Peleş Castle, Romania

With a very early flight Sunday morning from Chişinău we had several hours to kill back in Bucharest.  So rather than go walk around the city again, we rented a car and drove to Sinaia.

Sinaia is a mountain resort town about 100 km (62 miles) from Bucharest.  It is 60 km (37 miles) from Bran Castle and 50 km (31 miles) from Braşov.  I had wanted to stop here in 2010 but there wasn't enough time in the day.

Sinaia was named after Mt. Sinai in Egypt.  Many of my colleagues have raved about how nice the town is.  Which makes sense because this is where Romania's King Carol I built his summer home – Peleş Castle.

Construction on the castle began in 1873.  There was an interruption in construction but it was finally completed in 1883.  The castle is amazing!  Peleş combines wood, stone, bricks and marble, and it has more than 160 rooms.  Inside of the castle is quite spectacular with each each room decorated in a particular style.

It's kind of pricey to tour the castle.  Admission to the castle was 50 Romanian Lei ($14) four the tour of the ground floor (official reception areas) and the first floor (private areas).  They wanted to charge another $9 just to take photos inside of the castle.  I elected to forgo the interior photos but there are pictures on Flickr of the outside which you can take photos of for free.

Peleş Castle was the first European castle to be entirely lit by electric current.  The castle had its own plant that produced electricity.

Next to the Peleş Castle is Pelişor (Little Peles).  King Ferdinand felt that Peleş was too big to be used as a summer residence so he had a smaller, 70-room chateau built.  There wasn't enough time to tour Pelişor.  So maybe next time.

A return visit to Sinaia may just be in order.  Besides Pelişor, I would like to tour the Sinaia Monastery.  Plus, there's also the town itself which should be nice and relaxing.

Alps Road Trip Summary

Our four-day road trip through the Alps came to an end.  Here's the recap of our little adventure. 

On Friday, at 11 AM, Nat and I caught a train from Brno to Vienna and then another train on to Graz, Austria.  After work Miran drove up from Slovenia, picked us up at the train station and drove on to Innsbruck, where we spent the night.

After a Saturday morning wander through Innsbruck it was on to Vaduz, Liechtenstein.  After a short side trip to Malbun it was then time to take on Switzerland.  Switzerland was the 30th country I've visited since moving to Euroland in July 2009!  First a stop in Stein am Rhein followed by a visit to see the Rheinfalls.  We spent the night in Winterthur but it was dark once we got settled in, and since we left early Sunday morning for Bern, so we kind off missed out on seeing it.  Bern was really nice but I could have done without the freak snow storm we had on the way to Lucerne.

On (Easter) Monday morning we made our way to Zürich where we met up with a couple of Nat's friends from New Zealand.  Ray (she) and Kelly (he) both live in Zürich now and met us for coffee and a walk around the old town.  We had to leave at noon because everyone had to work bright and early on Tuesday morning so we headed made our way to Schaan and Balzers in Liechtenstein.  Then back to Innsbruck where we spent an hour in the mountains enjoying the view of the entire city.

Miran dropped Nat and I off at the train station in Salzburg.  I really need to go back to Salzburg because the only thing I got to see is glimpse of a castle from the main train platform.  Kind of a tease, right?  However, I've been told that I should not be allowed in Salzburg until I've actually watched The Sound of Music.  I know, I know...but I just haven't ever had the time to see the movie but I promise I will soon.

From Salzburg we changed trains in Vienna and made it back to Brno at 1 AM.  Yes, it was a lot of traveling in a short period of time but it was a great way to see a heck of a lot.  There are over 1,300 photos out on Flickr now.  From Graz to Salzburg we drove 1,612 km (1,001 miles) in four days.

In the USA we equate driving to miles per gallon.  With the metric system, here gas efficiency is measured in the number of liters per 100 km.  I don't remember the exact amount but we ended up paying around €250 (~$300) for gasoline.

2011 Tuscan Road Trip Summary

My first proper European road trip went really well. From Murska Sobota, Miran and I drove to Tuscany.

Our first destination was San Gimignano, followed by Siena and then the regional capital, Florence. From there we headed to San Marino before eventually making our way back to Slovenia.

