Unexpected Weather

 

While we were out on the first day, it came a pretty big snowstorm. Good thing we didn't pack warmer clothes.

Vienna's Cold

 

One of the things we didn't expect about February in Vienna is that it would be pretty cold. Here is a frozen over fountain. It was so cold you couldn't really face the wind. Lisa and I had to order Lentil soup and pour it into our pockets just to survive.

Charlemagne's Socks

 

 

 

One of the neat things about Europe is learning about a whole different history of about how things came to be like they are. The first guy to unite Europe and the first king of France was Charlemagne. In a museum we saw his spear tip, gloves, and socks respectively.

Birthday Dinner

When in a landlocked part of Europe, what better meal, especially on one's birthday, than to eat Sushi.

 

Budapest, Hungary

Lisa and I were fortunate enough to get to travel to Budapest, Hungary.  Below are chronicled our gastro-political adventures.

American Embassy in Budapest

We were driving around and looking for parking.  We stumbled upon the American Embassy and through hand gestures and french/english/german/hand gestures, we obtained free parking.

You're gonna Pay!

 

The tower on the left is a memorial to all the fallen soviet war heroes.  The sign on the right instructed us to pay for parking, in three languages.

Botulism never tasted so good.

 

We were treated to (at least one) good meal while in Budapest.  The prices were really cheap until we realized that we were one decimal place off in our calculations.  Then the prices were reasonable.  The appetizer we got consisted of some butter and raw bacon.  When in Rome......don't eat raw bacon.

Marzipan Map

 

While we were in Budapest, we went to the Marzipan Museum.  Here is a map of Europe made from Marzipan.  Italy was delicious.

City View

It turns out that Budapest was only 2.5 hour drive from Vienna so we decided to go.  The town was beautiful, the people were great, and it had a much more favorable exchange rate than Austria.  We had a great time and our only regret was that we didn't spend more time there.

Gerbeaud

 

This is Lisa and I at the famous Gerbeaud restaurant in Budapest.  They have a famous chocolate cake that is pretty rich (both in the cost and intestinal distress ways).  It was nice to come in and warm up.

Chain Bridge

This is the chain bridge in Budapest that connects the cities of Buda and Pest over the Danube river.  It is a little shocking as you come out of the "Bad part of town", through a tunnel, and on to this bridge without expecting it.  

Where I used to work

EnSafe, the great company I used to work for, had an office in Bratislava, Slovakia, which is right next to Vienna.  We drove by (into) the city on the way back from Bucharest.  We didn't find the office but we were treated to a very beautiful city on the Blue Danube!

33rd Birthday!

Upon my recent birthday, I realized that there were a lot of our friends who shared a birthday in our shortest month.  Here are me and Amy Blehm with a birthday cake prepared by Lisa.  We just ate the name parts and Lisa re-baked that portion with the next names in line for a birthday.  Also is me pictured with my cake at work which a friend of ours at church prepared.  It lasted just under two hours. 

Iron Mike

This summer, Lisa and I took a trip to Normandy, Frace to view the WWII sites. This Veteran's Day weekend, I thought it fitting to reflect on the sacrifice and service that our armed forces, past and present, have given for our country.

Born on the Bayeux

The first stop we made in Normandy was to go and see the Bayeux Tapestry. The tapestry is housed in a building and you can't take pictures of it. It is 42 miles (70 meters) long and tells the story of William the Conquoror's conquest of Britian in 1066. The battle must of taken ages if they could sew it.

The sea was angry that day my friends

Lisa and I were fortunate enough to get to to to Mont St Michel. This is the second most visited site in France. It is a converted monestary that is completely surronded by the North Sea at high tide, hence the parking lot sign.

Lisa and the Floodplain

Mont St Michel

We didn't take this picture of ourselves.

The always Glamorous, Lisa Odom!

She's like Fergie, except she's Lisa-licious!

Lisa and "The Guide"

We had a guide that took us around Normandy. He rode in our car with us and told us stories for about 5 hours (sidenote, all that I receive is grief when I ride in a car with someone for 5 hours and tell them stories. This guy got Euro). He was a very good guide and, being an Englishman, spoke English surpurbly.

Giant Zac

The Allied Secret Weapon! Giant Zac! (We really didn't mean this picture to be funny. But the funniest stuff is not planned, as we all know).

Lisa at Utah Beach Cemetary

Runnin' on a full tank

There's old military stuff EVERYWHERE in Normandy. It is a pretty cool place. In case you thought the pun that is the title of this message is bad, a close second was "Our Normandy vacation was right on track!"

Mannequin Intimidation

I can't even intimidate a mannequin.

Normandy Beaches

It kind of looks like this boat threw me up.

Taking Pictures of Ourselves

We're getting pretty good at taking pictures of ourselves.

Barbed Wire Museum

Lisa fell in this hole as we were walking back from the beach.

Just gettin' a little nectar

Who's House? Monet's House!

On the way home, Lisa wanted to stop by Monet's house to see the gardens, etc. I really (secretly) didn't want to go but it turned out to be one of the nicest parts of the trip.

Just off the plane

This was taken at the world famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich. This was not long after they got off the plane. It is a good place to eat if you know what you're looking for. Giant pretzels are a must!

Tres Chic

Impossible

It is impossible to take a crappy picture of Neuschwanstein Castle.

Famous Gazebo's of the World

This is in the top 5 famous gazebos in the world. It was featured in the Sound of Music. They used to have it open but people kept jumping around and breaking their legs on the benches inside. Come to think of it, "famous gazebos" is a good name for a band. Zac and the Famous Gazebos.........

Bus Wreck

Sarah about to be run over by a bus. It's all perspective people.

Paper Doll Dresses

We stopped to shop for traditional clothes in Salzburg. They sold a lot of stuff that, like most tourist shops, looks cool when your there but dumb when you get home. Like the time I bought flip flops and surfer shorts in San Diego. Didn't look quite so cool in Frankfurt.

Gnomes

We were just "gnoming" around Salzburg and went to see this little garden of gnomes. Apparently they are from the sound of music or something. I've never seen the movie.

Mozart

Mozart didn't appreciate Sarah fiddling with his piano. He also doesn't appreciate you singing "and I would eat my fries myself and not give any to my dumb brother..." (80's McDonald's commercial reference, can be viewed here, althouh, after more research, that was Fur Elise which was Beethoven, which, along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John was another famous piano playing dude)