Well, it’s time for a new installment. I’ll wager this one is a bit tougher. 🙂

This is one of those old spa towns. The town feels a bit like the movie Cocoon in that it’s full of old people (mostly Germans) stocking up on nasty-ass sulfur tasting water. These are some of the grand hotels in the center of town.

It’s recently history hasn’t all been roses. After the Iron Curtain came down, their foreign visitors couldn’t come and visit. This building looks absolutely magnificent and, while a large part of the town has been restored to it’s former glory, there’s a lot in need to major work like this building.

So, still unsure? I doubt this will help:

This grand colonnade sits overlooking a lovely park in the center of town. Inside is some great iron work and paintings on the ceiling. The fountain to the right does a bit of choreography to classical music every two hours.

Give up? It’s Marianske Lazne, formerly known as Marienbad. It’s about 30 miles from the German border in the Czech Republic and is one of two major spa towns in West Bohemia. Behind the town are some very pleasant walking trails as well. We spent a lovely day there, wandering around the grand buildings and strolling through the woods.

So we have two images, both are of the Prague Cathedral in the Castle.

This would be the front of it at around noon time.

And here it be at night.

I don’t have much more to add, just was amused that I managed to take almost the exact same shot 10 hours apart. The hoards of crowds was non-existent at night as well. Being able to wander around the castle grounds at 10pm was a nice treat as all the tour groups have long gone by then but the grounds (not the interior bits) are all still open. Some lovely views of the city from up there as well. Viva Prague!

So, we’ve moved on from Berlin and taken up “residence” elsewhere. I’m not sure if this will be easier or harder, but here goes:

Honestly, if you can get our location from this picture, I’m impressed. It’s just a pretty random building in the old center. The sign on top says it’s a school.

One thing this location is known for is it’s tram system. From our limited experience with it, the reputation is justified. Very fast and efficient. Except the ticket machines don’t always work/aren’t readable in the dark when it’s raining and you have a pack on your back. 🙂

Give up? Let’s see if these are any more helpful:

Sorry for the bad lighting. It rained all day. If you look past the statue, you can see the famous cathedral in the famous castle of this city.

This famous bridge crosses the river that bisects this city. It’s named after Carolyn’s grandpa (really!).

Ok, it’s Prague. We were debating showing the astrological clock as well. We’re fully in Eastern Europe now. Our next locations will be a whole lot harder to figure out, I’ll bet. The weather hasn’t been perfect here, but it’s a lovely city, tourist hoards be damned! 🙂

Quiz time. Can you guess where we are? The answer will be revealed after the photos.

This is a monument created by the Soviets after WWII. It’s remarkably large.

This TV Tower was built in 1969 and lords over the entire city.

Give up? OK, those were semi-tricky (if you’ve never been). Here are two easy ones:

Old part of the city gate that has since become a symbol of the city.

It’s a wall and it divided the city. I don’t think I need to add any more than that, do I? 😀

Give up again? It’s Berlin! We’re spending a few days here and soaking in a city with a very unique history. It’s been tons of fun so far.

Well, this was it, 30 minutes before we threw our packs on our backs to head to the airport and parts unknown. After that, we had no keys, the flat was officially vacated. We’d already tearfully said goodbye to Chewy and left him with the wonderful Heather and now it was time to say goodbye to our home of 3.5 (for me, at least) years.

A sad moment, but time for a new adventure.

We have hit the final countdown in London and the past two weeks have seen Matt and I both finishing up at work.  We have been exceptionally lucky in that we both have been graced with amazing colleagues.  We have been fortunate enough to not only enjoy working with our colleagues but have developed some of our closest friendships in London through work.  It has probably been the key reason why we like it here so much.

So, saying goodbye has not been easy.  Last week I had my work leaving do at the Vortex, a jazz club in Dalston, that I have been meaning to check out for ages.  It was a lovely evening for sitting outside and enjoying some pints and food and then a few of us listened to the Deirdre Cartwright Band upstairs.  Matt’s leaving do was this week and we went to the Old Fountain, one of Matt’s favorite London pubs for some general merriment including ale followed by some Malaysian food.  It was great to celebrate with good friends but not easy to say good-bye.  Maybe we will leave it at so long for now.