Budapest

Soooo....yeah, its taken a little longer to get the Budapest pictures up.

Its not my fault.

Its Dell's.

They sent me a new computer with a faulty video card...

...then removed my operating system, because that's the logical thing to do when a video card is faulty.

After waiting a week for them to send a disk with my operating system on it, because removing an operating system without making sure there was a way to put it back on would make sense, it was reinstalled...

...and viola, the video card was still faulty.

So the following week, they sent along a guy with a new video card.

And he installed it and here I am.

Total hours of my life I spent talking to Dell reps that I will never get back...12.

Total weeks my computer was doa, thanks the the Dell rep who removed my operating system...2.

Total times I will purchase another Dell product, or recommend them to someone else...0.

Anyway, Budapest was awesomely photogenic, as is apparent in the pictures.

It has large portions that are designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

And we were there at the peak of the Danube's flooding this summer.

Check Budapest out.

With that I've completed my Budapest/Helsinki/Vienna trip galleries and so I've updated my travel gallery with links to the latest trips (Thunder Bay, Senegal, Hungary) and the new countries that I've visited (Austria & Hungary).

Check them out.

Aquincum

Budapest has a rich history which is pretty much why such a large area of it is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The site stretches along the Danube up to Aquincum, which is the ruins of the ancient Roman settlement.

While the Roman town was rather large, the archaeological park is located at the remains of the civil town (the legionary fortress was further down the river).

Its quite a fascinating park with the excavated ruins of buildings and artifacts...even an amphitheater.
Check it out.

 

Schönbrunn

Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens is located within Vienna.

At one point it was the residence of the Habsburg emporers.

Its now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Its also the location of the oldest zoo in the world...

...which has Pandas.

Pandas are awesome.

Check out Schönbrunn

Vienna

Getting to Vienna was supposed to be a short high-speed train ride away from Budapest, so we booked a night's hotel and decided to make a short visit.

Of course, when we were actually in Budapest, it was the peak of the flooding this past June, so the trip was actually a low-speed train to a slow bus to a high-speed train ride away.

Still Vienna was worth it.

Its so rich in culture and art, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I could spend months there and still be exploring.

The two days we did spend there was enough to convince me that I would like to return in the future for an extended stay.

Pictures of Vienna are up in the galleries.

Check them out.

The layover

One of the great things about traveling to Europe is that most destinations have options as to what airline you pick.
And if booked with a little foresight, you can add a mini-trip to your planned trip.
In 2010 I had a vacation in Finland, but I flew Air France and scheduled a layover in Paris.
I had enough time to see the main sights, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame...
...I even had time to go out and see the Palace of Versailles.
This past June, I journeyed to Budapest.
By flying Finnair, I was able to schedule a layover in Helsinki.
As I had already been to Helsinki in 2010, I didn't feel any pressure to see all the sights, and instead had time to just enjoy being in the city.

Pictures of Helsinki have been added to the galleries.
Check them out.

It may not be UNESCO designated...but may be it should be

Memento Park is quite an interesting place.

Its a park within Budapest that has amassed a collection of the communist era statues that once were prominently featured thoughout the city.

It even has the remains of Stalin's statue (just the boots - all that is left after they tore it down during the 1956 revolution).

Check out some pics

Rotations

One great thing about working as an expat at a fly-in/fly-out rotational job is that you don't have to "fly-out" back to your home country. You can spend the rotation traveling anywhere in the world that you wish. And you don't actually have to fly-out at all. You can spend your rotation exploring the country in which you work.

I love to travel and explore the world.

And I use the UNESCO World Heritage List as a starting point when planning my travel.

My goal is to visit and photograph as many of the 962 properties as I can in my lifetime.

This past month I managed to visit three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Hungary and Austria.

I also managed to visit a few other interesting spots on the trip.

Next I plan to visit two more UNESCO sites here in Senegal.

Expect photos in the near future.

Updated

With the Amsterdam pictures up, I've managed to finish uploading all the galleries from our Rhine Cruise.

And I've also updated my travel and UNESCO galleries accordingly.

Enjoy.

Amsterdam

We didn't have much luck with the weather in Amsterdam.

It alternated between fog and rain.

But that didn't stop us from exploring the city.

And having a cruise around the canal ring, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Check it out.

Middle Rhine

If you're going to build a castle, it might as well be at the top of the nearest hill.

And it might as well have easy access to a waterway for transportation.

At least, that's what I think the medieval rulers were thinking when they built all the castles along the Middle Rhine river area, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Check it out.

Dreary December Days

Not every day can be sunny.

When we visited Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was calm and dreary.

The wind powered water drainage system was still pretty awesome though.

A bunch of Holland hipster windmills, being green long before being green was cool.

Check them out.

Koblenz

Koblenz is a German town at the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel rivers.

Romans, emporers, fortresses...lots of history.

And all basically got blown to bits in WWII.

Looks good now, though.

Check it out

Cologne

During World War II the Allies bombed the crap out of Cologne, Germany.

Everything was leveled.

Well, everything but the cathedral.

It still stands, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Check it out

Heidelberg

Heidelberg is another typical medieval German town in that it has a castle on a hill overlooking a river with a gate on the bridge entering the city.
Well, Heidelberg HAD a castle, and then it got blown up, burnt down and ruined.
It still looks cool though.
Pics from Heidelberg are up in the galleries.

Strasbourg

Strasbourg, France is the home of the EU parliament and a bunch of other boring things.
But it also has a spectacular old town situated on their Grande Ile, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
On their Grande Ile is a spectacular Gothic cathedral.

Which had a nice Christmas market at its steps.
And which has one less tower than I figure they were planning on having.
And is decorated with sculptures that a regular schmoe wouldn't expect to see on a church.
Crusifixions, beasts and demons, oh my.
Check it out.

Colmar France is a quaint Alsatian town not far from the Rhine river. 

Its also the home of the dude that created the Statue of Liberty. 

Seriously. 

Images of Colmar have been added to the galleries.