Highlights of 13 European countries + Morocco

[Baldy]

I got to take my daughter and son-in-law on a trip of a lifetime last month.

I'll add to this as I get time if there's interest, but the short summary is we want to a lot of places!

I knew nothing of Bratislava, Slovakia, but it's one of the cities we stayed in as we drove from Hungary to the Czech Republic. We loved it!

They have a bridge over the Danube that's held up by one of the monsters in The War of the Worlds:



It has a restaurant on top where you get a great view of the city. How do you get to it? Maybe the monster snatches you and hauls you up there.



The best part of the city is built on a hill overlooking the Danube with the Blue Church on it, so-named because it uses bluish plaster and coloring:



And of course, on the hill was Bratislava Castle, which was beautiful:



We walked around the city at midnight and there were still people in the sidewalk cafe's and lovers walking the waterfront.

In other parts of the city there were depressing old apartment buildings that really looked bad, remnants from their recent past, I suppose, as a poor country.

[Andy]

I had the good fortune of hearing about your trip, and your telling of the story made me hunger for the photos! Really nice, looking forward to more

[ian408]

The trip sounds marvelous. Love to see some more pictures too.

Ian

[Baldy]

Okay, well, first things first: the trip began in Dover, England because we wanted to see the Dover Castle, which played such a vital role in the wars.

But the city of Dover was closed due to World Cup Fever Like You Can't Imagine. The only place to get a bite was in sports pubs with the game playing and the English screaming at the top of their lungs:



OH EENG AAHH LAND IS WONDERFUL!!!!!

Under aged? No worries. Dye your hair with England's cross, get on someone's shoulders, and whistle loud enough for the French to hear across the channel:



GGGOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!????? Slosh that beer everywhere!

[pathfinder]

More, more, more!!

[wxwax]

Originally Posted by Baldy

Europe sure is dark this time of year.

[Baldy]

If you're into military history, Dover Castle is amazing. It's built into the white cliffs, overlooks France, and defends the English Channel.

Good thing for men of valor, like this fine-looking gentleman.



It's huge, but the best and biggest part is not what you see on top of the hill, but the tunnels underneath, inside the cliffs.



Miles of tunnels with hospitals and command quarters. They don't allow pics, but the tour is amazing because they even pipe in the (non-disgusting) smells of the mess hall and hospitals (although there was lots of disgusting fake blood and guts).

Blood and guts were okay, but watch what else you do there...



The churches inside the castle grounds were pretty important during the conflicts because soldiers feel pretty deep spiritual needs when their lives may be lost any day. This one dates back to the 1200s, at least the tower on the right.



And always, English symbols and flags wherever possible.

[saurora]

Wowser!!! These are great! Can't wait to see the rest of the 13 countries! Must have been a blast being in England during the World Cup....can you imagine being in Italy??? Keep ' em coming!!!!

[Nikolai]

Great pics, I'm curious to see the rest.. 13 countries, man.. That's more than I know.. Lemme count:

1. Russia (Hi Yuri! Well I was born there, so it's a given:-)
2. US (pretty much 99% of this forum)
3. UK (Hi Gubbsy)
4. France (don't know anybody there from dgrin, but I took a few shots there, hence it exists:-)
5. Holland (Hi Michiel)
6. Germany (Hi Sebastian)
7. Oz (Hi Skippy, Gus and Devbobo)
8. Spain (Hi Richard)
9. Pakistan (Hi Awais)
10. Portugal (Hi Antonio)
11. Israel (Hi Yehuda)
12. Iran/Iraq (it is two different countries or the same one with different spelling, I'm always confused )

I guess that's pretty much it

Anxious for more pictures and countries :-)

[Baldy]

Btw, I hope my coffin is bigger than English showers...

yeah ... i love history ... and i hate to beg but here goes ... please, please, please, lets have more...

[Baldy]

We rode the train through the lovely British countryside to London. To our surprise, we happened to step off the train when the guard was changing at Buckingham Palace, right beside the station.



The next day was the Queen's 80th birthday and we were greeted with jets flying overhead, cannon booming...the works (no pics, sorry ).

Public admission: London is so well photographed and there was so much to see, I mostly put my camera away and decided to enjoy other people's shots.

But... How could I not take a pic of St. Paul's Cathedral, where we watched a choral performance and ate on the lawn outside? Breathtaking.

[Baldy]

[Baldy]

We walked around the lakes of Hyde Park,



Hung with celebs at Madame Tussauds (the kids LOVED that)



And marveled over the little things like fancy fountains scattered around the city and part of everyday life.

[vangogh]

Originally Posted by Baldy

Okay, well, first things first: the trip began in Dover, England because we wanted to see the Dover Castle, which played such a vital role in the wars.

But the city of Dover was closed due to World Cup Fever Like You Can't Imagine. The only place to get a bite was in sports pubs with the game playing and the English screaming at the top of their lungs:



OH EENG AAHH LAND IS WONDERFUL!!!!!

Would just like to add here, that not EVERYONE in England spent their time, dressed in red & white, in pubs during the world cup. I'm not a footie fan & did (to my mind) more interesting things such as taking pics . Yes I've been to Dover on several occasions, a friend of mine lives in the area & there's lots to see!!

[vangogh]

Originally Posted by Baldy

We rode the train through the lovely British countryside to London. To our surprise, we happened to step off the train when the guard was changing at Buckingham Palace, right beside the station.

WOW!!!!! Fantastic shot!!

[jamesl]

[quote=Baldy]We walked around the lakes of Hyde Park,



This is excellent! Great capture.

Hung with celebs at Madame Tussauds (the kids LOVED that)



Wow, the resemblance here is kind of creepy. Did you ever do any of his stunt work in the movies? Ha ha.

thanks for sharing all of these!

James

[Baldy]

Country #2: Portugal!

I've dreamed of Lisbon for 20 years because I was a geophysicist (earthquakes) and Lisbon had one of the most spectacular in history.

The only part of the city to survive the shaking, tsunami, and fire was on the hill, overlooking the harbor. It's now the Old Town, with wonderful narrow alleyways.



The sprawling olde castle still sits on top of the hill, overlooking Lisbon's amazing harbor and new city.



This was so beautiful at night, but the, erem, co-founder of a photo sharing site didn't have his camera when he walked by it at night....

[Baldy]

From Lisbon we went 3 hours south by train to Faro, on the coast, in the Algarve region. The guidebook gave it 1 star, but we thought it was beautiful.





Like everywhere we went, they were showing World Cup soccer on the big screen outdoors. The only reason the square wasn't stuffed with people going wild, is Spain was playing and winning. Who in Portugal would want Spain to win? Pheh.

[marlof]

I see.... the Soccer World Cup is going to be your running gag in this series, right? Man, I'm still traumatized by that one. Like the other shots, though! ;)