Category Archives: Travel

Our Week in California

Before we parked at the Spokane airport for our flight to Orange County we enjoyed our Linner at the Rusty Moose in Airway Heights which is just a hop skip and a jump to the airport.

We arrived at the Santa Ana Airport in Orange County on Thursday evening May 7th. Our brother-in-law picked us up at the curb and brought us back to my sister Vera’s home in Huntington Beach, where we would be staying for a week. Our sister Vera had been in Arizona and she arrived this night, too, and brother-in-law headed back to the airport to pick her up. BIL lives in Texas and he arrived the afternoon of this day. This Orange county airport had a total of 7 of our family members arriving at different times on this day. We all initially traveled to attend our friends memorial service on Friday morning but after that we filled the rest of our time meeting up all over the L.A. area traversing the freeway system for graduation ceremonies, Mother’s Day meals, birthday meals and farewell meals with different family groups and different venues. Whew!

Our Washington kids were able to attend our Great Nephew’s graduation from The Masters College in Santa Clarita. They drove across Los Angeles from the Memorial Service to attend.

That evening we were treated to dinner at Seasons 52 in Costa Mesa with two of my sisters and brother-in-law. I didn’t take any photos.

Saturday this crew drove from different areas of L.A. and Orange County to meet for brunch at Twoheys. Those of us who weren’t at Jack’s graduation were able to congratulate him in person at this gathering. Some of us were also meeting his bride to be for the first time.

This restaurant moved from it’s original location in Alhambra to this South Pasadena location.

Retro, family-friendly American diner known for burgers & hot fudge sundaes since 1943.

Our church youth group would end up at this restaurant frequently in the 60’s and 70’s. That was when they were still in the Alhambra location. We could down a burger and then have one of their famous sundaes. My choice for a burger was always the Stinko Burger. A plain burger with a thick slice of raw onion. I ordered the same on this day for ‘old times sake’.

Josh and Laura left the 2EE’s gathering and headed straight to the airport to fly home.

Saturday evening this crew met up in Huntington Beach at Mario’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner. My brother Steve and SIL Kelly were able to make it to this gathering, driving out from Moorpark. Our niece Debbee was turning 50 this same week so we celebrated her. The Brother in law who picked us all up at the airport is sitting next to Greg. Me and my two sisters are seated at that end of the table. My brother is next to me and SIL across from him sitting next to our niece Melissa. Our niece Debbee is to the right and her hubby is taking the selfie. There was a two hour wait time for a table at this restaurant (remember this was Mother’s Day weekend) but…our Lenny, Debbie and Melissa are good customers here and the manager of the bar came up with seating for us in 20 minutes! Muy Bueno!

On Sunday, Greg and I attended Beach Bible Church (formerly Evangelical Free of Huntington Beach) with my sister Vera. This was Mother’s Day. This was the same church Greg and I attended when we lived in Huntington Beach in the mid 70’s and mid 80’s. Both of our sons were dedicated in this church. It hasn’t changed much and it is still a Bible believing and Bible preaching church. The service with the worship songs and preaching was balm to the soul.

At some point during the weekend gatherings there was a last minute decision to gather at Vera’s home for a Mother’s Day meal. Our niece Melissa offered to bring the pies and our nephew Ryan made a special gluten free cake for the gathering. Vera and I made the decision to order a couple dishes from a Chinese restaurant close by to make the day easy peasy. The Beef Broccoli and Orange Peel Chicken with steamed rice was just right for everyone.

I wasn’t with any of our children on Mother’s Day but it was nice to be with all my sisters, a few nieces, nephews, BIL’s, one brother and SIL.

Monday was beach day and I’ll save that post for another day.

Our flight home would be on Wednesday morning so our last gathering was on Tuesday night with a skeleton crew. My sisters Lana, Vera, Greg and I had a wonderful meal at an Italian Restaurant in Newport Beach called Sapori.

It was a very nice finale to our time in Southern California.

Vera drove us to the airport on Wednesday morning. Thank you, Vera, for your hospitality and to all our family who drove miles for our gatherings. Thank you, Lana, for giving up your bed for a few nights and for the use of that amazing hair dryer! 🙂

Balancing the Hodgepodge

I think this cake could qualify for my plate of beige food!

