Mar 2007 - Amsterdam/Copenhagen/Sweden

In March of 2007 I decided to see Amsterdam, Copenhagen , Malmo and Stockholm.  I wanted to spend the most time in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and take advantage of the March timing to take in as many musical concerts as possible.  I had a nice little hotel near the city center on on of Amsterdams many canals. In Amsterdam, I did the usual tourist stops, including visiting the Anne Frank house,  the Rijkmuseum with its immense building and huge collection of art, the Rembrant House, and the Van Gogh Museum.   It was a joy to walk the heart of the city and back and forth to my hotel.  I was amazed that after concerts on the way to my hotel late in the night that the streets were thick with people on bicycles.   They also rode so upright and there were so many women riding everwhere late in the evenings.  I took a wonderful lengthy canal and harbor boat tour, which I truly enjoyed.  The cultural stay was wonderful, as I took in the Nederlands Opera doing a very contemporary , modern version of Puccini's Madam Butterfly at the Muziektheatre on a canal.  Then another evening I was treated to the Nederlands Philharmonic doing Mendelssohn's Elijiah at the renown Concertegebouw concert hall.  The varied restaurants were also a delight with one night at an Indonesian restaurant being my favorite.

The immense Rijkmuseum

A canal "street" In Amsterdam near my little hotel

The famous old  Concertgebouw Concert Hall

A typical street stall along one of the canals

The Muziektheatre home of the Nederlands Opera

The Anne Frank House Entry Building in front of the preserved  original  " Annex"

A typical section of the main pedestrian shopping street

The main square near city center 

Another view on a typical shopping pedestrian  street

A contemporary designed building seen from the harbor on a canal/harbor cruise

Another modern building at the harbor side. 

Plaza in front of central rail station 

Flying back to Copenhagen from Amsterdam I settled in again to a small hotel right in the city center on the famous pedestrian street, the Stroget , Europe's oldest and longest pedestrian shopping street with its many high end stores and varied shops.  CPN was a joy for my 6 days there. I walked everywhere, even way out to the edge of the harbor and the famous "Little Mermaid" statue at the waters edge.  I visited the charming Nyhavn canal neighborhood with its sidewalk cafes lining the banks, where I enjoyed Danish beer and lunch in the sun taking in the sights and people watching.  There was not enough time to fully enjoy the many attractions in the city.  I spent time at the Royal Palace ,the Rosenborg Castle and grounds,  watched the changing of the guard at the Amalienborg Palace, visited the Marble Church, spent several hours in the Danish National Museum, enjoyed the wonderful Danish Architecture Center, and had a marvelous Bach noon organ concert in the Christians Kirke.  For my musical and cultural time, I had events 5 of the 6 nights I was in CPN.  I took in 2 operas in the incredible half a billion dollar new grand opera hall on the edge of the harbor.  One opera was Claude Debussy's Pelleas and Melisande and the other was Simon Boccanegra by  Verdi, neither of which I had ever heard.  The hall was beyond belief.  Then I visited theTivoli concert hall in Tivoli Garden  to enjoy the Danish Symphony doing a  Mozart symphony and the Mahler 9th Symphony.   The Tivoli concert hall had an immense marine aquarium in the back wall of the lobby.  I also spent a wonderful evening seeing  the Royal Danish Ballet do a modern ballet , Napoli.  This was performed in the elegan,t old, famous Kongelige Theatre.  My favorite meal was at a wonderful Indian restaurant just off the main square in the city center. All in all , Copenhagen is a must see.

View at start of Stroget & central square near my hotel

                    The charming and popular Nyhavn canal sidewalk cafe area near the city center

Central Copenhagen

a canal neighbor hood near downtown

The beautiful " Marble Church"

World famous "Little Mermaid " at the harbors edge

park like area and church on walk back from "Little Mermaid"  at harbor side

The nearly $400 million Opera Hall, gift to CPN from a wealthy Danish shipping magnate.

The busy central square 

Russian Orthodox church in central Copenhagen

Christian the II in St. Anne Square near Amalienborg Palace, with Marble Church in back

Malmo was a "must day trip" and only an hours rail trip from Copenhagen. One makes the crossing on  the Oresund Bridge, the longest high bridge over the ocean in Europe.  I took the earliest train one morning while in CPN, and the bridge crossing was amazing.   I got into Malmo early and spent the day.   The city is lovely with its graceful downtown, parks , and the wonderful ancient Malmo fortress and Museum.  The city landmark is the stunning Santiago Calatrava "Twisting Tower" skyscrapper at the waters edge downtown.  A walk along the long beach on the ocean was a pleasant break near the end of the day before catching the train back across the big bridge to CPN.

