February 28th.
~~~~
Its Dads Birthday
~~~~~
Hope you have a great day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ALL OF US OVER HERE.
LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
February 22nd...Andrew's Birthday
Today Is Andrew's Birthday!
Andrew turned 15 years old today! We went up to Amsterdam with Andrew and some of his friends. Basically the band went to dinner at the Hard Rock....below left to right, Pari, Andrew, Wilson the Roadie/Manager, and George.
Happy Birthday Andrew.
Rock On!
More Pictures
The BandOutside HRC 
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
The Band .... RelaxedThursday, February 21, 2008
Neil Young 20 Feb 2008
A Rock Legend - Neil Young
Many of you know my musical taste is a bit esoteric. Well last night I was treated to a Living Rock Legend. Neil Young played his last of 3 shows in Amsterdam. It was amazing. His Chrome Dreams II tour started in the States last year and he kicked off his European Tour in Antwerp a couple of weeks ago.
He is only playing small venues like the Orpheum in Boston, the Tower in Philadelphia and the United Palace in NYC. In Amsterdam he played the RAI Theater. The place seated about 3000. I took Christopher to the show and I can only hope he liked it as much as I did. He was by far one of the youngest in the auidence.
Neil came out and did an acoustic set first all by himself, really mellow really communing with the crowd. He talked in between songs and you could really see the Man. The acoustic set was great. After a 25 minute break he came back with his band and did an electric set.........he was a different person. The electric set blew me away. The power of his playing was awsome......spinning around, making faces as he made his guitar cry.
We had 3rd row seats dead center so we were in pretty good shape. We were probably less than 15 feet from him.
Here is his set list from last night.
Set 1: From Hank To Hendrix / Ambulance Blues / Sad Movies / A Man Needs A Maid / Try / Harvest / Love In Mind / Old King / Love Art Blues / Don't Let It Bring You Down / Campaigner / Old Man //
Set 2: Dirty Old Man / Spirit Road / Down By The River / Hey Hey, My My / Too Far Gone / Oh, Lonesome Me / The Believer / Powderfinger / No Hidden Path //
Encore 1: Cinnamon Girl / Rockin' In The Free World //
Encore 2: The Sultan
Awsome Show. May have to go to London to see him in March.
Set 1: From Hank To Hendrix / Ambulance Blues / Sad Movies / A Man Needs A Maid / Try / Harvest / Love In Mind / Old King / Love Art Blues / Don't Let It Bring You Down / Campaigner / Old Man //
Set 2: Dirty Old Man / Spirit Road / Down By The River / Hey Hey, My My / Too Far Gone / Oh, Lonesome Me / The Believer / Powderfinger / No Hidden Path //
Encore 1: Cinnamon Girl / Rockin' In The Free World //
Encore 2: The Sultan
Awsome Show. May have to go to London to see him in March.
I took some pictures and video and I'll be uploading and adding to this post as bandwidth alllows.
Videos of Neil Young 20 Feb 2008 Amsterdam RAI Theater
Old Man.
A man Needs a Maid
Powder Finger
Hey Hey My My
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Prague To Vienna
VIENNA
We left Prague on Tuesday and headed for Vienna. We took the train and all in all it took us 4 1/2 hours to travel between these two Sister Cities. The train was OK. While we were in First Class, it was not one of the newer TGV trains like you might ride from Amsterdam to Paris. It got us there though and for the €50 fare it was worth while.
The Prague Express
Austria was cold. It was 1-2 degrees every day and there was a pretty strong wind. The wind chill temperature was something like -10 to -15 degrees. We had a mini blizzard the last day we were in town. Here is some of what we did in Vienna and some pictures.
This is a main shopping street in Vienna. It is near the Opera and is one of very few "Closed" streets. It has a variety of shops but most were of higher end and designer shops. There were the obligatory "Mostly Motzart" stores that sold the basic Austrian Souvenirs.
St Stephens Church
Here are 2 shots of St. Stephens Church. Every city we have visited has a huge gothic church in its city center and Vienna is no different. We visited the church and took a tour of the Crypt where thousands are buried. During the Black Plague they dumped bodies by the hundreds every day into holes dug around the church.
The Hofburg Palace
The Hofburg Palace was our next stop and let me tell you pictures can not tell the story. This palace is as big if not bigger than Versailles in France and its in the middle of the city. Inside there are displays of the things the Royals used in every day life....and it was an overwhelming display of largesse. Need silver to seat 15,000, they have it on display. Need china for the same numbers, no problem and gold.....the Austrians favored it. Unbelievable table displays. Sets of china and gold plates to travel with....for 500 people! It also housed the Royal Apartments, State Treasury Building and the Spanish Riding School. It was a cool place.