A new set of Wednesday Hodgepodge questions have come our way From This Side of the Pond. Thank you, Joyce.

1. What do you make more complicated than it needs to be? 

Answering some of the Hodgepodge questions! 🙂

2. What impresses you? 

Hard working young people.

3. On a scale of 1-10 how picky of an eater are you?  (1=extremely and 10=not at all)

I’ll go with an 8. No liver for me, thank you. Not a fan of raw fish, either.

If you had to eat a meal made entirely of one color what color would you choose? 

Beige or light brown as in a Thanksgiving plate of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes covered in beige gravy and a beige soft roll on the side. Also…see photo up top!

4. What does balance in life mean to you? Does your life currently feel ‘balanced’? 

A good combination of home life responsibilities, keeping relationships at peace, and adding in some good adventures is a good balance in life. Giving freely and receiving graciously are important, too. Knowing the God who created me and having peace with Him through Jesus Christ gives me spiritual balance and security.

Currently things are seemingly balanced.

5. If you could travel the world for a year what would be your first destination? 

The United Kingdom would be my first and my last destination. It would be amazing to travel all about that Kingdom with that much time. A whole year could be doable if our kids and grands and friends would meet up with us through the year.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

While we were away these three came by our house to water since we were having dry and warm days which isn’t typical for Spring.

This little guy was pleased as punch to find the snacks I left for him and his sister!

Vienna Part 6 ~The National Library

Reinthaler’s Beisl

One of our tour guides suggested that to find a more authentic good Austrian restaurant we should stay off the large streets and follow some of the narrower side streets in Vienna. We took her advice and found Reinthaler’s Beisl after our tour of Schönbrunn Palace on Friday morning, March 6th.

At first we were sharing a table with an older woman who was finishing up her lunch. The restaurant was filled with (from what we could tell) locals not tourists.

We shared an order of schnitzel and it was the perfect amount for us after our ‘appetizer’ of apple strudel at the Palace.

This print above was in the Public Domain so I’m sharing it here. It’s an old and very cool print of the outside of the National Library of Austria in Vienna.

I took this photo above as we passed the library on our carriage ride. I didn’t know as we passed that this was the library.

After our great lunch we ventured out on foot to find the library. After a few twists and turns we made it. We got a senior discount for entry.

It was a jaw dropping experience to walk around and take it all in. If you would like to learn more click on this link.

Europe’s largest Baroque library houses over 200,000 historic books on its richly decorated wooden shelves. The State Hall is rightly one of the most beautiful library rooms in the world.

Secret bookshelf doors were a fun surprise, too.

We were glad we could visit this beautiful library.

After the library we made our way to the designated bus shuttle service that would take us back to the river boat. We would leave Vienna for our final leg back to Budapest on this evening.

Vienna Part 5- Schönbrunn Palace

After breakfast aboard the AmaMagna on Friday March 6th we had a morning excursion to Schönbrunn Palace.

The palace is an exquisite example of Baroque architecture and opulence, illustrating the tastes, interests and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs. Built as a summer residence of the Habsburg Emperors and spanning an astounding 1441 rooms, this Rococo palace soon became one of their favorite homes. 

We entered the Grand or Great Gallery.

The most significant official event to have taken place in the Great Gallery in the international context was the legendary encounter between US President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev in 1961.

The Great Gallery is the palace’s ceremonial hall and is not merely the architectural centrepiece of the palace: its decorative programme glorifies Habsburg rule under Maria Theresa.

One of the frescoes fell victim to a bomb dropped in April 1945, in the final days of the Second World War. It was replaced with a copy painted by Paul Reckendorfer and Carl Krall in 1947/48.

The chandeliers seen in the Great Gallery today are electrified versions of those that originally held candles, maintaining the historic aesthetic with modern technology. The link to the Great Gallery above has descriptions of the ceiling frescoes.

There I am alongside the man with the red hat. 🙂

As soon as the tour of the palace was over we made our way to another building that housed a restaurant that served the Palace’s famous Apple Strudel still baked in the Palace ovens in the basement. We had limited time before we had to be back at the bus.