View after arrival at Malmo central rail station

a lovely park and square in Gamla Begravn or Old Town  in central Malmo

Another view of the square with the food and flower stands

Malmo Castle , moat and Museum

Stunning "Turning Torso" of Malmo by famed Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava

Immense Oresund Bridge from Sweden near Malmo to Denmark and Copenhagen

Ancient Malmo Town or City Hall

Spring time and St Peters Church in Malmo

I took  another day while in Copenhagen and caught the 1st early am train out to the airport for the short flight to Stockholm  to spend a long, busy day seeing the sights before catching a quick evening flight back to Copenhagen .  Stockholm is a lovely city for sure.   I really enjoyed the downtown and the harbor and palace area , along with the ancient old city center area.  The Royal Palace and the elaborate changing of the guard,  the Royal Armoury, and a nice lunch deep underground in an ancient cafe/pub were highlights.  I also spent short visits to the Stockholm City Museum near the core area, the National Museum, and the Kronor Museum . I would love to have had more time in Stockholm.  It has some 70 museums that acomodate 9 million visitors a year.  During my afternoon I also managed a stop in the Sveriges Riksdag, the Swedish Parliament, where I sat to observe the parliament actually in session, debating agenda items. I just will have to go back some day when I have more time.

Changing of the guards in Stockholm at Royal Palace

Scenic, graceful central Stockholm

River in central Stockhom and Riksdag Parliament Building

Downtown Stockholm

city harbor and Swedish National Museum in back across the harbor

Tre Kronor Museum

Changing of Guard at the Swedish Royal Palace

Pedestrian street in oldest part of Stockhom, the Gamla  Stan

Another scene in downtown Stockholm

view in other direction across harbor

Royal Palace and tower

Royal Palace map and sign

Busy downtown Stockholm

Changing of Guard marching thorough downtown Stockholm

Changing of Guard at noon in front of Royal Palace

Another view of Riksdag Parliament after I watched them in session

And back to Copenhagen after a whirlwind long day in Stockholm.   Thus drew to  a close  my 2 and a half week journey to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Sweden.  All that remained was the long SAS fight back to Seattle after a wonderful travel and music experience.

Mar 2008 -Vienna, Prague and Budapest

My central Europe cultural trip finally took place when I flew from Anchorage to Vienna in mid March of 2008 for 2 and a half weeks of sightseeing, music and opera. My 1st stop, Vienna was a delight and I stayed at a small hotel right in the heart of the city.   I walked the entire core of the city for about 4 days, with the highlight being an evening at the famed Vienna State Opera and a wonderful performance of  Puccini's La Boheme .    I also had another enjoyable music evening of all Strauss and Mozart in the Kursalon Hall near the city center.  I did not forget to take a break in the sun at the well known sidewalk cafe across from the Opera house for expresso and the famed Sacher Torte,  a chocoholics delight :-)   The city, its parks, public buildings and churches were lovely.  The immense St. Stephens Cathedral and the Votive Church were highlights.

My Goldener Baer hotel in the heart of Vienna 

The Votive Church

Immense St. Stephens Cathedral interior

Busy pedestrian & sidewalk cafes-Graben area downtown Vienna

about to sample the famous Sacher torte across from Vienna  Opera House

World famous Vienna Opera House

National History Museum

Franz Joseph near fronrt  of the Hofburg Palace

Beautiful and huge,   the Hofburg Palace

Then I was off to the central rail station and a several hours train trip out of Austria and the length of the Czech Republic to wondrous Prague.   Again , I had a charming small hotel not far from the cities main shopping street.   The excellent metro and trams made it very easy to get around.   Prague is a truly wonderful city to visit.  The Vltava River and its most famous Charles Bridge are highlights to view.  Prague's heart is the old town center with its narrow streets and its most photographed Clock Tower, and the main Old Town Square with its historic buildings and the Tyn and  St. Nicolas churches.  Finally,a must see is the most visited and visible Prague Castle high on the hilltop just above the Charles Bridge. I had a 4 night musical delight.  On the evening of March 13th, I heard the Prague Royal Orchestra in the Smetna Hall. On March 15th I was lucky to get opera tickets to see the Prague State Opera perform  Aida at the Prague Opera Hall near the National Museum.  On March 16th I saw the Mozart operas The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Fute performed in the stunningly beautiful and ornate Prague National Theatre on the rivers edge. A 4th night on March 17th, I was able to enjoy the Czech Philharmonic in the well known Rudolfinum Hall on the edge of the river.   All in all, it was a delightful, busy 5 day stay.

