Regional Travels and Beyond

In the middle of March, Jim and I took a driving and flying grand excursion around Europe. We traveled from Podgorica to Sarajevo to Zagreb where we left our car and flew to Dublin to meet the McCormacks. From Dublin we flew to Prague to meet with fellow Olmsted scholars and then back to Zagreb to get our car. Before we drove back to Podgorica we spent a night in Mostar, Bosnia. Overall it was a two week adventure full of fun, family, friends and travel!
 
Our first stop was Sarajevo, Bosnia. We arrived in the afternoon and checked in with the Knoxs. Jim was in class at DLI with David and April Knox who now live in Sarajevo. It was so great to spend the evening with dear friends. They were great enough to show us around town and also to give us a place to stay for the evening. They took us out to a yummy Bosnian Asian fusion dinner after we did a little walking tour of downtown Sarajevo. I forgot my camera so I only got iPhone pics. Sarajevo is definitely a city we plan to visit again for longer than just one night.

This is the Latin Bridge where the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria happened which is considered the start of World War I.

From Sarajevo, we took the beautiful drive on to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Zagreb was fantastically beautiful. It had a lot of Austro-Hungarian Empire influence and thus absolutely beautiful architecture. We really liked Zagreb and plan to be back there, especially to visit our Olmsted friends, the Marshalls, once they arrive this summer and also our friends Senad and Sanja! I can't wait to keep up with the Marshalls Zagreb adventures and experiences once they arrive, on Amanda's beautiful blog.

This is an art gallery that is in the middle of a beautiful green square.

There are little outdoor cafes everywhere and these blue trams crisscross through the city.

There are several squares throughout the city that have statues and fountains.

The fruit and vegetables at the outdoor farmers market, Dolac were so beautiful!

Fresh lettuce in every color!

Beside the farmers market, there were locals selling their wares.

St. Mark's church has the most original roof tiles I've ever seen!

When we left Zagreb, we flew to Dublin. More on the visit with the McCormacks in another post, stay tuned...

From Dublin, we flew to Prague. I certainly see what all the hype is about with Prague. It is quite a romantic city! We were so excited to meet up with Olmsted friends there for the Prague Half-Marathon. Neither Jim or I planned to run but used this excuse to make it up to a city we've had on our list for some time. It was great to reconnect with a few scholars, Raisa and Mike, and meet several new ones, Mike and Carly. Carly and her husband Andres were kind enough to let those of us who weren't running, hang out in their beautiful apartment. It was on the race route which made for quite a view! After the race, we grilled with the other scholars at their apartment. We also had the surprise treat to run into more friends from DLI, Brian and Christine Devlin. Brian and Christine live in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Christine keeps an amazing blog that is full of delicious recipes and also some of their region and travels. We plan on making a trip to visit them soon!

Blustery day on King Charles Bridge.

So many runners!

We had the great fortune to cross paths with Jim's brother, Phillip and his friend Jared while in Prague. It was so great to see family! We're really grateful that they met up with us. The boys are in front of the cathedral at Prague Castle.

There were Easter Markets set up in the square that were almost as elaborate as the Christmas Markets in Germany!

We even had the great luck to get to see Turner Harrison, a dear friend from High School days, while in Prague. It was so fun to see a friendly Nashville face from a long time ago. Hopefully we will meet again while we both still live in Europe!

On our flight from Prague to Zagreb, we had a 7 hour layover in Belgrade. The Andersons picked us up at the airport and took us to a fantastic lunch on the river. After lunch we went on a really interesting "Underground Belgrade" tour. It was the best way I could ever think to spend a layover, and it was great to see the Andersons again!

From Zagreb, we drive to Mostar, Bosnia for the night. Mostar is a lovely little town that saw a lot of fighting during the war in the 90s. We would highly recommend it as a spot to visit in the Balkans to appreciate the beauty and culture and also have a little more insight into the Homeland War. Overall, we learned a lot about our region on this adventure and are appreciating where we live more and more.

This 16th Century bridge was destroyed during the war and recently rebuilt and named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Bosnia is a primarily Muslim country and the city is peppered with mosque minarets. We heard the calls to prayer several times a day.

We had lunch with with Senad and Sanja while they were on their drive back to Zagreb. We will miss these sweet friends!

Here's Jim in front of the bridge. In the warm weather months, experienced bridge divers perch on the bride and collect money. Once they've gotten enough and gathered a crowd, they jump! We saw a guy acting like he was going to make the leap, but I guess he never collected enough and didn't ever jump for us. Maybe next time!

Until next time,
The Adventuring Armstrongs

Christmas in Germany and Austria

This Christmas, Jim and I had the great fortune of venturing out to Germany and Austria for the holidays. We met up with or dear friends from Monterey, the Bolins for some Christmas cheer and exploring of the city together. It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas!

One of the many huge, beautiful palaces around Munich. We stopped here on our bus tour on Christmas Day.

So many beautiful churches in Munich! Two thirds of the Christian population is Catholic and one third is Lutheran.

