Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture. There are four pages of photos in total):
1) Attempting to push start a Ducati in the alley behind our Krakow hotel. Sadly, the lesson learned is that a high compression, high-tech v-twin doesn't roll start. Thanksfully, the guides had jumper cables and we were soon on our way...
2) Another nice bit of riding was on our seventh riding day as crossed from Poland into Slovakia through the Pieninski Park Narodowy.
3) Perhaps the most scenic part of the ride was the loop around the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia. This was the view as we rode through the small town of Lendak.
4) A black obelisk in the main square of Banska Bystrica, Slovakia dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed liberating the city at the end of World War II. If we thought Dresden was sparsely populated with tourists, we'd probably have loved Banska Bystrica but we arrived in the evening and left the next morning so our walk around the main square was our only experience there.
5) Jonna in SNP Square, the main square of Banska Bystrica. The buildings were beautifully preserved but things just a block away confirmed that Slovakia is one of the poorer countries in the EU.
6) One thing we noticed in most of the ex-Eastern Block countries were abandoned factories. It may be difficult to identify the empty factory in this photo but it was just one of many. As economies shifted from being directed by a centralized communist party to capitalism, it seems that many of the old industries were abandoned.
7) Taking a ferry across the Danube on a beautiful day with Toby - one of our Edelweiss guides. This ferry crossing was at Visegrad, Hungary on the penultimate riding day.
8) The Basilica in Esztergom was another of the impressive buildings seen on this trip. It is the largest church in Hungary and the tallest building of any kind in the country. As you can see based on Jonna's size relative to the column in this photo, this is a massive building which was built to be both a church and a fortress.
9) From across the Danube, the fortress aspect is obvious due to its location on a riverside hilltop and the high walls which surround it. It is a striking building.
10) The final stop on our tour of central Europe was Budapest. We arrived on St. Stephen's Day, a national holiday celebrating the founding of Hungary. Jonna walking the streets of Buda Castle near St. Matthias Church.
11) Angel sculpture in the Hungarian National Gallery in Buda Castle. Because of Hungary's tumultuous past, the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. The musuem contains many artifacts of the deocrations, like this one, from the various periods of Buda Castle.
12) Jonna in the Royal Chapel of Buda Castle, now part of the Budapest History Museum. This room is hidden away in the lower section of the museum but is actually a part of one of the older medieval castles built on Castle Hill. Wandering across it felt like finding a secret, sacred space.
13) St. Stephen's Day Folk Art Festival on the grounds of the Buda Castle in Budapest. Imagine, a craft festival where actual traditional crafts are practiced. Carving of wooden farm implements, hand thrown pottery, candle making, egg painting, gingerbread house construction and traditional dances were all on display...and not for tourists but for actual Hungarians!
14) Artsy shot: Painted Egg Folk Art in Budapest's Art Museum.
15) A panoramic view of Budapest and the Danube river from Buda Castle. The famous Parliment is barely visible across the river on the left and the famous Chain Bridge is in the center.
16) Another Artsy shot: Old architecture reflected in new architecture on the streets of Budapest.
17) St. Stephen's Day is the biggest holiday in Hungary and the celebration culminates with hundreds of thousands of people turning out to watch fireworks over the Danube. Multiple barges were set up in the river with synchronized fireworks lighting up the sky all along the river front. A fitting end to our tour of central Europe!
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