What a Wonderful World: September 2006

After surviving a stampede in Budapest, an overnight train ride across the Czech border and even snow in the Tatras while wearing a T-shirt and single pullover, Behold!- Eugene I, Prince of Geylang, Heir to the House of Leaw, is finally back to post pics on our 18 day Eastern/Central Europe trip! Travelling from Hungary to Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland before our final destination in Lithuania, this wonderful trip really gave us a good glimpse of the opulance and grandeur of an age where aristocrats and religious leaders ruled empires and held total dominance over all society. With the exception of a few nature stops along the Danube river, the Vtalva and the Polish Tatras, and a good lesson on the evils of humanity at Auschwitz, i think we've easily made a couple of years' worth of visiting splendid castles, palaces, cathedrals and abbeys. There was just so much history coursing through my veins that i could'nt help but hear some classical pieces (Bach?) in my head each time i walk through all the old town streets. Think i need a break from Europe... seen too many churches and too many white people... wanna go see something different like the Pyramids in Giza, or Istanbul, or Angkor Wat, or flower fields in Furano, or a hundred other different places...

Fisherman's Bastion at Buda, Budapest

Hungarian Parliament at Pest, 2nd largest in Europe after London

Close-up shot of the Hungarian Parliament

The immense Hofburg by night, Vienna

Stift Melk, Grandest interior of any religious building i've seen

Baroque Theatre in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

I've got to step in to give a brief explanation at this point, coz this theatre really got me awestruck. Dating from as far back as the 2nd half of the 17th, this is the most well-preserved baroque theatre in the world, with original costumes, props and equipment still intact. Yet, the most amazing thing is the special effects that this theatre is able to deliver given the technology that was available. For one, optical illusion on the stage setup was used to make its depth look very much more than it really is, and to make it even more convincing, kid performers wearing miniature versions of actual costumes act in the background while the real adult performers stay in the foreground. Check out this site for more special effects used in the theatre:- Cesky Krumlov & its unique theatre