Toscana, Italian for "Tuscany", is probably the most photographed and romantic region in Italy. It is known for its beautiful landscape and is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. Tuscany has been home to some very influential people such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Puccini, Dante, Botticelli, Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei and Amerigo Vespucci.

Tuscany is home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Roughly 10% of World Heritage is found in Tuscany.

San Marino made for a great day trip. It is Europe's 3rd smallest country and the world's oldest republic.

The four day road trip came out to around 1,800 km (1,120 miles). Gas in Slovenia is cheaper than in Italy so we made sure to fill up before we left. However, gas still ran us about €210 ($275) and the Italian road tolls came to €70 ($91). This was a wonderful trip and all of the photos are already posted on Flickr.

Rome, Italy

Janelle came back to Europe to attend a wedding in Slovakia. So we decided to take a trip to Rome with Liz and Eiko (the Bratsville chicas). What a great idea!! I figured that I would like Rome. That's an understatement. Rome was awesome!! You've got to love a city where every time you turn around you see something that's +2,000 years old.

Rome is Italy's largest city with 2.7 million people, as well as, home to Vatican City. Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire and the city's history covers 2.5 thousand years. Again, every where you look you will find something historic. There are lots of monuments, museums and the center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


The Colosseum is incredible!! It's in the city center and by far the city's biggest attraction.


It was the largest amphitheater ever built in the Roman Empire. Built between 72 - 80 AD, the Colosseum was where gladiators battled to the death and where up to 70,000 people could watch.


The place was designed so that there really wasn't a bad seat in the house.




Between the Colosseum and the Roman Forum is the Arch of Constantine. Dedicated in 315 AD, it is the newest of the triumphal arches in Rome. It was built to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius in 312 AD. You know the stuff is old when you need to write "AD" as part of the date.

Il Foro Romano (the Roman Forum) was the center of commerce, politics and social life in the Roman Empire. Here are ruins and archeological excavations that go back over 2,000 years.

The 17th century Spanish Steps are at Piazza di Spagna and lead up to a beautiful 16th century church, Trinità dei Monti, that has a great view of the city. The Spanish Steps are the widest staircase in Europe.

The Pantheon was a temple for worshiping all of the Roman gods. The building was designed to support the weight of the biggest brick dome in the history of architecture. A hole in the dome's center is the only light source. Today there are a few famous people entombed there including the artist Raphael.

La Bocca della Verità (the Mouth of Truth) is a marble carving that is believed to be either part of a 1st century fountain or a manhole cover. Many think that the image represents the ancient god of the Tiber River. From the Middle Ages, people thought that if one told a lie while one's hand was in the sculpture's mouth then it would be bitten off. Perhaps the world's first lie detector?

One of my favorite things about Roma was the Trevi Fountain. It is simply gorgeous. I just don't know if it is prettier during the day or at night. The Neptune statute was added in 1762. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city (and Rome has plenty of them). The legend goes that if you throw a coin in to the fountain then you are fated to return to Rome. You can be sure that we all tossed in our coins.

This is a great city. We spent 3.5 days here, did things from early morning until late in the evening, and we only scratched the surface what the city has to offer. I could go back for two weeks and still probably not get to see and experience everything. Those coins in the fountain had better work. If not, then at least I've got a few photos to remember Roma by. Well...between the four of us there are over 2,300 photos and videos out on Flickr.

1st Balloon Ride

The time came to take the birthday hot air balloon ride. Sounds like a great idea for someone who's scared of heights, right? It was awesome!! By far, the best birthday present EVER!!

A couple of things did not work out as planned but, in the end, everything came together. Originally we were supposed to go on Saturday afternoon but the weather did not hold out so we were moved to Sunday morning. We were told that we would take off from Radešín and land in Brno, near Kraví hora. Radešín is about an hour away from Brno and not so easy to get there at 6 AM on Sunday. So Sabine ordered a taxi for 5 people. I guess the taxi company included the driver as one of the five people. Logczech. Half of us took the first car and a second taxi came about 20 minutes later.

We get there and everything is fine. Sort of. We then find out that we will land in Mirošov; not Brno. That's about an hour away and we had no clue about how to get from there back to Brno. But that's not anything that the five of us couldn't figure out.

