We started out in Slovenia, where Carl's dad, Karl Sr, was born and lived with his grandparents to the age of ten before moving to America with his mother. Karl Sr's grandfather, Aloises, was a master carpenter and craftsman in the small town of Domzale. (That z is pronounced as in Zsa Zsa Gabor.) A cousin of Carl's showed us the original homestead where Aloises lived with his large family and where he did all his carpentry work. That homestead has been added on to and converted into apartments and living spaces for members of the younger generations of that same family. It was heartwarming to sit in the grandparents' kitchen (Carl's female cousin, Anna, is the grandmother) and watch as several of the married children and small grandchildren made appearances from their own homes downstairs or next door to meet us. We could see that everyone was very used to stopping in and having something to eat or drink at Grandma's kitchen. In fact, we were invited to come for breakfast one morning, and we met everyone in that family. They all spoke English, and it was a delight to talk with them.
It was also interesting to note that the grandparents served us each a glass of homemade wine with breakfast. That wine was made from the grapes growing on the arbors all around the compound. Grape vines covered the entire parking area in front of the house as well. We were told that the vines were from the original home and that they were over 100 years old. The stalks of the vines were about nine inches in diameter at the bottom. You can see some of the grapes in the photo below. I looked straight up over my head to take that picture.
In the back yard, there were also apple trees and cherry trees.
They graciously showed us around the entire homestead - including the room that is used for storage now - but that was the bedroom that Karl Sr. used as a child.
Another female cousin of Carl's, Borzene, took us to the local church and showed us the beautifully carved designs in the rows of pews. Aloises - Karl Sr's grandfather - carved every one of them.
In the church graveyard, we saw the family tombstone - that includes Carl's grandmother, (Karl, Sr's mother) Katerina. We all knew her as Grandma Kate. On the tombstone, the family name is spelled URBANIJA. It is pronounced 'Er bahn ee ya' - with the emphasis on the 'ee'.
Below is Anna on the left, and her husband on the right. In the middle is Borzene and Carl. They are standing in front of the door to the original homestead.
This is another view of that same area. (You can see the wide grape vines along the house in front of the cars.)
Below are the original stairs to Karl Sr's bedroom. This house was also built by Karl Sr's grandfather, Aloises.
The next day- Saturday- Borzene invited us to join her daughter, Daria, and her husband and sons, along with other cousins in the family and their children at a day-long family birthday party at Daria's cabin in the mountain. We spent the entire day eating, drinking, and talking with family members. It was a WONDERFUL visit!
On Sunday, as we drove north through Slovenia, we realized how beautiful the countryside is. There were mountains and green forests everywhere.
We purposely took a detour to pass through a vacation destination in Slovenia -- Lake Bled. On the airplane coming over from London, there were several English people coming to spend their vacation there. Carl and I took the 4-mile walk around the lake, taking snapshots of the scenery along the way. The lake has an island in the middle with a castle on it, and there are the hills in the background.
One of the main attractions in the Lake Bled area was the Cream Cake that every restaurant advertised. We each had a huge piece after lunch ... and it was all downhill for the diet after that.
Vienna was our next stop. We arrived in the evening, checked into our hotel, and walked around the nearby square. At 8:30 on a Sunday evening, the square was filled with tourists and street performers. One young man was playing the cello. A young woman was playing the piano. Strands of classical music filled the air. Another young man was blowing enormous bubbles that young children were jumping up to pop. The evening was balmy, the sights were beautiful, and it was a magical place to be.
The next day, I took a picture of another street scene in Vienna -- this one in the daytime.
On Monday, Carl and I took a guided bus tour of the city. Our guide was an interesting man, named Marco. He complained that he had some jet lag because he had just arrived the night before from New York. Judging from his 'performance' on the tour, I would guess that he was an actor. Marco was particularly entertaining because he added a lot of humor to the information he gave us. As he pointed out that the large Ferris Wheel in Vienna (not unlike the London Eye here in London) went around very slowly, he said, "We are NOT GERMAN. If this were Germany, the wheel would go around like a spin dryer. But we are NOT GERMAN. This is Austria. The Wheel goes around slowly, taking 15 minutes to complete the circle. We know how to take our time here in Austria."
