Vienna from the Riesenrad

just a pretty view of Vienna :)

Vienna's Prater, in the 2nd district just outside of the city center, is a wonderful park.
We stopped to take a ride on the Riesenrad (ferris wheel). It's the one that was shown in the 1987 Bond movie The Living Daylights :)

The views from the wheel are simply amazing! The gondolas are quite spacious, and we were lucky to only share ours with 2 other people! I think I took 50 photos just from this one time around on the ferris wheel! This is a shot taken on our descent, about halfway, if I remember correctly. Click on the picture to make it larger so you can truly see the beauty of this scene!

Mountains

mountains in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Being nestled somewhere in the mountains is definitely my ideal vacation. The crisp, fresh mountain air, and the opportunity to take pictures like this is all I need !
I have yet to visit the mountains in the winter, and I would love to go back to Garmisch to re-take all of these pictures with the mountains covered in snow!

Воздвиженка улица

Воздвиженка улица, Москва

Воздвиженка улица (Vozdvizhenka Street) was the first street I explored in Moscow. I love the contrast of this picture, the old and new is apparent in both the buildings and the cars! The yellow building on the left originally belonged to the Sheremetyevs, and it was built in the 1790s. The gray building on the right is the Kremlin Hospital, and it was built in 1930.
140 years certainly makes a difference in architectural style!

Kärntner Strasse

Kärntner Strasse, Vienna

Kärntner Strasse (Kaernter Street) is a famous shopping street in Vienna.
This street is also home to the State Opera and St. Stephan's Cathedral (pictures of those to come later). This particular segment of the street is pedestrian only, so it makes for a very enjoyable walk!
There's a little bit of everything there - try to see how many familiar things you can spot in this picture!

Добро пожаловать и Москву!

This was taken just after I got off of the plane in Moscow.
It's at the top of the stairs before you go through the fun that is passport control :-)
My advice - fly in at 5:00am. There's no one there so you don't get stuck in any lines!

More from Bad Ischl

View of the Danube in Bad Ischl, Austria

Water, everywhere!
The ground was wet, the fountain was running, and the Danube was flowing very rapidly!
Even though the weather was dreary and gray, and it was July and we were all wearing turtlenecks and jackets, being able to take pictures like this make the weather tolerable!

Дом педагогической книги

Moscow, Russia

This is another treasure I found on one my aimless walks through Moscow.
I love the window here! The photo doesn't really show it, but it's a fairly large window.
By the way, the top sign says "rent" and the bottom says "house of pedagogical books".

View of Linz

view of Linz from Pöstlingberg

We took a trip here to ride of the famous Pöstlingbergbahn, Europe's steepest tram.
It was closed for the day, so we drove up halfway and parked, then walked the rest of the way.
It certainly is steep! But it was worth it, because I got to see this beautiful view of Linz!

Building Details

I found this building as I was just walking around and exploring Moscow.
I love the details - everything is so intricate!

Schloß Weinberg

Schloß Weinberg, Oberösterreich (Upper Austria)

This was taken on one of the many little day trips I took to various regions of Upper Austria. Schloss Weinberg (Weinberg Castle) was built in the 17th century. If I remember correctly, some of the rooms have been turned into classrooms.
That would be a fun place to attend school!