The Vltava River and its famous Charles Bridge

Pedestrians on the Charles Bridge with the Prague Castle  on the hill in the back

Start of Prague "Old Town" near end of Charles Bridge

Typical street scene in Old Town 

Staromestske Square and the Tyn Church behind

St Nicolas Church on Prague "Old Town" Square

Old Town Tower and famous Astronomical Clock

Always busy pedestrian Vaclavske square with National Museum  up at end.

One of the countless sausage and food carts in Prague

Prague's Ludmila Church

St Vitus Cathedral in the Prague Castle complex at the top of the hill

Within the Prague Castle complex, Old Royal Palace

View from Prague Palace on hill across Charles Bridge toward Old Town

Another view of Old Royal Palace

 famous old music hall, the Rudolfinum , home of the Czech Phiharmonic

Prague's  Municipal House

Yours truly before viewing a performance in the ornate, gilded National Theatre

My next leg was a train ride once again the length of the Czech Republic into Slavakia , with a stop in Bratislava, and then on into Hungary for a 4 day stay in Budapest. There I again had a pleasant small hotel right in the city center and only a block off the start of the wonderful pedestrian only Vaci street, the main shopping street thru central Budapest. The highlights were many.  I tried out the famous Hungarian Szechenyi spa bath complex at the edge of the Danube across from downtown. The shops and restaurants were a real treat to experience.  I also spent one day across the river up on the hilltop touring the famous Royal Palace complex and grounds high above the city.  The 1st construction started in the 1200's   It was a wondrous sight  and was reached by a funicular rail lift from the rivers edge to the complex on the top of the hill.   The view onto downtown Budapest and the famous Parliament buildings on the edge of the Danube across the river was unforgettable.  It was hard to believe this vibrant city had been nearly destroyed at the end of WW II   and now showed no signs of the devastation.  I was very fortunate and heard the touring   Bamberg Symphony Orchestra concert in the Palace of Arts glittering new Bela Bartok Concert Hall on the edge of the Danube at the south edge of the downtown.   Another treat was to wander through the huge Central Market Hall ( originally built in 1896 ) with an amazing array of stalls, selling nearly everything.  It seemed sausages and meats were the most common the things for sale, and was like a huge Pike Street Market under one roof.   Another evening I got to hear a Puccini Opera,  Edgar,  in the ornate old Budapest Opera House dating from 1884.  So you can see, my central Europe sight seeing and cultural trip was a huge success and an unforgettable and rewarding experience.

St Stephens  Cathedral near my hotel

Danube River downtown and Elizabeth Bridge

Huge old Central Market Hall

Array of stalls within Central Market Hall under its vaulted ceiling 

Budapest's modern New National Theatre on the edge of the Danube

The new Palace of Arts with its stunning Bela Bartok National Concert Hall within  where I enjoyed a symphony

view up a section of Vaci Street , Budapests pedestrian  main  shopping street

View across the Danube to the Buda Castle on the hilltop

A portion of the National Parliament 

one of the elegant public buildings near Parliament and the rivers edge

Another view of part of the famous Parliament building

Spring in the grounds in front of the Parliament buildings

The funicular lift from the rivers edge up to the Buda Castle complex

view from base of lift to Buda Castle, with Chain Bridge in center right

view at entrance to Buda Castle at top of hill just off the lift.

view back across Danube towards Parliament from Buda Castle on hill topBud

Budapest Palace now housing National Gallery and Budapest History Museum

Matthias Church undergoing some reconstruction  in the Buda  Castle area  on hill top

view across Danube from Buda Castle towards Parliament

Fishermans Bastion section of the Buda Castle

A view in the Palace of Arts just outside the  Bela  Bartok  Concert  Hall during intermission of my concert