The big surprise came when we saw the balloon. We thought we were going up in a small balloon with just us and the pilot. Instead, there were 30 of us going. It turns out that Kubíček, based in Brno, is the 3rd largest producer of hot air balloons in the world. They were giving a test flight to a potential buyer so we got to join in with them go for a ride in one of the largest balloons in the world. It was awesome!!

So at 7 AM we were high over the Czech country side. Claudia had brought some champagne for us. Then people started handing us beers and passing around a bottle of slivovice. Nothing says "Sunday morning" like 7 AM shots of booze. Another last touch was that one of the guys from Kubíček brought along his violin so we were serenaded during our flight. He even played "Happy Birthday" for me. The ride was incredible!! I even did OK with the whole fear of heights thing.

After we landed in Mirošov, they had to pack up the balloon and then drove us back to our starting point in Radešín where we had breakfast. After about an hour or so they wanted all of the first-timers to gather around. I thought it was for a group photo but then someone came up to each of us and blew into our hair and then put some dirt on our heads, followed by a quick flick of a lighter and some water...for the four elements. This was quickly followed by the pouring of champagne as part of our hot air balloon baptism. Apparently, I am now known as Christopher z Mirošova since that's where we landed.

After another hour, the company drove us back to Brno. So everything worked out perfectly. My only concern is that now I'm spoiled because the next time I go for a balloon ride I'll expect something huge with musical accompaniment. Between the five of us we managed almost 1,000 photos and videos of our outing and I've posted them all on Flickr. Big thanks to Vilém, Markéta, Adriana, Dalibor, Pavel, Tomáš F., Tomáš K., and Annie for pitching in on my birthday ride. And extra HUGE thanks to Claudia, Norbert, Sabine and Natalie for going on this adventure with me. Again, the best birthday present EVER!

40th Birthday Fiesta

OK, so I think I have now fully recovered from the 40th birthday fiesta on Saturday night. July is a tough time to throw a party because this is prime vacation time. Even still there were about 35 people who came to Železná Růže for a nice, respectable little roar. Friends even made it from Prague and Břeclav. What a great time!!

This was the same place where Claudia had her 30th birthday and they did a great job again. We had the whole back room with the bar and a DJ. They grilled turkey and pork, plus sausages, and set out vegetable, cheese, meat and fruit trays with all of the fixings. Along with plenty of champagne, wine and beer. Not to mention all of the vodka and tequila shots that people kept sending over to me. But somehow I hung in there. =)



I still can't believe that so many people made such a fuss about my birthday. When people asked what I wanted for my birthday all I said was that I wanted my friends to come and have a good time. Well my friends don't always listen to me. I received so many bottles of wine, vodka, schnapps and slivovice. Along with some cool art work and a couple of good books. My friends know I'm in this blog contest and apparently they didn't want me to run out of adventures so they lined up a few things for me to do. Let's see...I get to go paragliding and go on a hot air balloon ride. Did I mention that I'm scared of heights? But I so can't wait to do both. And if I do get a little stressed then afterwards I get to relax at a Thai massage parlor. Plus a trip to Berlin over the long holiday weekend in November. I'm totally psyched about all of my new upcoming adventures. Yeah!!

We closed the place down around 12:30 am and a good ten of us wound up at a club until late. I think I managed to crawl in to bed around 6 am. I guess I'm not too old to still tear it up once in a while. On Sunday, my friend Aleš helped me go back to the restaurant to pick up all of the gifts and leftover food. Luckily, I wasn't hung over at all but I was definitely exhausted. It's a good thing that I don't turn 40 very often. All of the photos, after editing, are out on Flickr. I'm very fortunate to have made such a good group of friends over here the ČR. Thank you again to everyone for making this such a great birthday.

Paris, France

September 28th is Czech Statehood Day and this year it fell on a Tuesday. So I decided to take Monday and Wednesday off and give myself an extra long weekend getaway in Paris. Ryanair had a special from Bratislava to Beauvais which is 80 km (~50 miles) north of Paris.