The Palace
The Emperor's Cape
A Tunic made from Gold
Gold Pitcher and Platter
Crown and Scepter
A gold table setting
A portrait of Franz Joseph the Emperor
Horses
The Palace houses the Spanish Riding School and the Lipizzaner Stallions. We went to see their Practice Session. You were not allowed to take pictures and I got yelled at by some old lady for taking one that didn't turn out. I got back at her though...I took some video. Here is my clip from the practice session.
SCHONBRUNN PALACE
We went out to the Royal's Summer Palace, Schonbrunn Palace. It made the Palace in the city seem pedestrian. We wandered through about 40 of the rooms open to the public. The Gardens outside are huge and had it not been freezing we would have stayed a bit longer and explored.
The Opera
Our last big stop in Vienna was to the Opera. Our hotel was a block away and we had passed it about a hundred times. They have a 2PM tour and we went in and looked around. We were so impressed that we bought 4 tickets to the Friday Night show of The Flying Dutchman. We were in the first box in seats 1, 2, 3 and 4. We had a fantastic view, overlooking the Vienna Philharmonic and a perfect view of 95% of the state. We couldn't see the very back left....but nothing happened there so it was perfect. I had my camera confiscated by a very diligent wife who didn't want a repeat of what is now referred to as The Riding School Incident. We did get a few shots before and after though. It was a lovely experience.
We left Prague on Tuesday and headed for Vienna. We took the train and all in all it took us 4 1/2 hours to travel between these two Sister Cities. The train was OK. While we were in First Class, it was not one of the newer TGV trains like you might ride from Amsterdam to Paris. It got us there though and for the €50 fare it was worth while.
The Prague ExpressAustria was cold. It was 1-2 degrees every day and there was a pretty strong wind. The wind chill temperature was something like -10 to -15 degrees. We had a mini blizzard the last day we were in town. Here is some of what we did in Vienna and some pictures.
This is a main shopping street in Vienna. It is near the Opera and is one of very few "Closed" streets. It has a variety of shops but most were of higher end and designer shops. There were the obligatory "Mostly Motzart" stores that sold the basic Austrian Souvenirs.
St Stephens Church
Here are 2 shots of St. Stephens Church. Every city we have visited has a huge gothic church in its city center and Vienna is no different. We visited the church and took a tour of the Crypt where thousands are buried. During the Black Plague they dumped bodies by the hundreds every day into holes dug around the church.
The Hofburg Palace
The Hofburg Palace was our next stop and let me tell you pictures can not tell the story. This palace is as big if not bigger than Versailles in France and its in the middle of the city. Inside there are displays of the things the Royals used in every day life....and it was an overwhelming display of largesse. Need silver to seat 15,000, they have it on display. Need china for the same numbers, no problem and gold.....the Austrians favored it. Unbelievable table displays. Sets of china and gold plates to travel with....for 500 people! It also housed the Royal Apartments, State Treasury Building and the Spanish Riding School. It was a cool place.
The Palace
The Emperor's Cape
A Tunic made from Gold
Gold Pitcher and Platter
Crown and Scepter
A gold table setting
A portrait of Franz Joseph the Emperor
Horses
The Palace houses the Spanish Riding School and the Lipizzaner Stallions. We went to see their Practice Session. You were not allowed to take pictures and I got yelled at by some old lady for taking one that didn't turn out. I got back at her though...I took some video. Here is my clip from the practice session.
SCHONBRUNN PALACE
We went out to the Royal's Summer Palace, Schonbrunn Palace. It made the Palace in the city seem pedestrian. We wandered through about 40 of the rooms open to the public. The Gardens outside are huge and had it not been freezing we would have stayed a bit longer and explored.
The Opera
Our last big stop in Vienna was to the Opera. Our hotel was a block away and we had passed it about a hundred times. They have a 2PM tour and we went in and looked around. We were so impressed that we bought 4 tickets to the Friday Night show of The Flying Dutchman. We were in the first box in seats 1, 2, 3 and 4. We had a fantastic view, overlooking the Vienna Philharmonic and a perfect view of 95% of the state. We couldn't see the very back left....but nothing happened there so it was perfect. I had my camera confiscated by a very diligent wife who didn't want a repeat of what is now referred to as The Riding School Incident. We did get a few shots before and after though. It was a lovely experience.
All in all we liked Vienna, though it could have been 10 degrees warmer.
