And then there is Prague...

I would venture to say Prague is one of the most beautiful cities we have seen in Europe.  It has stunning architecture, and, the city is clean and well cared for...at least the parts that we saw.  Please take a moment, and feast your eyes on this small sample of photos taken of this lovely city...

The Church of Our Lady before Tyn

Old Town Hall

Prague's 600 year old Astronomical Clock 

Municipal House

Above and below...two buildings found on the Old Town Square

A sculpture of Franz Kafka's head

Open staircase found in the United Colors of Benetton clothing store

The Vltava River that runs through Prague.
You can see Prague Castle in the background.

The four photos below were taken on our hike up Petrin Hill to Petrin Tower.

Petrin Tower

Powder Tower - one of the original city gates

One of many statues that can be found on the Charles Bridge, 
a pedestrian crossing that spans the river and links both sides together.

The side of the river known as Lesser Town, where Prague Castle is located.

A view of the city as we hiked up the hill to Prague Castle.
You can see Petrin Tower at the top of the hill.

Below are photos of Prague Castle, which dates from the 9th century.  It is now the official office of the President of the Czech Republic.  

Once again, our time in Prague was short...only three nights...but we enjoyed every minute of our visit, and would love to come back to discover more about this fascinating city.    

  

A Quick Look at Bucharest...

What can I say about Bucharest?  First, I need to point out that our visit here was very short.  We were only in the city for two nights, which didn't give us much time to explore.  Plus, we encountered some rainy weather during our brief time here.  I can tell you that once we got out walking, we did see many old, majestic looking buildings...and more than a fair amount of old, dilapidated buildings.  Here's a very quick look at Bucharest...

I loved this building...but never did find out what it is used for.
Below is a picture of the same building lit up at night.  

We saw quite a few buildings that looked like this...

A lovely bookstore and cafe that we visited during our stay.  

A covered passageway that reminded us of the ones we saw in Paris.

We always look for a park near by where we can do some walking.  Like most European cities...Bucharest did not disappoint us.  Although this park could definitely use a little TLC, it still was pretty.  It's always nice to see a little green when you are surrounded by concrete.  This park was just a ten minute walk from our hotel.

We saw lots of old, stately looking trees.

And...literally hundreds of park benches

One of the nicer restaurants found inside the park.

While we were here, we had a chance to eat at Caru' cu Bere, one of the more popular restaurants in the city.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere equally as good.

"

The outside of restaurant, Caru' cu Bere.  

Live music entertains you while you eat.

Bucharest wasn't my favorite city in Romania, but I'm glad I had a chance to see it.

  

   

Sinaia, Romania

Yikes!  I'm afraid I have fallen behind on my posts.  Although I am currently in Hungary...I wanted to to do one last post on Romania.  During our stay there we traveled to two other towns...Alba Iulia and Sinaia.  Although we had a nice visit in both places...we found Sinaia to be particularly charming.  It is a popular destination in Romania for hiking and skiing, and, for visiting Peles Castle.  

Peles Castle is a summer palace that was built in 1874.  It was constructed for King Carol 1 of Romania.  The castle is located at the edge of a dense forest, and has many of the original furnishings that were placed inside.  Unfortunately, a special ticket was required if you wanted to take photos inside the palace.  I didn't purchase the ticket...but I did get photos of the outside.

Below are a few pictures of the town...and of Peles Castle.

Another palace located near Peles Castle.

Peles Castle...above and the four below

The castle clock tower

While there, we stayed in a charming bed and breakfast, with a beautiful view.

The view from our bedroom balcony

Sinaia has many beautiful homes...but several were in need of repair and on the market with hopes that someone would buy and restore them to their former glory. 

We only had one night here...but we enjoyed great weather and had a terrific time hiking around the town.  The people were very friendly...and one gentleman was even kind enough to help us up the steps with our luggage.