Cruising the Danube

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Kongo returned a week ago from a two-week river and land tour through Central Europe to the areas on or near the River Danube. The Danube originates in Germany’s Black Forest and flows 2,872 kilometers to end in the Black Sea. Along the way it passes through four capitals (Kongo visited three of them) and ten countries. Kongo travelled from Budapest, Hungary to Regensberg, Germany and than went up the Rhine-Main canal to Nuremberg. There was a side trip to Salzburg and the final three days were in Prague which is not near the Danube at all. Everything else was on or within sight of the river.

The picture above was taken in Budapest looking up river on the Danube from the Buda side of the Danube. Despite the blue cast caused by late afternoon lighting and a bit of Photoshop, the Danube is not blue, despite the best musical intentions of Johann Strauss.

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Maria Theresa: Europe’s Mother-in-Law

Few people have had as much influence on modern European history as Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina, the only female who ruled the Hapsburg empire.  While touring central Europe on a river cruise Kongo got up close and personal with Maria Theresa.  Actually, you couldn’t help but get to know her since she had something to do with just about everything you could take a picture of from Budapest to Prague.  The picture above depicts Maria Theresa in Bratislava, which is now the capital of Slovakia. Continue reading “Maria Theresa: Europe’s Mother-in-Law”

Bratislava, Slovakia

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Kongo arrives in Bratislava the capital of Slovakia for a day of walking around and sightseeing in this ancient city. Like most of this part of the world, Bratislava has seen its share of invasions and foreign armies. It is a beautiful small city on the Danube situated close to the junction of three countries in Central Europe: Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria. Continue reading “Bratislava, Slovakia”