Rathaus Glockenspiel - A giant clock in the tower of the Old Town Hall that chimes three times a day.

Jim at the Olympic Park in Munich, home of the 1972 Olympics.

We got a little taste of the Christmas markets while we were in Budapest which only made us more excited to check them out in Munich. We had heard that the Germans really know how to celebrate Christmas! On our first night in town we stumbled upon the largest Christmas market in the city. It was in a large park. The smell of sausage, cabbage and gluhwein (mulled wine) filled the air. In all honesty, the number of people and booths was a little intimidating but we managed to find a place to sit and enjoy our dinner and drinks. Unfortunately, all of the markets wrapped up around 2pm on Christmas Eve so we didn't get to spend as much time at them as we would have liked but it was still great fun to see all the booths selling food, drinks, ornaments, nativities and all kinds of other Christmas wares.

Tiny Christmas trees and red berries for sale.

One of the beautifully decorated mulled wine mugs. When you buy a mulled wine, you put down a deposit and get your deposit back when you return the mug...or you can keep the mug! Each market has a different and creative mug.

Santa! I know him!

Lots of Christmas decor being sold, most of it handmade locally.

The Bolins arrived on Christmas Eve and we met up with them at the famous Hofbrauhaus for some beer and local German food and to celebrate Bede's birthday. The friendly atmosphere and community tables made it a great way to spend the holiday. At 10pm Christmas Eve we went to a midnight mass. It was in an absolutely beautiful cathedral in the middle of town. The mass was so packed that it was standing room only! We stood in the back for the two hour mass that was really more like a Christmas concert in German. It was well worth it though to have this beautiful worshipful experience on Christmas Eve. The following morning, we met back up with the Bolins and took a Christmas day bus tour around the city. It gave us just enough of a taste of the city to convince us to come back and wander around more when the weather is warmer!

What a beautiful family!

Edith is such a great baby. She has loved her adventures around Europe with her mom and dad!

What is better than spending Christmas Eve at Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall in Munich? Spending it with great friends!

Jim with his new girlfriend, Edith.

On the day after Christmas, we bid auf wiedersehen to the Bolins and ventured our on our own to Salzburg, Austria. The train ride from Munich was less than two hours and some of the most beautiful scenery we've ever seen. The German countryside was white with a fresh coat of the first snow of the season. Both countries were excited that the snow has finally arrived and it certainly made for incredible views for us. As we wandered around the beautiful Mirabell Gardens, the snow really started to fall. It was so picturesque and romantic!

View of the Hohensalzburg Fortress from the Mirabell Gardens.

Horse drawn carriage in the snow!

We were lucky that the Christmas markets in Salzburg didn't close down until the 26th so were able to enjoy the festive atmosphere for one more evening!

One afternoon we hiked up the mountain to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. We paused for a photo about halfway up.

It boasts a fantastic view of the city! Jim was in awe of the defensive considerations of a fortress of this size and strategic position...I just thought it was beautiful!

Our second morning in Salzburg we went on a Sound of Music bus tour. Salzburg is the home of the real von Trapp family singers and also where the movie was filmed. The movie was based on the real family's story leading up to the outbreak of World War II. It was so fun to see some of the spots that were familiar from the movie. Our adorable little Austrian tour guide was so passionate about the Sound of Music that her excitement was contagious. On our way back at the end of the tour, she even had a bus full of people singing along!

Jim with the famous gazebo. "I am sixteen, going on seventeen!"

This is the palace that was used in the filming of the movie for the back on the von Trapp home. A different palace was used for the front. This property is now owned by Harvard and used as a retreat and lecture center.

Our tour bus!

The church with the red onion dome is the abbey both where Maria actually was a nun and where the abbey scenes for the movie were shot.

The bus stopped on the way to the lake and mountain district for a photo. Everything was absolutely beautiful (and cold!) after the season's first snow.

This is the church where Maria and the Barron were married in the movie.

Here is the inside. Does it look familiar?

This was the first time Jim and I had spent a Christmas together not in Tennessee. This had been something we knew would happen one day and we'd talked about some of the things we'd miss. Waking up Christmas morning in a hotel was a feeling I find difficult to describe. We were surrounded by a beautiful city and exciting adventures but we weren't able to follow through with many of our usual traditions. While this was a little disappointing we realized we had a incredible opportunity to see the traditions of other cultures and fellow travelers like ourselves.
It was really interesting to see how other people mark the important events of their lives. In Munich the majority of celebration took place on Christmas Eve, while in Salzburg, Christmas Day was the big day. Back in Podgorica, New Years Eve preparations took on an urgency, uncharacteristic of our adopted city. The grocery stores were filled with people buying incredible amounts of food to prepare fantastic feasts. We joined in the hustle and hosted our last dinner party of 2014. While there weren't any organized celebrations in Podgorica, the skyline lit up with fireworks to welcome 2015. Jim and I had such an exciting year and thank all of you for the love and support you've given us. We look forward to continuing to share our adventures through 2015 and hope you can join us.

