Pictures Are Up!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/DeShazers

check them out... cya
M&T

Made it to Midland

Well this is the finally part of the journey. We got on the El Paso
flight and landed at 11pm. Then I had to convince a rental car agent
to rent me a car as a one way to midland. Tiff and I got into a hotel
at about midnight and finally got some sleep. I woke up at 630 though
and decided to get on the road. So we drove back to Midland and got in
at 11 am. I had a regional meeting at work so I got dressed and got up
to the office just in time to help my teams in their presentations.

It is good to be home. We had alot of fun and will be posting pictures
this weekend so be sure to check back.

Headed back to Midland

What a eventful day...

We were up at 330 Munich time and got on the bus at 430 to make our
710 flight. All went well and we landed in brussel reboarded for our
transatlantic flight and took off at 1045 (445 am Texas time). We got
to Chicago in time and that was when the fun began.

We landed at 2 pm cst. We went through customs and were informed at
the AA connection desk that DFW was shut down and that they were going
to send us through Houston on a continental flight. So we went to the
other terminal to check in with continental and they informed us that
they had cancelled all flights into Houston and Dallas 5 hours ago and
AA should have called. So then we went back to the AA terminal but
this time we had to sit in the line for an hour with all the other
people with cancelled DFW flight connections. Our travel agent told us
that it looks like getting back through DFW would not happen till
Thursday so she booked us a flight to el paso and we will rent a car
and drive the 4 hours home to midland tomorrow.

Currently we are sitting at the terminal. The plane that us suppose to
take us to el paso just pulled up to the gate.

Wish us luck.
M&T

Day 8: Salzburg and back to Munich

We got to sleep in until 730 today which was great. At 845 we were off
on a city tour of Salzburg by foot. Our guide showed us through the
old gardens and the old pedestrian walkways. We actually got to see
more Sound of Music sights today than we did yesterday. We saw the
fountain where the sang do re me in, the place where the entire family
sang before they ran away (it had an excavation going on near it so no
pic), and we saw the place where the police came looking for the
parents while they were on there honeymoon. I think that was all.

We went through an old cemetery near the abby that is still used
because they do not embalm the bodies and put them in wooden boxes so
they will turn back to dirt and then 15 years later they can bury the
next family member in the same spot.

We did not get to go up to the castle we decided to shop instead. We
bought chocolate ate a great lunch, Italian again, then we bought some
more tourist trap stuff.

We went through Mozart's house and museum which was kind of cool. All
in all Salzburg should only be a daylong stop.

We drove on to Munich for the night and had our farewell dinner with
the group for the last time.

We had a great trip.

Oldest Restaurant in Europe

Salzberg Castle

Sound of Music Gazebo

Alpine Lake

Day 7: Salzberg

We woke up early this morning and left Vienna for Salzberg. It was a
beautiful drive through the lower alps. The mountains just kept
getting bigger and bigger.

We stopped at a restaurant on the way where you could smoke in the
restaurant. It was extremely smokey in this restaurant, all people do
here is smoke. Tiffaney was very bothered by a group of people behind
us that must have smoked a pack while we ate. It was terrible the
entire tour bus smelled of smoke after that. We continued on to
Salzburg but Tiff could not make it and had to use the Emergency
Bathroom on the bus, I teased her cause even the old women on the bus
never had to. It rained on us most of the way to Salzberg.

When we got to town most of the rain had stopped and we went on our
sound of music excursion tour. Also included in the tour was going up
to obersalzberg which was the alpine getaway of Hitler and other high
Nazi offcials. It was really high and pretty neat to see. We got to go
down in some of the underground bunkers that they prepared and saw the
exact spot where hitlers house was, where eva brown his girlfriend
stayed before she went to Berlin and they were married just before
they committed suicide. In one of the bunkers there was a hole in the
wall where American soldiers tested how effective their bazookas would
have been if they would have had to take it by force. Everything was
destroyed by the Americans and later the new german government to
prevent it becoming to big of a tourist trap. The "eagles nest" which
was a nazi conference building on the mountain above obersalzberg was
not destroyed but the roads don't open till summer.

