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Vacation 2025
  • Ourtravels
  • Melanie Kilian
  • Ourtravels
  • Melanie Kilian

Vacation 2025

Starting off in Venice and then...well, we arent sure Baca lagi
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  • Vacation 2025
    The blur at the top is a butterfly that landed on my phone lens 😂🦋1This is also Vienna. Did I mention that it's a big city 😁Blue Danube?

    Vienna 3

    2 Oktober 2025, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    As Jim said, we started our day at the Sacher Cafe. I'm going to disagree with my handsome husband about the torte and the experience. I thought it was delicious and the cafe was gorgeous. Definitely pricey but worth every penny 😋
    The Donauinsel (Danube island) was beautiful! We had a lovely walk along the Danube and the sun peeked out a few times. It's 21 km long and we only walked a small part of it but we could see how nice it would be in warmer weather. (It's really cold here 🥶)
    On our way back we passed a park (the Burggarten) and decided to take a stroll through. To our surprise, the other side of the garden was bordered by a beautiful palace (the Hofberg) and what looked like an Art Nouveau greenhouse (the Schmetterlinghaus / butterfly house) What a happy accident! I'll let the pictures tell the story.
    After that we had an American lunch 😁 and headed to the opera house but the line for tickets cut off just in front of us 🤷🏻‍♀️. Sometimes the unexpected discoveries are the best though and it was a beautiful day.
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    Gloriette

    Vienna 4

    3 Oktober 2025, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    Today we visited Schönbrunn Palace, home of the Habsburgs. The gardens, forest, and outbuildings are just as impressive as the palace itself. We walked about five miles up the hill to the Gloriette and through the grounds. It was cold but the sun was shining most of the time. ☀️
    When we left the palace, we followed the street straight up the hill from the palace. It was about another mile or mile and a half. When we turned around, we could see the palace in the distance!
    Tomorrow we leave this beautiful city and head to Budapest ❣️
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    Moon goddess
    View from living roomNo, seriously, its a wallboard mud sculpted moon.Train stationArriving in Budapest

    Budapest

    4 Oktober 2025, Hungary ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    We're here. So far we are really liking it. Train station was beautiful, bus was clean (and free) AND we have a 3d moon in the livingroom! We just arrived so we havent seen much but it has a certain grittiness that makes us want to explore. More later.
    -jim

    Thai food and a chimney cake for dinner and a walk around the neighborhood. We are 1/2 of a block from the national museum downtown and very centrally located in the palace neighborhood. Tomorrow we'll explore.    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025

    First day

    5 Oktober 2025, Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Since today is Sunday we decided to go out and about and enjoy some walking. We stopped for coffee at the Astoria Hotel, which while not related, reminded us of a ny hotel cafe from the 50s. Then we headed out walking, eventually stopping for a lunch of Goulash (like stew) and Longosh (like cheese and sour cream on fried dough). Amazing. Then we hopped on a random tram and took a long ride around sightseeing. A short metro ride home and we're settling in to watch the Singapore race.
    Great day so far.    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025

    Budapest day 1

    5 Oktober 2025, Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    We're loving Budapest already! It's very walkable and all public transportation is free if you're over 65, if you don't feel like walking. We visited the Central Market which was beautiful and interesting but filled with tourists so we didn't stay long. Lunch was delicious and the waiter brought us a complimentary Hungarian aperitif to warm us up😁 It is a little cold so we're hoping for a sunny day tomorrow 🤞🏻
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    City Park is huge!This is the first metro in Europe.

    Budapest day 2

    6 Oktober 2025, Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Every time we turn a corner there's another photo op! We had a perfect day strolling along the streets of the Jewish/Bohemian quarter, downtown Budapest, and City Park. The bohemian quarter is characterized by classic architecture, murals and funky bars. Downtown has a more modern feel with a sprinkling of beautiful old buildings, broad graceful boulevards and designer shops. City Park is probably the largest and most beautiful park I've ever seen. This city surprises us every day ❤️
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    Hilton built on top of 13th century ruins.

    Budapest day 3

    7 Oktober 2025, Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We went to the Buda side of Budapest today to visit the sites on the other side of the Danube. Buda is very hilly while Pest is mostly flat. At the top of the hill you will find Buda Castle, Matthias Church and the Bastion of the Fishermen, as well as spectacular views of the city. The castle looks like something from Disneyland. It was a little hard to wrap my head around what I was seeing❣️
    When we came back to earth we took a lovely walk through Erzebet park and slowly made our way back to the apartment. I'm not sure what tomorrow will hold but I did book a dinner cruise on the Danube for tomorrow night 🥰
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    2
    12

    Another beautiful day in Hungary

    9 Oktober 2025, Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Today we visited the quaint little town of Szentender about an hour away from Budapest. I visited the Christmas museum and the marzipan museum where they have life-sized figures made from marzipan 😂.
    We had lunch in Szentender and it was the best Hungarian meal we've had yet 🍴😁
    We ended the day with another stroll through Margaret Park and we're joined by a friendly stork!
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    Dinner and lights cruise on the DanubeMargaret Park islandViolin maker at Liszt Park 🎻😍Lizst parkAn organ concert started as soon as I walked in😁St. Stephen's cathedral

    Finishing our time in Budapest.

