Saturday, January 17, 2009

Snow in Slovenia

The next stop on my little European jaunt was Lake Bled in Slovenia. Neither words or pictures can do justice to how beautiful this place is. I would recommend that you get on the plane now - why wait to visit!!
Once again, it was bloody cold (-10deg or so) but quite frankly it just didn't matter. We were lucky enough to have a couple of beautiful days where we could see for miles. Lake Bled is relatively small and you can walk around it in a couple of hours if you don't stop to exclaim how beautiful it is every 100m. We took a boat out to Bled Island which has a beautiful church at it's apex and in which you can ring the church bell for luck. After the boat ride, I recommend a hearty Slovenian lunch (I had goulash) and a cleansing ale.
View from our hotel
Walking around Lake Bled


Looking out to Bled Island


Boats to take tourists out to the island
On the boat

Steps up to Bled Island

Looking up to Bled Castle


View from Bled Castle (Township of Bled)
Catching the train out of Bled
Sahara Gal

New Year in Melk

The Desert Rat and I spent a wonderful family Christmas in Bangor (Northern Ireland) after which, he had to return back to Tripoli for work. I was enrolled in a course in early January in the UK so decided to extend my Christmas break and meet up with friends in Europe.


So for New Years, while the Rat slogged away in the office, I spent a lovely day or so in Melk (see previous blog entry 'A return to Vienna'). It was a bit colder this time - thank goodness for thermals! Thus I spent New Years Eve enjoying an Degustastion Menu which included some fine contemporary Austrian cuisine with matching wines. We heralded the New Year in by waltzing in the square and watching fireworks over the Danube. A great night was had by all!

Remember this! You know it's cold when the swans can walk on the ice on the water....

Degustation Dinner: Don't ask me what everything was - the menu was in German but it was all very tasty!!



(Woops - ate the soup before I remembered to take a photo)





Sahara Gal

A Weekend in Prague

After returning from Australia, we headed off again to explore a little more of Europe. This time we met up with the Desert Rat's sister, her husband and their son in Prague. We loved this amazing city and were already discussing what we'll do when we come back some time. Here are some images from our weekend in Prague...
Wenceslas Square One of the many trams in the city
The Powder Tower


A Rather grand theatre


Old Town Square


The Astronomical Clock, Old Town Square


A little street in the Old Town area

Charles Bridge






Prague Castle







Church near Charles Bridge

Cafe Exteriors

Frieze inside our hotel

Heart Czech Goulash with Dumplings

Hearty Smoked Pork
Sahara Gal