We were not really impressed with the sound of music portion we got to
see the outside of the convent where they were married in real life,
the gazebo, but of was just the one they used for outside shots, they
had the big one in studio I believe. We also gate where the children
ran to the abbey to get her back. As well as the castle they used when
she was going to the family in the beginning of the movie. It was a
drive by for that part, hardly slowed down for us. Our tour guide
almost forgot the gazebo ! We were almost back to our hotel and
everyone shouted what about the gazebo ! It was funny, we had alot of
sound of music fans !

After the tour we came back to the hotel were we just relaxed for a
short time before dinner. This dinner was not the best that we have
had, michaels salmon was undercooked, didn't look good and I had to
ask for chicken. It wasn't even on the dinner menu, the only chose has
salmon but enough of us didn't eat fish do we were able to get chicken.

After dinner we crashed and went to sleep early. At these hotels you
gave to sleep with the windows open bc you can't turn the heat off !
No screens on the windows or anything.

Schonbrun Palace

Hobsberg's Palace

Outside of Spanish Riding School

Day 6: More Vienna

One addition to yesterday... We went to the Hobsbergs church that was
attached to their palace where most were married. It was smaller than
st stephens but it has a cool history. So when one of the kings or
important family members died they had a funeral in st stephens and
then their bodies were taken to this chuch to be mumified. The ranking
family member would knock on the door of the church and a monk would
ask who goes there they would respond with the full title of the dead
(which is long cause they ruled 17 kingdoms) the monk would say I
don't know him. They would do this all again and the monk would
respond again then they would say this is a poor sinner and they monk
would let them in to symbolize that even a king and his title do not
matter once they are dead. Anyways... Then the monks mummified the
body and sent it off to the family crypt but the hearts were also
preserved and kept in the church so there is a room just off the
church with dozens of preserved Hobsberg hearts. It is not open to the
public though.

Now today was action packed. We started the morning with an excursion
to the Hobsbergs summer palace called Schonburn Palace. It was very
beautiful and was in nearly perfect condition. The gardens were not as
nice as the summer palace of the family in Munich but is was still
impressive. Napolean also housed here for a while (he latter married a
Hobsberg, Marie Antionette was also a Hobsberg)

We then went to the Spanish riding school performance. These are white
stallions that have been bread for over 350 years. This riding school
which is attached to the palace has been continuous active since the
18th century. It was an amazing performance. The have trained these
horses to trot like the are dancing and they are able to rear up on
their hind legs and pose it was very cool.

We ate some pizza for lunch. Then we went to St Peters church and
listened to the orchestra practice. It was an amazing church with lots
of red marble. We then went to the national treasury to see the crown
jewels and priceless church relics.

We walked around the rest of the palace, which took hours and took
many more pictures of other 17 and 18 century buildings that are now
mostly museums.

For dinner we went to another famous Viennese restaurant where I had
some wienersnitsel which is just fried pork not like a sausage like I
was thinking.

That was it. Does not sound like much as I write it but it was a very
busy day. Tomorrow we go to Salzburg Austria.

Day 5: Vienna

We arrived in Vienna and it was raining. Not pouring down but still
raining. We immediately went on a tour of the city. After our city
tour guide got done with her socialist rant about how great it was to
get "free" healthcare and 5 weeks vacation (no wonder our GDP is so
much greater) she should us around what can easily be called one if
the most well prserved cities in Europe.

The Hobsburg family ruled most of eastern Europe for 700 years
amassing great wealth in their capital city ad home in Vienna. Their
palace is huge and very ornate. Their dynasty had the most "holy roman
emperors" Since they were protectorates of the catholic church their
church are some of the most impressive.

We walked through St Stephens cathedral (this is the first martyr
Stephen not the same one as in Budapest). All the pictures of Jesus
are covered with purple awaiting Easter. We also walked around to
other buildings but we did not go in until the next day.