    10–11 Okt 2025, Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    I have missed out posting here for a couple days. We have been surfing the waves of magic and I have not taken the time to reflect. We leave tomorrow (sat) for a couple days in Madrid before flying to GDL. Budapest has been wonderful. It was everything I had hoped Vienna would be and so much more. Its a real city with grit and culture. Its clean, seems efficient and is alive with art. The public transportaion system is unlike any I've used, very clean, always on time and extensive. And free if you're over 65.
    The parks are amazing, full of art and entertainment. The only negative we have experienced is the prices of food, while varied and delicious is a little more expensive than necessary and not a terrific value, on the other hand, our airbnb was very affordable.
    Im sad to leave, but the world is large and time keeps stealing away.
    -jim

    Edit: when I say the public transport is free, I mean there is no ticket or procedure. At all. You just hop on/hop off. Such a joy.
    Like a lot of metros that dont use turnstiles, they do have ticket verification people spot checking for tickets. If you do get asked, ID with age is all you need.

    I'll add photos 🥰
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025

    Madrid Day1 - Banksy

    12 Oktober 2025, Sepanyol ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Today is a national holiday in Spain and Madrid is full of people who came to see the huge military parade, air show and free museums. We managed to avoid most of the crowds while still having the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the jets flying in formation overhead. We got to the Banksy museum as soon as it opened and were able to enjoy it at our leisure.

    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025

    Madrid Day 1 - Reina Sofia

    12 Oktober 2025, Sepanyol ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    After the Banksy we walked to the Reina Sofia national museum of art, mainly to see Picasso's Guernica. The museum was crowded but we enjoyed the temporary exhibit of Maruja Mallo's work and the permanent collection of 20th century artists including Dali, Magritte and of course Picasso.
    As soon as we entered the Guernica room a group of protesters began chanting "Stop Genocide" and sat on the floor in front of the painting. It was a chilling reminder of Picasso's message and how little has changed.

    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    Benches with bike pedals🥰Book vendors outside the park

    Madrid Day 2

    13 Oktober 2025, Sepanyol ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    You may have noticed that we love parks and El Retiro in the heart of Madrid didn't disappoint. The park was recently named a UNESCO world heritage site.
    In addition to the tree-lined walking paths, we saw beautiful fountains, sculptures, gardens and a small lake.
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    This is The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. I took it before they told me I couldn't11

    Madrid Day 3

    14 Oktober 2025, Sepanyol ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    This morning, after breakfast, we decided to take a short stroll and accidentally found the river walk area. Apparently, it's right in our neighborhood😁. It's lined with beautiful old industrial buildings that have been re-purposed. We are really enjoying exploring Madrid and feel very comfortable here.
    We had tickets for the Prado in the afternoon. They don't allow photos inside but we saw many famous paintings. After that we took a recommendation from Kathy and Javier and had an early dinner at Pez Tortilla. Oh my goodness! That was the best tortilla I've ever had and the beer selection was great! Gracias amigos❣️
    -Melanie    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025
    Our bus stop
    Bare?

    Final musings

    15 Oktober 2025, Sepanyol ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Having just had first meal service on our MAD-GDL flight and with 10 hours to go, I decided to make one last post with some final thoughts. Now if I have more final thoughts later, then I'll make another final post.😆
    What cities did we visit?
    Venice, 2 weeks
    Vicenza, 4 days
    Verona, 4 days
    Alta Badia, 6 days
    Bolzano, just 1 day and overnight
    Vienna, 5 days
    Budapest, 9 days
    Madrid, 5 days.

    What was my favorite city?
    Budapest followed closely by Madrid.

    Best food?
    Venice

    Least favorite city?
    Vienna. Great place for a subcommittee meeting if the UN is picking up the tab.

    Would I choose to go back?
    Budapest, yes. I'm not done there.
    Madrid, yes.
    Venice, yes, we made friends there.
    Alta Badia, yes. There's hiking to be done there.

    Least expensive?
    Madrid, Budapest for getting around and lodging.

    Most expensive?
    Vienna for everything, Budapest for food.

    Most impressed by?
    Budapest, as I said before its everything I wanted Vienna to be, and the public transportation is the best I've ever used.

    Least impressed by?
    The Prado museum, Madrid. The museum of the worst way to run/be a museum.

    All in, its been a long vacation. Im ready to come home and relax. We had so much fun just getting around exploring, surprising ourselves. So many trains, buses and miles walked, parks discovered, kindnesses of strangers.
    Thanks for playing along
    -jim    Baca lagi

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  • Vacation 2025

    OK, so some more final musings

    15 Oktober 2025, Sepanyol ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    What were the best unplanned things?
    Our Venice host messaging us and saying " my husband and I are taking the boat out tonight, want to come out for a glass of wine?"

    A Bangladeshi husband and wife inviting us to come back to their restaurant and "let me cook a meal for you"

    Getting tickets to the sold out opera in Venice.

    Discovering city park in Budapest.

    Gondola rides in the Dolomites.

    How much at home we felt in Madrid.

    Seeing Guernica and a protest to stop the Palstinian genocide breaking out. The raw emotion cut me open and I couldnt stop leaking.

    What Bad Unexpected Things happened?
    I cannot remember one.
    -jim

    I mentioned it before but ill mention it here, you can see our travels practically down to the hour by tapping on the map and expanding all the way in on a footprint circle.    Baca lagi

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    Tamat perjalanan
    15 Oktober 2025
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