Bled's Beauties

Surrounded by mountains, one of our favorite places, Bled, Slovenia is symbolized by its picturesque steeple-topped island in the lake, a majestic castle on a cliff, stylish pletna boats, perfect cream cakes, slinky swans, and rustic horse-drawn wagons.  It's a place to walk, row, sail, think and just enjoy an incredible intersection of the beauty of Nature and human interpretations of beauty...all the better with a bite of sumptuous cream cake in your mouth.

A Beer for You

I've been to so many airports in my life and time (thanks, Leon Russell!) but had never before seen a welcome like this at the Vienna International Airport.  Cartons of Egger beer rode the luggage belt with "Welcome Home" greetings.  They got lots of comments from fellow passengers and a few people took a presumed-to-be-offered beer.  Clever marketing campaign!  

Shingle Shapes in the Morning

A virtual jambalaya of rooftops as seen from an attic room window one recent morning at Penzion Berc in Bled, Slovenia.

Inside the window, little shingles of light cast by the net curtain on the ruffled one add pattern and texture. 

A Welcome Mistake

In that amazingly beautiful area of the world where Austria, Slovenia and Italy meet, if you set your navigation system to take you from Bled to Kranjska Gora to Bovec, Slovenia, with the intent of going through the Vrsic Pass, and you don't check the route laid out for you before starting your drive, you just might instead find yourself in Italy, passing the tranquil and idyllic Lago di Predil—a pleasant and welcome mistake.

Closed Gates

Vienna's Haas & Haas restaurant, just behind Stephansdom, is a delightful place to enjoy a cup of tea or my favorite dish there—a pear and walnut ravioli in Gorgonzola sauce.  The weather has turned cooler in the past few days resulting in closed gates to their outdoor seating.

Fanciful Flowers by a Curly Fence

Once upon a moment in time, there was a Canadian bicycle holding a Japanese furoshiki bag resting against the Austria Natural History Museum fence in Vienna....

Wiener Wiesn 2011

This year, Vienna hosted its version of Oktoberfest, complete with rides, dirndls, lederhosen (including a blue jeans version), tents, beer, giant wursts and dancing on the tables.