That night we did an excursion to the countryside to eat at an inn
that is very popular and hosted Napolean when he was conducting a
battle to the north. The food was great and tiffaney was asked to
dance by an german guy. She did the Danube waltz with him and she was
all red.

We were tired and called it an early night.

Day 4: More Budapest

On our second day in Budapest we started out at 8am with a bigger tour
of the city. Having the bus is really nice cause we will get out walk
and see all the cool stuff take pictures and then get picked up so it
minimizes walking and maximizes your time.

We went up to the palace complex and saw St Mattius's church which was
being renovated on the outside. The palace area was cool and our
favorite part was fisherman's bastion which is like a fort facing the
river. We took like 150 pictures at the palace.

We also went to hero's square which was built in 1896 to commerate
1000 years of the Hungarian empire. They had a 6 month party and most
of the big buildings in town were built on time for that celebration.
Next to hero's square is Vajdahunyad Castle. Yeah I can't say it
either. Basically this arcitect went around Hungary and made a small
scale model of a castle that combined castles and palaces from the
14-17 centuries and displayed it at the 1896 celebration. Everyone
loved it so much that he was commissioned to build it full scale. So
it is a beautiful castle that no one has ever lived in.

After the morning tour we went on a Danube boat cruise for lunch. It
was very cool; the view was great from the
water. We had some time to ourselves with U/R. We have been thinking
of him alot.

In the afternoon we went around by ourselves. We tried to go in the
Parliment but there was no English tour that afternoon. We went up to
the top of St Stephens Cathedral which was very high and windy but had
a great view of the city. Inside the church was the prettiest church I
have ever seen. Lots of gold and marble.

Then we just explored the rest by foot. We rested for an hour and
then went to the largest mall in eastern Europe.

As I am writing this we are heading to Austria.

St Stephens Cathedral

Tiff in front of Parliment

Parliment of Hungary

The Chain Bridge

Budapest Palace

Day 3: To Budapest

Sorry we have not posted in a while. The last few days have been great!

I left off last time in Prague... so here goes. We left Prague and
headed to Budapest. It was a great drive through the countryside of
the Czech republic. They have a lot of large farms and during the
communist days they produced so much food that Czech never had to
worry about starving like many other countries. In fact Czech exports
were very important to the soviet union and once they had produced
enough food they were allowed to trade with other countries for other
materials making them much better off then other communist states.
They call it communism lite. After the fall the farmers decided to
keep the large farms together as co-ops and are still very successful.

We stopped for lunch in Bratslava, Slovakia. It was kind if crappy but
the building were quite beautiful and being improved. We had a
terrible time with a waitor that had a terrible time communicating.
They had a very cool bridge that crossed the Danube.

We got to Budapest, Hungary and were immediately impressed by the
city. Even though it was nearly 80% destroyed during WW2 it was
rebuilt exactly the same as it had been in the 14th century. We went
on a night tour after we got settled in the hotel. It was called the
illumination tour because most of the buildings are illuminated until
midnight. The city was once two cities split by the Danube; Buda the
hilly side and Pest the flat side.

Day 2: More Prague

Fun day! Told you all we would get more pictures up.

We started the day on another tour of the city. We walked across the
Czech bridge, checked out the Jewish ghetto, saw St. Midus
cathedral, watched the changing of the guard at the presidential
palace, and finally watched the astronomical clock strike noon.

We had the rest of the day to ourselves, which was great. Tiff and I
shopped in the Easter market that is going on for the next two weeks.
They sell these hollow painted eggs on strings that were pretty cool.
I ate this twisty cinnamon bread that was good. We watched some Czech
kids singing songs on a stage in the middle of the square. We did some
shopping, bought some orginal paintings and looked at some bohemian
garnets but didn't buy any cause I thought it was sketch that they
could not certify them.

As you can see from the pic we ate some spaghetti for lunch like yncle
ray used to then mcdonalds for dinner. We walked to the national
museum but it was closed. But it looks down at vaclavske square which
is like a long boulevard that the soviets use to parade down during
the cold war. Now capitalism rules with stores and restaurants
everywhere.

