billbauer

Below are a couple of panorama shots taken in Budapest.  This is my first attempt at creating panoramas.  They don't share well on social media because Facebook and Instagram crops the photos which essentially negates the idea of a panorama. The first is a vertical panorama of the interior of St. Stephen's Basilica created using twelve separate photos. The second is a horizontal nighttime panorama of Buda (left) and Pest (right) with the Danube running down the middle, taken from Gellert Hill using thirteen separate photos. Both panoramas were created using the Photoshop CC automated panorama photo merge.

On our last morning in Amsterdam and on the last morning of our trip, we take the tram to the recommended Albert Cuyp street market.  Our research says that the market opens at 9AM and we are there on time.  While some stands are set up, many others are still in process of setting up and we are mostly in the way as workers move goods and equipment up and down the street.  We get a little flavor of the market but are mostly disappointed. We head back to the hotel, grab our luggage and take the train back to Schipol Airport.  We board our 3:15PM Delta flight to Minneapolis and are home in Minneapolis by 5PM.  Of course, by that time it is midnight in Amsterdam but we aren't counting that. Interestingly, we encounter another Road Scholar trip at our hotel this morning.  This tour is just embarking on a tour of the west coast of Norway by ship.  I am tempted just to sign up on the spot and board ship. Great time.  Great trip.  Thanks #ROADSCHOLAR and our traveling

On our free day in Amsterdam we take the tram to the Rijks Museum housing many Rembrandts and Vermeers with a new courtyard since I was here last. With our audio guides, we first peruse the main hall on the second floor with great paintings  including Girl With a Pearl Earring by Vermeer and  Night Watch by Rembrandt. The library from the 1800s is amazing. We are intrigued by a dollhouse from the 1800s. After three hours of cruising the galleries and listening to our audio guides, our feet are very tired so we head to the museum store and then experience the neighborhood surrounding the museum. Telling Siri "I need a glass of wine" leads us to this wine bar for lunch.  Pear, blue cheese and walnut flatbread above.  Tomato, mozzarella, pesto and baguette below. We take the tram back to the Centraal Station to buy tickets for a boat cruise on the Amsterdam canals where we first get views from our very nearby

We have learned from prior European trips.  In order to make the last Delta flight to Minneapolis, one typically needs to arise in the wee hours of the morning to get to the airport and make an early morning flight to Amsterdam.  Last December we set our alarms for 3AM.  This morning other tour members were picked up at the hotel to go to the airport at 4:30AM.  Not us.  Not this time.  We are laying over in Amsterdam for two days allowing us to have a leisurely morning and take a 10:40AM transfer to the Prague airport, courtesy of #ROADSCHOLAR.  My last Prague meal includes the famous Prague Budweiser beer with the obligatory airport lounge photo. Beverly is making a last effort to spend the last of her remaining Czech crowns in the airport before leaving the country. We arrive in Amsterdam and take the train into Centraal Station (yes, that is spelled correctly) and ponder for a moment figuring out exactly how to walk to our hotel that we can see from the plaza. We settle