He also led us through the summer palace of the Habsburgs. He pointed out some oil paintings on the walls of one of the rooms. These were paintings that depicted scenes related to the marriage of one of the sons in the family. One picture showed the bride and groom and family members sitting around the dinner table, while, as Marco pointed out, "200 invited guests stood around watching the royal family eat their dinner. The guests were not given any food." Another painting portrayed a line of over one hundred horses and carriages carrying dresses belonging to a princess from Italy who was coming to attend the wedding. Marco said, "This is an Italian Princess on the move going to a wedding." Well, maybe you had to be there.... but he did keep us laughing!
The picture below shows the backyard from the palace - with its gardens. The inside of the castle had 1500 rooms.
That evening, we attended a concert performance of musical pieces by Strauss and Mozart. Strauss waltzes are among my favorite music pieces in the world. I learned that "The Blue Danube" is considered to be the 'second national anthem' for the city of Vienna.
(According to Marco, though, "The Danube is NOT BLUE. It comes out of the BLACK Forest, and it runs into the BLACK SEA. It could not possibly be BLUE.")
This is the room in which the concert was given. This building had actually been used by the original composers when they were living and making music in the city.
Vienna offered many fine restaurants - with delicious food. Carl and I tried out the local dishes, such as wiener schnitzel and Hungarian goulash. We also enjoyed sitting in the sidewalk cafes, sipping coffee and nibbling on a dessert.
One word of advice about sitting in sidewalk cafes, though: Be sure you do not sit under the very edge of the awning above. If you are as 'lucky' as I was, you might just get splattered by a pigeon who decides to perch on that awning edge to do his business -- all over you. (The waiter said it was supposed to mean good luck. HAH!)
I decided that Vienna is a very special place, though. It is a grand and majestic city.
Any city that celebrates Strauss waltzes as this one does and that erects more statues to artists and musicians than to generals or war heroes is my kind of city. I truly loved it. And so did Carl.
After leaving Vienna, we drove north heading toward Prague, the capitol of the young Czech Republic. Along the highways we saw vineyards, and fields of pumpkins, corn, and sunflowers. There were also green meadows. We drove through several tunnels that went through mountains.
When arriving in the Czech Republic, the change in the language on the street signs was noticeable. The language changed from German in Austria to Czech, a Slavic language.
Prague is a very picturesque city, with a long history; it is another city that was once ruled by the Habsburgs.
The architecture is one of the most striking features about Prague. There are colorful houses, painted and decorated as if in a toy village, all placed along cobble stone streets and sidewalks.
Many of the streets wind up and down the hills in the city.
We enjoyed spending time in the Old Square at one of the many outdoor cafes, having lunch or coffee, and watching the people go by.
This was one form of transportation (bicycle) that was offered in the square.
These people were seeing Prague on segues.
On one afternoon, there was a folk dancing competition, with groups from many different countries performing folk dances while wearing traditional costumes.
At another time, we saw three separate couples dressed for weddings, each with a photographer taking pictures of the couple around the square.
Also in the square was a clock tower that marked every new hour with moving figurines. Crowds gathered before the clock at the top of the hour to view the demonstration.
The Charles Bridge was another major site in Prague.
As we walked along the bridge, we saw many artists and craftsmen selling their products.
There were also musicians performing on the bridge.
Carl and I took a short boat tour on the river under the bridge and along canals in the town.
Our guide on the boat trip told us stories about the bridge and the river. He showed us pictures of the river as it used to freeze many years ago - and the townspeople would skate on it. That no longer occurs because they have added dams to the river to generate power, and that prevents the river from freezing.
He also told us that several movie scenes that supposedly took place in Venice were actually filmed in Prague because it was less expensive to film them here.
The Prague Cathedral was a beautiful sight on the top of a hill that was not far from our hotel.
(Fortunately, we were able to take taxis up the hill to return to the hotel at the end of each day.)
This musician was playing outside the cathedral one afternoon.
This is the view of the main area of Prague from a restaurant only a few blocks from our hotel. It is easy to see how high the hill rises above the rest of the town.
Prague was a lively and fun place to visit.
While in Prague, I bought and read a book of 77 Legends of Prague. It was filled with stories about real and imaginary characters throughout the long history of this city. These stories provided a look into some of the old superstitions and folklore of the people in this city that have been collected over the years. They also reflected the basic mores and values of Prague's residents throughout the centuries -- which were similar to those of most western countries. Reading these folk tales and legends about historical figures and events in Prague enriched my visit to the city by adding to my understanding of the culture and history of Prague's people.
By the way, Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was the front-page story on the English-language newspaper in Prague. Also, the speech was broadcast live on CNN International starting at 3:00am in Prague on Friday. (I was too sleepy to stay awake for it.)
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