Thursday, September 29, 2005

neuschwanstein and hohenschwangau

One of the highlights of our trip was, of course, the visit to Neuschwanstein, the famous fairy tale castle built by King Kudwing II. It's located near the village of Schwangau, and right next to the royal castle of Hohenschwangau.I was impressed by both of them, the interiors are stunning, but on the other hand the gardens are almost non existent (which is why Linderhof was my favourite instead). We had to walk quite a bit to reach each castle, since you must park down at the village and then climb up to the entrance. And you can only visit by guided tour, which are scheduled in advance so you have a specific time to enter. King Ludwig was either really mad or quite a creative genius, since each room in the castle is more fantastic than the other. It's a pity that he never got to finish Neuschwanstein till the end, or that he never built his fourth castle ...








and quite a view that he had from the castle's windows ...


behind the castle it's possible to go to the famous Marienbrucke (Mary's bridge) where you can see the best view of the castle


Hohenschwangau







 

#79

order from P.



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and last night I watched the first episodes of The OC's second season (thanks A. for the loan :-) ... can't really say what is it about this series that makes me always want to see more (Kirsten and Sandy, I guess.. and Seth, I love that guy ;-) but it's addictive, and now I want to see the rest !!

also, there's been a 24 season 3 marathon going around at the house. My husband, who has never watched the series before last weekend, is now obsessed about it ... so if anyone has season 4 that we could borrow please let me know ;-)

and a final note on DVD series, G Girls season 4 was finally dispatched yesterday (ohhh, I want to see that so badly !!!) and Nip/Tuck season 2 is on its way, so I guess I'll be hibernating at home during the next few weeks ...

 

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

a change of image ...

yes, I was tired of the old blog image, so I've decided to change it a bit ... the lovely flower background is by William Morris, famous wallpaper and fabrics designer, among other things ...
 

obrigada meninas :-)



sabe tão bem receber prendinhas atrasadas :-)
obrigada m e n i n a s (e ainda à R. que não tem tempo para ter blog nem LJ ;-)
 

Monday, September 26, 2005

more covers

slowly I'm starting to pick up my crafty work again...

#75 I've made for myself ...


#76 is an order from J.

 

Vienna

maybe it was because our expectations were too high, but we were quite disappointed with Vienna... Schonbrunn palace was really beautiful, not only for the palace itself which is quite sumptuous, but also because of the interminable gardens, including a maze garden where we got lost and a zoo.

Schloss Schonbrunn







Interior of the great gallery (ballroom) ...


The maze garden





a game of mirrors ...


The zoo
We only saw the sign after we tried feeding the ostrich :P



The centre of Vienna seemed to be all under construction, and with just too many people. Stephansdom (the cathedral whcih dominates the city centre) is impressive, but is in need of a big cleanup.

Stephansdom




Garden in front of the Hofburg




The Natural History Museum




The Rathaus



Traditional food
The famous bratwurst (the only one I had during the whole trip)


And the best dessert, some sort of raspberry strudel