See you in a bit.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Here are some more pictures from Prague
The Famous Clock In Old Town Square. Hard to tell what time it actually is.
This is a view down the street in the Josef Quarter in Prague.
The Famous Clock In Old Town Square. Hard to tell what time it actually is.
Another view of the clock
The Jewish Cenetary in Prague. They told us there are 12 layers to the cemetary. People burried on top of people. They fix about 400 head stones a year.
Another view of the Cemetary.
This is a view down the street in the Josef Quarter in Prague.
Stained glass in the Old Castle in Prague.
More Stained Glass in the castle
The Castle was filled with Statues
This was a huge silver statue commerating someone in Czech history....I dont remember who.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Prague February 2008
Prague - Winter Break 2008
We are back on the road. We are in the midst of a weeklong Prague-Vienna trip. This post covers Prague. I'll follow up with Vienna later.
We liked Prague, although it wasn't the best place we've been to. There were a lot of nice historic sites to see and we had some great meals (Goulash, Beer, Sausages). In town we found too many and, I mean way too many, souvenir shops selling junk. The Old Town Square has hundreds of them....very few nice boutiques.....lots of junk. But that said we did like the city. Here are some of our photos.
We flew on Czecz Airlines to Prague. It was actually one of the smoothest trips we have had in years. On time, pleanty of room and nice people. The Meat Pies for breakfast did leave a little to be desired though.
The Powder Tower is the entrance to Old Town. It was a couple of hundred yards from our Hotel. We went under this old gun powder tower a hundred times.
The Old Church In Prague
This is the most dominating feature of the Prague skyline, particularly from Old Town.
This is Old Town Square
One of the 2 main churches in Old Town Square
The Old Town Square Facades and Restaurants
More Of The Facades in Old Town Square
A look from above, from the Clock Bell Tower
The Old Church at night from the Old Town Square.
Charles Bridge
Joan, Chris and Andrew at the bridge. The Prague Castle is across the river in the background
Looking back across the river at Old Town
One dominant feature of the Charles Bridge is a series of statues every 50 meters. Below are 3 of them.
U Pinkasu
U Pinkasu is one of the oldest and original bars in Prague. Joan heard about it on TV and we went on a quest to find it. We walked down Wenceslas Square looking for it and came up short. We asked for directions at a hotel and got a "finger point" up the square. We were off. We looked in and around back alley ways and finally found it.
The beer is crafted from an original recipe from the 1300's and it is poured as it was back then. Could we tell? No but it was cold and strong and we liked it.
Success, We found it!
One Satisified Joan.....after her beers.
Another Successful Trip!
We are back on the road. We are in the midst of a weeklong Prague-Vienna trip. This post covers Prague. I'll follow up with Vienna later.
We liked Prague, although it wasn't the best place we've been to. There were a lot of nice historic sites to see and we had some great meals (Goulash, Beer, Sausages). In town we found too many and, I mean way too many, souvenir shops selling junk. The Old Town Square has hundreds of them....very few nice boutiques.....lots of junk. But that said we did like the city. Here are some of our photos.
We flew on Czecz Airlines to Prague. It was actually one of the smoothest trips we have had in years. On time, pleanty of room and nice people. The Meat Pies for breakfast did leave a little to be desired though.
The Powder Tower is the entrance to Old Town. It was a couple of hundred yards from our Hotel. We went under this old gun powder tower a hundred times.
The Old Church In Prague
This is the most dominating feature of the Prague skyline, particularly from Old Town.
This is Old Town Square
One of the 2 main churches in Old Town Square
The Old Town Square Facades and Restaurants
More Of The Facades in Old Town Square
A look from above, from the Clock Bell Tower
The Old Church at night from the Old Town Square.
Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge links Old Town to Little Town across the Vltava river. The Prague Castle is on the other side of the river.
Joan, Chris and Andrew at the bridge. The Prague Castle is across the river in the background
Looking back across the river at Old Town
One dominant feature of the Charles Bridge is a series of statues every 50 meters. Below are 3 of them.
U Pinkasu
U Pinkasu is one of the oldest and original bars in Prague. Joan heard about it on TV and we went on a quest to find it. We walked down Wenceslas Square looking for it and came up short. We asked for directions at a hotel and got a "finger point" up the square. We were off. We looked in and around back alley ways and finally found it.
The beer is crafted from an original recipe from the 1300's and it is poured as it was back then. Could we tell? No but it was cold and strong and we liked it.
Success, We found it!
Beer Drinking all around. (Andrew had Hot Chocolate!)
One Satisified Joan.....after her beers.
Another Successful Trip!
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