We rode the subway back to the hotel. It was a really deep subway,
probably 60 feet below ground. Our feet hurt after walking on
cobblestones all day so we are just watching Czech tv. Tomorrow we
drive to Budapest, which is a 7 hour drive. Looking forward to a new
place though.

M&T

Easter Festival

Vaclavske Square

Vaclaske Square

Foreign food...

Day 1: Prague

The drive to Prague today was very good. We drove through the german
countryside and crossed the Czech border. We stopped for lunch at a
place that no one spoke English. I went to order and there were two
german guys in front of me and I wanted what they got. So I pointed at
their plates as they walked off but the server looked at me like I was
crazy. So I just pointed at what I wanted but she gave me about twice
as much as the other guys. It was good though brats, some deli pork
meat cut thick and some fried meat that might have been lamb or sheep.
I don't know. Me and Tiff got a sparkling water instead of regular
water too, so that was gross.

We drove into Czech and most of it was really crappy. The fall of
communism is helping but things were so bad for more than 40 years. It
is funny though because there are many very large buildings that have
been westernized. Like this old factory that is now a huge fitness
center.

We went on an excurision tonight. It was a night tour of Prague, I
mean Praha, (which is the czech version). It was very neat we went up
to Prague castle/monestary area that is more than 900 years old! The
guide also had some ghost stories and fairytales to tell us. We then
went over the Charles bridge which is 650 years old and an orginal,
one of the oldest bridges to survive WW2.

We are in bed, very tired. Tomorrow we have a lot of free time so that
will be good.

M&T

Day 1

Well we got picked up from the airport yesterday and went to our hotel
Le Meridien. It was a very very nice hotel. We finally got to take
showers after nearly 20 hrs of flying. Then we ate dinner with our
whole group. There are a couple of other texans and a lot of really
nice people. Average age probably 40, no really old people to slow us
down though.

We got a great nights sleep as you can imagine. No real jet lag to
speak of. They had wake up calls for us at 6:15 local time here.

This morning we went to the historic downtown area. There were three
very cool churches all within a mile. We took lots of pictures. It was
very cold, probably 40s. It is great touring the city in this bus
because we sit about 10 feet of the ground and can see everything very
well. The tour director is very knowledgeable.

We then went on to Nyphenberg which was built by the ruling family to
be a summer home. This family was the longest continuous ruling family
in Europe from 1150 to 1918. They started as dukes of Braveria then
became kings later. The complex was huge, just a long string of houses
and buildings and gardens. The bummer was that the statues were all
covered because they are limestone and can crack if they get wet and
freeze.

We are currently heading toward Prague. Driving through the hops
fields. The tour guide is giving a history lesson. I have heard it
all, Tiff is trying to nap.

Our first day on the bus!

Nymphenburg

Finally in Munich!

We are here. Still at the airport unfortunately but here nevertheless.
We are waiting on the next pick up time and then the journey begins.

Love you all. Pictures to come soon.
M&T

London calling... Or texting in this case

Gooday

We are in London's beautiful and well designed airport... Not! Most
confusing thing ever. We set in lines for an hour before getting to
the right terminal. Tiff likes everyones accents though. She smiles
instantly when they talk brittish.

I guess it is 330 at home well it is 830 here. I got 2-3 hrs of sleep
but Tiff could not. Hopefully this flight to Munich will be long
enough to get a nap.

Jolly good day to ya
M&T

'bout to jump across the pond

We are sitting in Chicago waiting to take off. I dont think we are
going to have a problem sleeping on tje flight it has already been a
long day.

I got my cell plan changed and to not accept incoming calls till we
get back.

You can click on the link at the bottom of the page so that you will
get updates when we post.

Talk to ya on the flipside
M&T

After months of waiting the day is finally here... We take off in 30
minutes to Dallas. Then on to Chicago London and finally Munich.

***One thing I have not figured out is how to send a picture and text
on one message to the blog so my posts will come in pairs.

Leaving Midland

Trip Map

Here is a picture of where we will be going. Tiffaney and I are very
excited and will be sending back lots of pictures. More to come, check
back.

MD