Schonbrunn palace
The Palace gardens (Great Parterre) leading up to the Gloriette !
Since when did Rama and Pradeep get interested in sculptures ?
Anil, Rama and I
Trying to get the angle right
Don't ask me ...I have no idea wat Anil was upto !!!
Day 1 - Destination 3 - Prague, Czech Republic. Having brushed our teeth at London, had breakfast at Bratislava(Slovakia), lunch at Vienna(Austria), we arrived in Prague(Czech Republic) for dinner !!!
Waiting for the trams at around 1 am, when we decided to go sight-seeing ! However, plans soon got aborted as we didn't get suitable tram connections
Day 2 - Early morning...even before the sun was up, we ventured out...however, were struck by this extreme fog !
The Staromestska Metro station..... I love these Czech names :)
The St.Vitus Cathedral ..inside the Prague Castle !
The spires barely visible through the fog !
One of my fave shots ! [ The mist is for real ...absolutely no touch ups :) ]
The castle walls !
One of the Govt. buildings inside the castle complex ...and the Presidential Guards who guard it
That's how thick the fog was even at 7am.....the river and the whole city beyond seems hidden !!!
Waking up early had its own unique benefits !
Back down from the castle...with the Charles bridge in the background
One of the several bridges over the Vltava ....
...and on top of that bridge !
2 shots in 1 click :)
Walking towards the Charles Bridge
Autumn leaves !
Prague is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen !
The entrance to the Charles Bridge
Built in the 14th century, this is the oldest bridge in Prague
The many statues lining the walls of the bridge !
Misty as ever !
Rama trying to imitate !
Pradeep was trying hard to focus on this pigeon, when I jumped in and disturbed it :)
Beautiful Prague !
Ice-breakers ....the real ones !
As the name suggests, these are meant to break the ice flowing down from the hills in winter..thus protecting the banks !
A closer look
Terribly sleep-deprived..nevertheless glad to be in Prague !
Trams on the streets of Prague !
The High streets ....but too early in the day for the crowds !
Buying tickets for a guided tour of Prague
That's Martin - our multi-lingual tour guide ...explaining to the Germans in our group !
Back at the St.Vitus Cathedral at the Prague Castle ....this time a lot more brighter and a lot less foggy !
The Presidential Guard ! Even Pradeep and Rama's bantering wouldn't make him move !
Inside the Castle compound.....
This time around, the crowds were swarming
Inside the St.Vitus Cathedral
The 10th Century St.George's church - the oldest structure within the castle
Panoramic view of the city from the top of the Prague castle !
The vast array of tiled roofs !
A closer look ....
The path down from the castle
At one of the terraces on the castle
L to R - Anil, Pradeep, I and some stranger :)
Climbing down the slopes !
After a tour of the city by bus, and a visit to the Prague castle, the next part of the package comprised of a 1 hour boat ride on the Vltava river
The bridges across the Vltava
The Charles bridge
Relaxing on the boat !
More Ice-breakers , this time to protect the bridge
The Czech boat - not the most creative of names !
The swan infested Vlatava
The Champs-Elysees of Prague !
The guide explains a point at the Old Town Square
The ancient Astronomical Clock !
At the Old Town Square..in front of the gothic Tyn Church
Czechs having lunch under the sun !
Open-air cafes at the Old Town Square
A wedding scene at the Town Hall
The Wenceslas Square .... looking up towards the National Museum
The other side of the Wenceslas Square
The Holešovice Train station...waiting for our train to Budapest
The beginning of a 7 hour train journey from Prague, through Slovakia.... culminating at Budapest, Hungary !
Day 3 - at the Korona Panzio Hotel at Budapest, Hungary
Rama and I outside our Hotel
Our spacious apartment at the Korona Panzio Hotel, Budapest
The living room ....
..my sleeping pad ...
...The Kitchen and the dining area - hardly used, though !
The chairs placed outside the doors are meant to indicate that the bathrooms are occupied [...the damn rooms didn't have locks ;) ]
The ever-reliable Buda Taxis .....this time they sent a Merc to take us to the City Centre !
A marathon in the 'running' !
The streets of Pest !
Hows that for pillars ?
The streets being eclipsed by the St.Stephen's Basilica
We took a guided bike tour to go around Budapest !
The tour company was right behind the State Opera house (seen on the left)
Test-driving our bikes
The Hungarian State Opera house
Maintaining an Indian file :)
That's our guide - Steven ...at the entrance to a station of the Millenium Metro - the 2nd oldest Metro system in the world... after London !
The guide leading us into the Heroes Square !
Tourists at the square
Heroes at 'Heroes Square' !!! :)
...and again !
The statue of angel Gabriel holding the crown of St.Steven and a two barred apostolic cross !
Jobless Europeans :)
What's Curpad doing up there ?
Hey ..there's me too :)
Rama and Pradeep couldn't wait to climb up either !
The view from the top ....looking on towards the Andrassy Ut [ the Champs Elysees of Budapest ] !
Statue of Karoly Roberto (Roberto Carlos) also known as King Charles 1 of Hungary !
At the Castle Park ....but like the one in Disneyland, these castles are fake, built only for the 1898 World Fair !
Don't pose too hard, Rama ...u're not the one on focus :)
The guide advised us that it was lucky to touch the pen of this Anonymous writer ....
...but some people in our group happened to take it a little too seriously :)
......Rama, Anil and I follow suit too :)
More cycling .....
No..thats not a Palace ...but the Szechenyi bath house !
The bath houses of Budapest are built around natural hot springs ..and are a legacy of the Turkish occupation of the city !
Cycling past the Budapest zoo ......
....and along the wide-open streets ....
..and some narrow ones too !
These bullets marks were allegedly left behind from WW2 ..or perhaps more likely, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 !
The entrance to the St.Stephen's Cathedral
Freedom Square...and in the middle, the Soviet Monument - a tribute to the Red Army troops who liberated Budapest in 1944-45
The Hungarian Parliament building .....second largest in Europe
The other impressive buildings in the vicinity of the Hungarian Parliament
Riding along the river Danube on the Pest side
Anil and the Margaret Bridge in the background ...
On the Margaret Bridge ...crossing over from Pest to Buda !
The Hungarian Parliament - as seen from the Margaret Bridge !
Waiting to cross the roads ....at Buda
The Parliament is definitely much more beautiful from the Buda side of the river.
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge ...connecting Buda and Pest !
Riding on to the Chain Bridge !
The Chain Bridge is one of the most important landmarks of Budapest !
When built in 1849, the Chain Bridge was the largest in the world and the first permanent structure across the Danube !
Hungry Hungarians :)
The promenade along the Danube on the Pest side
Couldn't help but click this moment :)
More cycling ..through the narrow cobble-stoned streets !
Not many get drunk on drinking milk :)
Saint Stephen's Basilica
Back on the Chain Bridge ...this time on foot !
Spotted ...while walking across the Chain Bridge ...
Neither on Buda nor Pest ...but half-way in between either :)
Anil trying to meditate .....in the background is the Buda castle - where we were trekking up to
Catching up with breath ...whilst climbing up to the castle
An elevated view of the Chain Bridge
The final climb up to the castle top ....
It took us a while, but finally we trekked up to the top of the Buda Castle !
Panorama of Pest ...including the Hungarian Parliament on the left !
Another hill ...and another climb .....and we are presented with this amazing view of the Buda Castle(left) and the Chain Bridge(right)
The lit-up castle !
On the Ryanair flight from Budapest, back into Bristol
