Thank You Notes

With apologies to Jimmy Fallon, I offer the following thank you notes:

 Thank you, Kara Irwin and your family, for allowing us to stay in your charming apartment that required us to walk through the Fisherman's Bastion on a daily basis.  

Fisherman's Bastion 

Apartment Located Behind Large Light Pole on the Right 

 Thank you city fathers of Budapest, for deciding that manhole covers in the castle area should be artistic and not just functional. 

Thank you "Free Tours" guide Andrew, for combining history and humor in your walking tour of Budapest.  Because of you, we were able to share the story of how college students, wishing for good luck on their exams, rubbed the testicles of this horse, thus leaving the statue with "brass balls." 

Thank you sunshine in Budapest, for shining on one of the three days we were visiting.  Without you I would not have captured these amazing images. 

Thank you Viking River Cruise planners, for providing a night time cruise on the Danube as part of our trip. The views were breathtaking. 

Thank you local guide Reiner, for taking the time to write an audience participation play to help us understand the "Royals" of Vienna.  Your combination of extensive knowledge,  disorganization and creativity  were disarming but we enjoyed our walking tour with you. 

Thank you men dressed like Mozart to sell tickets to concerts, for showing us tourists that it is not only in New York City that we can see grown people dressed in costumes to hype their attractions. 

Thank you Viking Tour Bus Driver to Schonnbrun Palace, for being gracious enough to back the bus up to allow this taxi driver to exit the area clearly marked as "For Tour Buses ONLY".  I hope your kindness was reflected in the tips you received  that day. 

Thank you artists of Passau, for showing us that not all art is in the museums.  Your installation of umbrellas to celebrate "surviving" the flood of 2013 was a treat along our walk. 

Thank you Captain Gabor Szegedi, for steering the ship through this particular lock and getting us safely to our next port. (In this photo our balcony is on the left, the wall of the lock on the right....)