We had another ‘great minds think alike’ moment with the girls from Oklahoma and Colorado. We took each others photos.

Our first apple strudel in Austria.

It was as good as it looks!!

We had an option to be dropped off in town instead of going all the way back to the boat and that is what we chose to do. There would be shuttle buses available downtown every half-hour to go back to the boat from 2:00 until the last shuttle at 4:00.

We wanted to find a authentic lunch spot and see some things on our own for the rest of the afternoon. That will be my final post for Vienna, Austria.

 

Vienna Part 4 ~The House of Strauss

On Thursday evening, March 5th we had signed up for a special excursion that wasn’t part of our ‘package deal’. Being in Vienna we thought it would be a shame not to experience the music they are historically known for. Here is what our ‘daily cruiser’ said, There is no finer place to attend a classical concert than in Vienna, the “Music Capital of the World.” This unforgettable experience will be a mixture of the most popular compositions of Vienna’s favorite and most famed composers–as presented by local musicians.

I’m adding this commentary from the program we were given on this evening in Vienna.

Vienna, known as the world capital of music, tells an unforgettable story that comes to life here. The Strauss Hall is the last original concert hall in the world where all four geniuses of the Strauss dynasty–Johann Strauss Sr., Johann Strauss Jr., Josef, and Eduard Strauss–personally performed. Here, the aura of this history is still palpable. The hall’s exceptional acoustics, the faithful restoration of the historic building, and the seamless integration of modern design make this venue an extraordinary cultural experience.

In the museum you could take this interactive questionnaire that would match your preferences to a piece of music. This was my match.

When we purchased the tickets for this extra excursion we had something different in mind in our heads. We thought that we would be in a large concert hall with many more live instruments, etc.

We were surprised by this venue. The concert itself was with twelve or so musicians (House of Strauss Orchestra) and their music was enhanced in some way. The musicians were exceptional and with the enhancement it came across as if there were several more musicians. The soloist was excellent. The seating, although authentic, was not comfortable. We paid 99e or about $116 U.S. each for this excursion.

We heard pieces from Johann Strauss II, Wolgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss I, and Josef Strauss.

There was a museum in the venue that we were able to visit and most of my photos are from the museum.

I mentioned before that bus rides in Vienna were long and circuitous. It seemed like we were traveling so far to get to this venue but in reality it was only four kilometers from the dock.

Meanwhile in the good ole U.S.A….

Back to the Present: With our daily sunshine lately, spring growth is thriving. We are spending hours on our acreage mowing and battling weeds. The birds, so many birds, are enjoying our sprinklers since we’ve had to start watering earlier than usual with fewer Spring rains. We’ve had daily visits from birds, deer, turkeys, and of course our resident quail. Hummingbirds have returned, too!

Happy Cinco de Mayo to you all!

Vienna Part 3 ~ St. Stephen’s Cathedral

After our carriage ride on Thursday March 5th we followed our tour guide to the center of the city ending our tour with St. Stephen’s Cathedral. In the first photos below you can see the steeple of the church.

This was a very busy central section of Vienna with shops and restaurants and cafes.

A different reminder of what Austria and Vienna are famous for. Later in the evening of this day we would be attending a concert at the House of Strauss.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the symbol of Vienna and also the very center of the city. At 136 meters in height, it is the tallest church in Austria.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral is not only Austria’s most important Gothic building. The Steffl, as it is affectionately known in Vienna, is much more than that. It is a landmark, a symbol of identity and synonymous with the reconstruction of the Republic after the Second World War. Construction of St. Stephen’s Cathedral began in the 12th century and its interior changed repeatedly over the centuries until it was finally given its current Baroque appearance. The tallest of its four towers is the south tower at 136 meters. The tower room, from which there is a gigantic view across Vienna, is reached via 343 steps. A total of 13 bells hang here. However, the best known of them, the Pummerin, hangs in the 68 meter-tall north tower. It is the second-biggest free-swinging chimed church bell in Europe.

I added a link to the details on the roof.

On the roof of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, colorful roof tiles were laid to create the Royal and Imperial double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of the city of Vienna.

