This was my first time in Austria, and Vienna was not disappointing. I wish we had planned to stay longer… But there was enough time to go the Opera, visit the gorgeous Belvedere complex (palaces/museum), the excellent Albertina Museum, the Hofburg Imperial Palace, St. Stephen’s cathedral, the MuseumsQuartier, and walk around the vibrant pedestrian streets, with stops for coffee and delicious cakes, apple strudel, and the famous Sacher torte.
On our recent trip to Germany, we dedicated a couple of days to explore Bavaria, along the so-called “Romantic Road,” which is neither romantic nor a real road. 🙂 It is a “theme route” devised by travel agents in the 1950s to boost tourism in the area. It consists of 350 kilometres of highway between Würzburg and Füssen in southern Germany, specifically in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, linking a number of picturesque towns and castles, including the ones in this album. Among other things, we visited Burg Harbug, a medieval castle in Harburg; Rothenburg, a beautifully preserved medieval town; and the famous Neuschwanstein castle, built by King Ludwig II, also known as “The Swan King”, “The Fairy Tale King,” or “Mad King Ludwig.” Beloved by Bavarians till this day, Ludwig II was a nature lover and a patron of the arts. He liked to build lavish castles, became a recluse for years, and was eventually declared mentally ill and unfit to rule. He had a tragic death before seeing all his castles finished. I am a bit intrigued by Ludwig’s story and plan to learn more about his life. 🙂
I’m finally going over the pictures from our trip to Germany and Austria earlier this month. Starting with Munich, a city I enjoyed very much for its natural beauty, for its museums, monuments, and palaces, and for the fun and folkloric beer culture. I’m not much of a beer drinker but admit I loved the draft beer in Munich.
After five days in the Bavarian region of Germany, we are now in Vienna, Austria. A beautiful city! 
Walt Disney Concert Hall architect, Frank Gehry, designed this rose-shaped fountain made of Delft porcelain to be placed in the garden dedicated to the building’s patron, Lily Disney.
After the snowstorm. Washington, D.C.
Dark clouds over Brasilia, Brazil.
Fog and clouds over Chicago.
Just before the storm. Chicago, Illinois.
Sunny day on the beach. Santa Monica, CA.
Cotton balls in the sky. Santa Monica, CA.
To see other “Weather” entries go to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge.
The Petersen Museum: Love It or Leave It
L.A.’s Petersen Automotive Museum reopened in December of 2015, after undergoing extensive remodeling. The new building, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (who also worked on New York’s MOMA), is a textured hot-rod-red aluminum structure wrapped by hundreds of stainless-steel ribbons, meant to “evoke the imagery of speed and the organic curves of a coach-built automobile.” But many critics in L.A. are calling it a huge eye-sore, an obnoxious, loud, and tacky Las Vegas-style monstrosity. Will the public hate it or embrace it? One thing is for sure: once you’ve seen it, you will never forget it.
The interior is impressive with twenty-five galleries on three floors, packed with interactive technology telling three stories about the automobile: its history, its industry and its artistry. I enjoyed the time I spent there. The cars on display are simply jaw-dropping beautiful and for car lovers, there is a special tour to the museum’s vault, where they keep hundreds of car intended to be display at times in different exhibits.
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Jy is wat jy dink - nie wat jy dink jy is nie. Dit help soms om hardop te lag vir wat jy dink of dink jy is.
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