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Stopover in Vienna


During our flight from Kiev to Washington, we stayed over night in Vienna. We arrived in Vienna in the afternoon and after checking into the hotel, we took the metro (U-Bahn) to the center of the city. We did some walking, had some food in a local café and then arrived at Maria Theresian Platz, where our scheduled walking city tour was supposed to start. However, we ran of luck by then, because the rain started pouring pretty hard and our tour was canceled. Even though we still did some sightseeing, we stopped taking pictures due to the weather conditions. That is why there is only a limited amount of pictures from Vienna in this post, mostly from Maria Theresian Platz.

Maria Theresien Platz (Maria Theresa Square) is a square in Vienna city center, mostly known as the location of the twin museums facing each other, the Museum of Natural History (Naturhistorisches Museum) and the Museum of Fine Arts (Kunsthistorisches Museum), which is in the picture above.

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Kiev Sightseeing


Dave and I didn’t have much time to spend in Kiev, but we were able to see some of Kiev’s main attractions. Among them are Pechersk Lavra and Andrew’s Descent. Andrew’s Descent (also known as Аndriyivskyy Uzviz) is one of the most beautiful and famous streets in Kiev.

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Kiev Pechersk Lavra


We started our Kiev sightseeing from Kiev Pechersk Lavra also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, which is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery, built on top of a massive series of tunnels. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the largest museums in Kiev with many sub-museums held within it. Pechersk Lavra is the first and the most ancient monastery on the territory of contemporary Ukraine. The monastery was founded in the mid-11th century by the venerable Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves (of “Pechersk”). Here we are entering Pechersk Lavra in the picture above.

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One Day in Frankfurt


Dave and I had only one day to spend in Frankfurt on Main in Germany, but I think we spent our time there efficiently. We walked the old town, visited Main Tower, had a private walking tour and a scenic river cruise on the river Main.

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George Washington’s Birthday Celebration


Dave and I spent most of the day at Mount Vernon today and we had a wonderful time. We’ve visited it many times, but never for the George Washington’s Birthday celebration. So glad we did! Cake, music, military drills, George, and Martha.

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Sunrise and Fire


Sometimes, there is a benefit of driving to work early because of the chance of catching a beautiful sunrise, like we did this morning.

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Chinese Lantern Festival


For the first time the Chinese Lantern Festival lights up Roer’s Zoofari in Vienna, VA celebrating a 2,000-year-old Chinese tradition with giant lanterns, martial arts shows and plenty of hands-on cultural activities. When I saw an email from living social advertising this event, Dave and I decided not to miss this opportunity. A beautiful 69°F evening in January made the experience even more enjoyable.

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New Year’s Eve 2016


The New Year’s Eve 2016 has arrived! This year Dave and I decided to spend the New Year’s Eve in Baltimore.

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Rotorua Day Tour – Geysers, Maori Performance, Kiwi Fruit & Kiwi Bird



For our second day in Tauranga we purchased a 7 hours excursion to Rotorua, a town set on its namesake lake on New Zealand’s North Island, is renowned for its geothermal activity and Maori culture. The tour included Rotorua geysers, mud pools, Maori village, and plenty of scenic sights.

The most popular site was Te Puia – Rotoruas premiere cultural and geothermal destination and home to world-famous Pohutu Geyser, which is in the picture above. Also, we were excited to see a Maori performance, kiwi birds, a kiwi fruit orchard and much more.

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Tauranga, New Zeland



Our cruise ship was docked in Tauranga for 2 days. The first day we spent at Waimarino adventure park, from where we had scheduled an evening Glow Worm kayak tour.

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