Greetings - from HOME!

Planes, trains, automobiles and THEN SOME - after 10 days abroad, we're finally home!
When I last posted, we were headed out on a night train to Budapest, Hungary.
"I lost a piece of my soul on that train," was about the only coherent thing I could mutter after fourteen hours and NO HEAT. The train appeared to have been built in 1939 in communist Russia and made the glorious sound of a cat being skinned every time it stopped - and let me tell you - it stopped often - sometimes for an hour or two at a time. Kirk took a picture of me in my five layers that pretty much says it all. Keep a watch for it.
Of course, the beautiful Hungarian Baths made up for it. Hungary is full of natural springs and the Baths ended up being one of the highlights of the trip.
From Budapest, we headed back to the 'western' world to Vienna, Austria. It felt so luxurious. It was exactly as I had imagined - regal cafes, designer shops & royal palaces. What I didn't know about were the Heurigen's, little outdoor wine gardens peppered all over the abundant hills surrounding Vienna. Can't wait to post the pics.
Lastly, we ended the trip in Prague. Hands down, Prague is my favorite city (behind Paris, of course). If I had to recommend only one city in Europe to experience, it would be Prague - even more so than Paris. In Prague, you are truly in discovery mode. It's not a city you already "know" before you get there - everything around you is waiting to be uncovered. The pedestrian-only Charles Bridge leads up to castle hill for a panoramic view of this gothic medieval city.
Anyways, this is just a quick "hi, we're home" post to remind you that it's time to put "the blog," that everyone loves to hate, back on your radar - in the coming days and weeks we will be posting trip highlights, pics and all that jazz. Stayed tuned.