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friday night we flew to Budapest to spend the weekend
we arrived, did our check-in at the hotel and went resting!
and the taxi driver told us: well, no snow yet, it's a pitty...
saturday morning, when we left, snow was starting to fall!
we went towards the Opera and then passed by the St Stephan Basilica
we continued through the Freedom Square towards the Hungarian Parliament
and stopped for a while to warm um at a cafe because of the cold!
afterwards, along the Danube, we passed the Chain Bridge, Vigadó Square
and turned to the Vorosmarty Square wuere the Christhmas market was at
after having lunch (and warming up) we went south through the Vaci Utca
to the Great Market Hall, which unfortunately was closed...
we went back ro the Hotel, to get the bathing suits and towels...
and went straight to the Szechenyi Bath to relax!!
sauna, thermal pools and exterior pool with snow falling!!
sunday we took the tram to Moskva Ter on the Buda side
from there we went to the Castle where we visited the Matthias Church,
the Fisherman's Bastion and the Palace, with spectacular views!
afterwards, we went down in the cable car, close to the Turul statue!
we continued on foot along the river (no rain anymore) passing by Rudas
and went up the Gellert Hill where we visited the Citadel
to end the day in style, we went to the Gellert Baths, right next door
2monday the sun finally came but the wind was chilly, chilly!!
we decided to go to the Great Maket Hall (this time it was open)
and then we went back to the Christmas market to eat something typical!
finally we went to the airport and flew back home
the impression from the 1st trip still stands: I like this city very much!
and I managed to be in the baths, outside, with falling snow!
we left friday right after worlk with snow already falling,
but we caught lots of traffic, we only arrived at the Alps 9 hours later!
saturday morning had blue sky and sunshine in Sölden (stayed the whole day)
after breakfast we left to rent the equipment and there we went!
in the end of the day we went to have a few drinks at the fashionable bar!
it was just a pitty that Marta hurt herself in the knee...
sunday we went back, this time with covered sky and cold weather,
bu the show that fell the whole day ended up making spectacular tracks!
despit the bad visibility it was a great skiing day!
in the end of the day we came back home, tired but happy...
monday was a work day (for some)!
finally one week of holidays at the beach doing absolutely nothing!!!
we left Frankfurt thursday and 11 hours later (no sleeping) we were there!
in Cancún we took une of the many vans from the agencies,
which travel down the Riviera Maya coast towards Tulum,
leaving the tourists in the the several resorts along the road...
2 hours later we left our stuff in the room, had dinner and went to sleep!
on friday we woke up wtill with mixed schedules (too early!),
and, after a nice breakfast (the meals we buffet style),
went to explore the resort and take some dives at the beach!!
after lunch we came back to our room to get the mask and breather,
the coral reef, filled with colourfull fish, comes right to the beach!
its the ideal place to try snorkeling!!
and this way also survive the extreme heat and humidity of the day!
at night we went to bed really early to try to recover from the jet-lag.
saturday morening we picked some of the tours (guided) to take
and we selected one visit to a theme park and another to a pyramid!
the rest of the day, apart from meals, was spent in the sun and in the water,
doing snorkeling and trying out the new water proof camera!
takes some practise but we could already take some nice pictures!
sunday we did a tour of the jungle where, besides being heavily stung,
we did rappel into a cenote (very cool) and rode canoes
it was nice but we were expecting we could do some snorkeling too...
after, in the afternoon, we went to the Coba ruins up the tallest pyramid
sweat running down, it was fun to see jungle all arround, from up there!
but the complex is very degraded and the trees dominate the ruins...
maybe it would have been worth going to Chichen Iza, despite the tourists...
the mexicans always have some extra that you can pay for!
be it photos of the view, a ride to cross 3 hard kilometers... oh well!
monday we took the Colectivo (easy, cheap and safe) to go to the Xcaret
right at the entrance we bought the polemic biodegradable sun screen
which we ended up not using because that day we even had rain...
and for the first time we had the dollars exanged properly,
12,9 pesos and not the convenient 10 like it seems to be traditional...
we started with the snorkeling tour in the cenote, towards the beach (1 hour)
where we watched the dolfins and the had lunch.
afterwards we went by the sea side to the Flying Men arena
and checked out the aquarium (very cool, especially the turtles!!!)
afterwards we passed by the felines and checked out the butterflies.
in the evening we saw the show about the mayan and mexican cultures
very well done and with the impressive ball game
and came back to the hotel well tires, again in the Colectivo!
it was a very well spent day, the park is impressive!
tuesday, apart from meals and shopping, was spent in the sun and water
again doing snorkeling and now experimenting with videos!
the new camera was really a good investment!
on wednesday the day was spent again at the beach doing nothing,
once again only interruped by lunch (tired of the buffet...)
and a small nap in the bedroom, to avoid the hours of hardest heat
this time I decided to try the swimming glasses, in the afternoon!
in the last day, thursday, we still could enjoy the beach in the morning!
after lunch we had to take the van to the airport,
but we still waited 4 hours for the flight and 11 more in the air!
we arrived home friday, dying of sleep (could not sleep in the airplane)!!
these were different holidays and mainly very relaxing!!
and I found that snorkeling is actually really cool,
but with a proper breather snorkel - with a valve at the bottom!!
last weekend we took a trip to Vienna!
we left Darmstadt friday night and came back on sunday...
the plan was to come back on monday but,
with the launch postonements it became a simulation day!
saturday, after breakfast, we left the hotel, close to Karlsplatz
went through the market next door on the way to the Opera
where, after some time, we finally found the ticket office!
we kept going north in Kärtnerstrasse (comertial pedestrian street)
until we got to the Stephansdom were we climbed the tower (nice view)
as the weather was good, we stopped in a cafe at Graben,
to have a snack and get some sun!
afterwards we went to Peterskirche and kept going to Am Hof
where we found an Easter Market filled with handycraft,
we kept going untill Maria Am Gestade and came back south for lunch.
in the afternoon we went south to the enormous area of the Hofburg
through the Spanish Riding School e in the National Library,
in the direction of the Burggarten, where we stayed to get some more sun!
still going sul, back to the hotel, we went in the Museums Quarter
passing in front of the Natural History and the Ancient Art Museums.
after resting in the hotel, at night, we went to the Opera, to see Arabella
which I followed in german (including subtitles), and managed to understand!
sunday we went around touwn, starting where we left off last day
past the Volkstheater, the Main Court, arriving at the Parliament
going paralell to the Volksgarten, we went past the Burgtheater
and stopped for a coffee in front of the City Hall
afterwards we went north past the University and the Votivkirche
and caught the Subway back to Karlsplatz searching for lunch!
before having some enormous doses of spare ribs and Kaiserschmarrn
we still visited the Karlskirche and the Monument to the Red Army!
we still went to the Stadtpark for a last stroll before returning to the hotel
to get the luggage and go to the airport.
Vienna is a beautiful city, with majestic buildings and wide avenues
and with the good weather we had the trip was nice, although short!
this weekend was spent in the Black Forest, in Feldberg!
the tracks were a bit icy and without snow...
but still, it was a nice weekend with friends!
this saturday it snowed again and now its is freezing cold...
but it was worth it to see Heidelberg white again!!
...there you go, we were playing tourist guides again!