At this point our guide left us on our own for a time before she would return and meet us to take us back to our bus stop for the return to the boat.

So many statues and gargoyles on the outer walls of the cathedral.

From a video by Rick Steve’s on St. Stephen’s Cathedral,

The ornate nave is Gothic with a Baroque overlay. While the columns support the roof, they also tell a story. Richly populated with statues, they make a saintly parade that leads right up to the high altar…

The Gothic pulpit, carved from sandstone, is a masterpiece.

I took this photo of the painting but I could not find a description anywhere. Is it supposed to be Stephen?

This code ‘O5’ is placed at the right side of the main entrance of St Stephen’s Cathedral. It was the code of an Austrian resistance group during World War II. It stands for Ö (Österreich) built by O and the 5th letter of the alphabet (= OE).

Originally the code was just painted but after World War II it has been engraved and covered by a transparent plate.

On the way back to our bus stop we saw another interesting plaque.

President John F. Kennedy met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna, Austria, on June 3-4, 1961, for a 2-day summit aimed at easing Cold War tensions. The meeting was contentious, with Khrushchev bullying the new president, particularly over the status of divided Berlin. The summit failed to produce agreements, leading to heightened tensions.

Kudos to guides who know about these details in cities because most probably on our own we would miss them totally.

There are so many churches in Vienna that I would have liked to visit.

This was another beautiful winter day on our river cruise.

We made it back to the bus and back to the Danube where the AmaMagna was docked. On this night we would have an earlier dinner because we were booked for a concert in the evening at The House of Strauss.

 

Vienna Part 2 ~ Carriage Ride

Our driver was determined to take a lot of photos of us in the carriage. The fun part is that we were paired with the girls we met in Cesky Krumlov from Oklahoma and Colorado for this ride through the streets of Vienna.

Looking behind at the other carriages.

There was no commentary on our ride so we weren’t sure of what we were seeing but we enjoyed the architecture, the courts and streets we clip clopped through.

 

Kirche am hof, Vienna

Kirche am Hof Vienna (Catholic Church)

When the Carriage Ride was over we met up with our tour guide again and walked through some of the areas we just clip clopped through to St. Stevens Cathedral.

That will have to be another post.

 

Vienna Part 1

On Thursday March 5th our arrival to Vienna would be in the early afternoon. We enjoyed our usual breakfast on board and we also had lunch on board before we had our first excursion into Vienna, an Imperial Vienna tour and carriage ride. Before we docked, we were on the upper deck of the boat and it was fascinating to watch the boat dock in a kind of parallel parking move between two other cruise ships.

There were some bridges we went under where if we were on the upper deck we were advised to duck. It was eerie going under.  I took videos but I am unable to add them here.

The more modern side of Vienna on the opposite side of the Danube from where we docked overnight. After lunch we grabbed our headsets for our first excursion into Old Vienna. A frustrating part of navigating these old cities in a bus is the miles you have to travel in a round about way to get to a designated bus stop. In hindsight walking into and around these cities would be a better option if you are fit and able. Staying in the city center would also be a good option.

Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death in 1916

Vienna’s imperial history is dominated by the Habsburg dynasty, which ruled for over 600 years (1278–1918)l. In their reign they transformed the city from a Roman outpost (Vindobona) into the glittering capital of the Holy Roman, Austrian, and Austro-Hungarian Empires. As a central European power hub, it became a global center of culture, music, and Baroque architecture.

We heard about the Habsburg dynasty everywhere we turned. Not surprising when you consider the extent of their reign.

The Imperial Palace or Hofburg Palace. If there was one day Austria would like never to have happened, it might be March 15th, 1938. A distinct low point for the country: the day Hitler proclaimed the Anschluss with Germany from the balcony (actually a terrace) of the Neue Burg. That balcony remains closed off to any visitors.

The Kaiser Franz II/I statue is a prominent 1846 bronze monument located in the inner courtyard of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Designed by Pompeo Marchesi, it honors Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor and first Emperor of Austria, featuring him in Roman attire, surrounded by figures representing Religion, Peace, Justice, and Strength

A huge equestrian statue dominates Heldenplatz square on one side of Vienna’s Hofburg palace complex. The monument honours the first man to hand Napoleon a significant military defeat: Archduke Karl.

Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rose to the highest offices of state at the imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV, who rejected him for service in the French army. Eugene moved to Austria and transferred his loyalty to the Habsburg Monarchy. He secured his European-wide fame with a decisive victory against the Ottomans at the Battle of Zenta in 1697. Not only did he break the westward thrust of the Ottomans, liberating central Europe after a century and a half of Turkish occupation, but he also helped to save the Habsburg Empire from French conquest.

Habsburgs in the Hofburg Palace. All the burgs can get confusing.

After seeing these inner courts and outer squares and listening to so much amazing history it was time for our Carriage Ride. I’ll save what we saw from the carriage for another post.

Back to the present on this last day of April in 2026. Our Spring mowing has started in earnest and we are considering what to do with our weeds. Our underground critters are a worrisome concern as they are multiplying. It would be fascinating to see their underground world. It’s not all rosy to own property but we are thankful nevertheless.

 

ÄŒeský Krumlov ~Part 2

Continuing our time in Český Krumlov on Wednesday March 4th, after we broke off from our tour group we made our way to the Tavern of Two Maries.

This short door on the left side was the entrance to the Tavern. We opened the door hesitantly.

There was no welcome party as we entered, in fact we wondered if they were open. As we considered which way to turn a tall woman appeared and pointed us upstairs, upstairs. We went all the way to the top and then she caught us and pointed downstairs. We had gone up one floor too many.

Whew! We made it into the wall of tapestries dining room.

I’m never quite sure what to do with my hands when posing for a photo.

The two gals sitting behind us were also from our cruise and this encounter was the beginning of a few more where we would look at each other and say, “Great minds think alike.” We found out over lunch that these two were friends from their youth. Their mom’s were best friends and their moms had taken this cruise in the past and they decided to join up and do this very cruise in honor of their moms who since were both deceased. What a sweet journey they were on. One of them lives in Oklahoma and the other in Colorado.

Our tour guide suggested ordering the Feast but to make sure we only ordered one and it would be plenty to share. We ordered the Old Bohemian Feast for one with rabbit meat.

Two house beers, a light draft and dark draft.

After lunch we first headed to the main square to get our bearings for where we would meet up with the tour group again for our departure.

Just as we imagined, it was not difficult to find the main square, Svornosti, in old town.

At the heart of the Old Town is the main square, lined with a mix of Renaissance and Baroque homes of burghers (all built on 12th-century Gothic foundations). Lékárna, with a fine red Baroque facade on the lower corner of the square, is still a pharmacy, as it has been since 1620.

The main artistic landmark of the square is the plague column topped with the statue of the Virgin Mary and eight saints, the patron saints of the town and believed protectors against plague. In the upper row there are statues of St. Wenceslas, St. Vitus, St. John Evangelist, St. Judas Thaddeus, and in the lower row St. Francis Xavier, St. Sebastian, St. Gaetano and St. Rochus.

The wind aided temps at this point to drop and we decided to try to find someplace for warmth and a hot drink. We ended up at a counter service for sweets and decided on hot chocolate for our drink and a couple sweets for the road. Heading back to the square we saw St. Vitus church and decided to climb up the stairs for a visit.

Church of Saint Vitus is a Roman Catholic church in Český Krumlov, Czech Republic. It is dedicated to Saint Vitus. It is an important late-Gothic monument built in 1407–1438, with later modifications. In 1995, it was declared a national cultural monument.

In our travels we visit lots of churches and I share photos from them. I can appreciate the history and the art but to be clear, although I love my Roman Catholic friends, my Christian faith differs in practice and beliefs with regards to assurance of salvation, authority of scripture, communion, prayer, intercessors, Mary, Saints, authority of the Pope, etc.

After our walk through this church we made it to the old town square to meet up with our guide and walk back to the bus for our journey back to the Danube (Grein) and dinner on the boat. Before dinner we gathered in the Lark Bar and Lounge for a briefing on our time in Vienna. The AmaMagna would leave this port for Vienna at 9:15 PM. Our arrival in Vienna would be at approximately 2pm on Thursday the 5th of March.