From both of us we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We love you and miss you all!
The Adventuring Armstrongs

Regional Adventures

Belgrade

After spending the past several months getting to know Podgorica and the surrounding area in Montenegro, we decided that it was time to venture out a little further from home. We booked a last minute flight and contacted the Andersons in Belgrade, Serbia. The Andersons are another Olmsted couple that are a year ahead of us so they have been in Belgrade for a year and a half. They have been a great example and inspiration to us with our travels in the region. Caryn put together an awesome itinerary full of spots to see around their city. Unfortunately, it was rather cold and rainy while we were in Serbia but it certainly didn't stop us from exploring!

In front of a beautiful old church at Kalemegdan.

Kalemegdan is a park that contains a fortress and several churches in the heart of Belgrade on a hill overlooking the joining of the Sava and Danube rivers. The original fortress was built in 535 A.D. and was under the rule of many different empires over the years.

Jim posing with a tank outside the Military Museum.

Mmmmm...Mulled Wine.

We had lunch at a beautiful cafe that overlooked the river and part of the fortress. This is where we discovered what would come to be one of my favorite parts of this trip...mulled wine! It is so wonderful to come into a cafe out of the cold and warm up with a cup of steaming, spiced, citrus-y, cinnamon-y red wine. What could be yummier than that?! It turned out that just about everywhere we went on this trip served it. So of course we made it our mission to decide who had the best!

With Mike and Caryn at Kalemegdan Fortress.

Mike and Caryn were fantastic hosts. They clearly love their city and were excited to show it off to us. We look forward to coming back to see them again. Especially when the weather is a bit nicer!

Church of St. Sava on a rainy evening.

The church of Saint Sava is a Serbian Orthodox church in Belgrade. The exterior was completed in 1989 but the inside is still a work in progress. It was absolutely beautiful, even in the rain!

Serbian Radio and Television station bombed by NATO.

There are several buildings in Belgrade that were bombed by NATO in the 1990s during the war. Some of the destruction is covered in screens but many of the buildings still look like the one pictured above. In some way, the fact that the buildings have not been repaired serves as a reminder that they are yet to forgive and the wounds are still fresh. Because Montenegro largely escaped the majority of the bombings, this was the first physical proof of the war that we've seen. It provided interesting insight into our region and its troubled history.

Novi Sad

On Tuesday, we drove from Belgrade to Novi Sad, Serbia. Novi Sad also holds much history and boasts beautiful architecture. Despite the rain, we were still able to tour a little and know that this city still holds much more for us to see on our next visit.

Beautiful architecture in Novi Sad.

We did get to meet up with my wonderful tutor, Marina who lives in Novi Sad. She is the tutor who I Skyped with twice a week while we were in Monterey. It was great to meet her in person and let her show us her lovely city - and hear my progress in the language! We will be back to see her, and the city, again!

Marina and me!

Budapest

On Wednesday, we drove from Novi Sad across the border into Budapest, Hungary. Almost as soon as we crossed the border, the clouds parted and the sun came out! Although it was chilly, the weather was nice for the duration of our stay in Budapest. Budapest is the capital and largest city in Hungary and one of the largest cities in the European Union. The city is divided into two parts. Buda on one side of the river and Pest on the opposite side. The architecture was some of the most fantastic we've seen yet since living in Europe.

St. Stephen's Basilica

Our hotel was in the center of the city right next to Saint Stephen's Basilica. St. Stephen's is a Roman Catholic Church that was completed in 1905. It is as beautiful and impressive inside as it is outside. The square in front of the church was filled with a Christmas Market. Each of the booths had food, sweets, mulled wine (!) and lovely hand made Hungarian crafts. It was a feast for all the senses!

St. Stephen's Basilica with the Christmas Market in front of it.

Clearly, St. Stephen's made for some great photos!

Amazingly delicious cabbage and sausage in a bread bowl we had for lunch at the Christmas Market.

Heroes' Square

Heroes' Square is one of the main squares in Budapest. It has many statues of important figures in Hungarian history and also the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is also the site of the first underground metro in Budapest.

Beautiful architecture overlooking a skate rink.

On our last evening in Budapest, Mike and Caryn took us on a Danube River Boat Dinner Cruise. They served delicious Hungarian national food and wine. Hungarian wine is fantastic! If we hadn't been flying back home, I would have bought several bottles! The views of the buildings lit up at night were breathtaking. It was cold on the deck of the boat but worth it to capture some photos!

Beautiful views from the Danube River Dinner Cruise.

Caryn and me on the Dinner Cruise with the Chain Link Bridge behind us.

Parliament from the Buda side of the Danube.

Fantastically beautiful church at Fisherman's Bastion.

Can you spot us?

Overall, this trip was a fantastic start to our exploration of the region. We are motivated and excited to continue to learn about the area and history. Stay tuned for our next trip!

Until the next adventure,
The Adventuring Armstrongs