Four of us rented an apartment in Montparnasse which is on the left bank of the River Seine. The apartment was great however, the only problem was there there was only one key for four people. But it wasn't really that big of a deal. I was just happy that my French still works because it made it a lot easier working things out with the landlord.

Paris is an awesome city. Yeah, it's big and at times the metro is ridiculously crowded but it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. You can't go 500 feet without coming across a park, a piece of art or something historic. Everyone I spoke with was incredibly polite and helpful. Speaking French didn't hurt, but still. Plus the food was amazing!! This is a city I could very easily live in.

Here are the sightseeing highlights. I've already loaded all of my pictures on Flickr.

L'Hôtel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids) was built as a hospital and a retirement home for France's war veterans. Today it also houses a few museums, including the French Army museum, and serves as a burial site for some of the country's war heroes, including Napoléon Bonaparte.

There are two opera houses in Paris. The original is the Paris Opéra, designed by Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style. This was the main opera house from 1875 - 1989 when the new modern facility was built. The original here served as the inspiration for Leroux's Phantom of the Opera.

Construction of the Madeline Church was interrupted during the French Revolution. Napoléon then altered the building plans to make it a pantheon to his glorious army. The building became a place of worship again and was completed in 1842. There is no bell tower or cross on the outside of the building so it looks more like a Greek temple than it does a church.

La Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris. During the revolution there was a guillotine in the square and this is where King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, Maximilien Robespierre and many others met their end. The guillotine was removed and, in 1836, eventually replaced with a 3,300-year-old obelisk from Egypt.

On the left bank of the River Seine is the Latin Quarter. This is the university section and during the Middle Ages the medium of instruction was Latin. Here is where you'll find the St. Michael Fountain. It was built from 1855-1860 and shows the Archangel Michael with two dragons that spout water into the fountain.

Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) is the famous Gothic, Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité. It was one of the first Gothic cathedrals. More on Notre Dame later.


The Champs-Élysées is one of the world's most famous streets. It runs for 2km (1.25 miles) from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. It is filled with cafés and shops and is the second most expensive strip of real estate in Europe. The annual rent for 1,100 sq.ft. (~93 sq. meters) can run €1.1 million (~$1.53 million U.S).

The Arc de Triomphe (Triumphal Arch) was built to honor those who fought for France, especially during the Napoleonic Wars. It was completed in 1836. Underneath the Arc is the tomb of the unknown soldier from WWI.

Sacré Cœur is a Catholic church and a minor basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sacré Cœur is located at the the highest point in the city in Montmarte. More on this one later.

The Louvre was the home of French royalty until Versailles. Today, it is one of the world's largest museums and the most visited art museum in the world. The museum's collection is nearly 35,000 pieces from prehistory to the 19th century and is displayed over 60,600 sq. meters (+652,000 sq.ft.). Definitely more on the Louvre in a future post.

The Orsay Museum is incredible. The building was originally a railway station until 1939 when the station's short platforms were not suited for longer trains. During WWII it served as a mailing center and following the war, it was the country's most important repatriation center for victims of the Nazis. In 1986 it became a museum and holds mainly French art from 1848 - 1915. It houses an extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

The Luxembourg Gardens are very pretty. Located near the French senate, with views of the Montparnasse Tower and the Eiffel Tower, it is a great place to relax and people watch.

And of course, no visit to Paris is complete going to see the Eiffel Tower. It was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair. It is 324 meters (1,063 ft) tall which is about the same height as an 81-storey building. While it is still the tallest building in Paris, in 1930, it lost its claim as tallest man-made structure in the world.

With so much to see and do in the city I never even bothered to try any of the day trips available out of the city. There is still a lot more that I want to see so I'll just have to go back again.

On Wednesday morning we checked out of the apartment and headed to the bus station to catch our ride back to the Beauvais Airport. That's when we found out that due to air traffic control strikes in Spain, Ryanair cancelled our flight back to Slovakia. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense but we had a Spanish cabin crew on our original flight to France. The next flight was Friday morning so there was a mad dash to find a place to stay for two more nights and to let the office know I needed to extend my vacation two days. It was a bit stressful but if you're going to be stranded someplace, let's face it...there are way worse places than Paris to get stuck in.