Prague - April 2008

Prague was beautiful! It was definitely one of our favorite places. Gorgeous old buildings, cobble stone streets, classical music, jazz, opera, good beer, great public transportation and still affordable for Europe!





an overview of Prague












Charles Bridge with statues of the 12 apostles


















another view of the city














a wall of stone figures in the courtyard of the senate complex














the dome of the St. Nicholas Church where the Charles University Math Dept took up an annex.














the changing of the guards at the Prague Castle
















one of the towers of the cathedral inside Prague Castle




















inside the cathedral in Prague Castle


















inside the Prague State Opera House
















the Astronomical Clock - mechanical figures of the 12 apostles come out every hour on the hour






















enjoying a sunny day at a cafe by the Vltava River















one of Czech national dishes - roast of pork joint with bread dumpling, sauerkraut and mustard - with beer.

Kerala - April 2007

Kerala - the land of coconuts

We spent a week in Kerala with Jenn. Kerala is a southwestern state of India, and true to its name there are coconut trees everywhere and coconuts are used extensively in their delicious food. We met with Jenn and several of her friends from the Kodaikanal International School at Kovalam Beach - a lovely beach at the southern end of Kerala. The KIS staff had a four day weekend so many of them were taking a beach holiday. Jenn took a few more days off to vacation with us. We spent a couple of nights on a houseboat floating through the backwaters of Kerala then went to see the old city of Fort Cochin before heading back to our respective homes away from home. We had a really great time holidaying with Jenn. Our only regret was that Albert couldn't be there too. The family vacation just wasn't the same without Albert but we know that it's not easy any more to get everybody together. This finishes our trip in India. We leave for Prague tomorrow.


View of Kovalam Beach














Jenn - fearless boogie boarder. There were some big waves.














A man climbing a coconut tree - in bare feet - to cut some coconuts down.




















Fishermen pulling in the net














Jenn and Sue at dinner















Jenn and Sue in our houseboat














A view from the houseboat















Another view from the houseboat
















A man digging for clams at dusk - seen from the houseboat




















Sunset over a church - seen from the houseboat














A typical Keralan meal served on a large banana leaf, prepared for us onboard the houseboat.












Kathakali - Traditional Keralan performing art
















Frank and Jenn helping local fishermen pull in a Chinese fishing net.












A Chinese fishing net at sunset




















An antique long boat displayed inside a shop













Bangalore city flower market on the morning of the Hindi Lunar New Year

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located about 350 km northwest of Bangalore. Hampi is located within the ruins of the old Vijayanagara empire. The old empire was destroyed by a muslim invasion in the 16th century. The old temples, palaces and bazaars were all constructed in the 15th and 16th century. There are about 80 different sites spread out over a large area. To see it all would take days. Sunsets and sunrises from hilltops are suppose to be amazing. Unfortunately, it rained both days that we were there but the upside was that it wasn't as hot as it normally is (normal high is about 95 degrees F). You will notice that this entry has many photos. We took about 140 and selected about 25 for the blog.

This is a good view of a group of monuments in Hampi. I got this photo from Wikipedia site. It looks like the Virupaksha Temple area in Hampi Bazaar on the south bank of the river.







Below: photos from Vittala Temple










































































Below: Photos from the Royal Center




Lotus Mahal






Details of Lotus Mahal















Elephant enclosure. The big stone palace-like structure is basically the elephant stable. There are 11 separate "stalls".
































The Queen's Bath. It's more like a swimming pool.








































Gnesh (elephant god) Temple




















600 steps leading up to the Hanemon (monkey god) Temple.










Colorful cloth drying on rocks











a bunch of young bananas and a banana flower












Celebration of Holy Festival in Hampi












A photo op with some colorful characters.