In the Portland Airport, getting ready to fly out to Vienna, Austria, then to Hungary: Joel, Chris, Corey, and Eric

We rode the train into downtown Vienna; this is the view we found when coming up from the underground train terminal. Stephansdom Square, where you see St. Stephan's Cathedral . This is considered the heart of Vienna. For more info see: http://glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/3011.php

The contrast between the medieval and modern architecture was fascinating.

Another view of the St. Stephan's cathedral's south tower

Inside St. Stephans cathedral

A partial view of the organ pipes inside the cathedral

Corey and Eric enjoying the atmosphere and architecture of this magnificent cathedral

Climbing up the very narrow round staircase of the St. Stephan's south tower

At the top of St. Stephan's south tower

An amazing view of Vienna from the top of St. Stephan's south tower

Another amazing view of Vienna from the top of St. Stephan's south tower, looking toward Hofburg Palace

Just another cool view I thought you might want to see.

This is Austria's national symbol in the roof tiles of St. Stephan's cathedral.

This is the front of the building where our bed and breakfast was located, about 2 blocks from St. Stephan's cathedral. We walked by it a few times before finding it.

The elevator taking us to our bed and breakfast. It could fit 4 without luggage (if 2 sat on the bench).

This is Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church), the second oldest church in Vienna, a block from our B&B.

The Trinity column, a 2 minute walk from our B&B. The column was built in 1692 because of a promise made during the plague of 1679.

The Trinity Column contains Latin inscriptions that say, To God the Father, Creator: To God the Son, Redeemer: To God the Spirit, Sanctifier.

Corey & Eric reading at the base of the Trinity Column.

Even the construction was made to look pleasant in this high tourist area.

Walking down a little ally on our way to dinner.

I didn't know Wiener schnitzel looked like that! It appears that Joel didn't either. :-)

Walking in the Innere Stadt, near St. Stephan's Cathedral. I just loved all the architecture, including the mix of old and new.

Amazing architecture just in front of the Hofburg Palace compound. We saw horse and carriages everywhere in town.

A full on view of the front of the Hofburg Palace compound. Each emperor of Austria added buildings and upgrades to this large complex. The oldest building here was built about 1550. Today it houses the Austrian president and international convention center.

A cool looking fountain in front of the Hofburg Palace compound.

Right across from the Hofburg Palace is the best location for a Starbucks.

Another great view of the Hofburg Palace from Starbucks.

I just had to sit down and take in the moment.

Incredible statues out front of the Hofburg Palace. You may think that this Hercules is fighting the serpent; actually, if you look closely you will see he is actually after the pigeon on the serpent's nose. :-)

Another interesting fountain at the Hofburg Palace.

The dome on top of the Michaeler Gate, the main entrance to the Hofburg Palace

Underneath the dome of the Michaeler Gate, the main entrace to the Hofburg Palace

Here is Neue Burg, the newest section of the Hofburg Palace and the famous location where Hitler gave his speech about conquering Europe (from what I understand).

Where the Parliament meets at the Hofburg Palace.

A view of the Imperial Apartments, preserved as they were in the late 1800s. Amazing architecture!

The many statues around the Hofburg Palace compound are very interesting and embody a lot of history that I don't know anything about. :-)

A statue inside the Hofburg Palace with the inscription, "My Love to My People"

The Swiss Gate, within the Hofburg Palace compound; a cool looking doorway arch from the Renaissance period

The fascinating courtyard once you pass through the Swiss Gate. From here you can access one of the many museums within the compound. We tried to go see the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (AD 962), but did not have time to wait in the long line before needing to leave.

One of the doors into the Hofburg Palace compound; I was posing for Eric when Chris took this picture from a different angle.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) includes some of the most spectacular and important paintings and sculptures in world

The Votivkirche, a sandstone church built in the late 1800s as a thanks to God for Franz Joseph surviving an assassination attempt

The Neues Rathaus, built in the late 1800s as the town hall. This is where the Vienna City Council and mayor have their offices.

Two professors standing happily outside Vienna University

Inside one of the courtyards of Vienna University

This University has a long, proud history, including a section dedicated to Sigmund Freud

Eating outside in Vienna

Horse and buggy rides can be found all over the city

Getting breakfast at our B&B

One of the many street performers - I offered him some ice-cream; you can see his response.

Pretending that we could actually go somewhere in this boat on the Danube Canal

Tourists enjoying an ice-cream break

There was a park dedicated to musicians of Vienna; here I am in front of the Mozart statue.

We just boarded the small bus with the missionaries to travel to Sopron, Hungary

The countryside of Hungary was very quaint

At the conference facilities in Sopron with the GEM missionaries

The 2008 Tech Team from Salem to Hungary: Corey, Chris, Joel, and Eric

They fed us well and we had great time fellowshipping with the missionaries at mealtime

Eric and I at our computers; we were often working at 2 or 3 computers at once

The missionaries would bring us their laptops; we gathered information from them about their computer needs and woes before working on them

Our computer tech room was next door to the nursery; this little gal had some things to tell me - although I never figured out what it was :-)

A view of the computer tech room; often a lot going on

We often worked very late into the night working on the computers; Joel was hunkering down for some late night work

Although most of our work entailed working on the software of the laptops, a couple times we had to really dig in to some hardware issues; here is Chris having some fun fixing a problem; the moral of the story was, done allow your laptop to run on the bed where it will pull in lint.

They asked us to bring cookies for a dessert time; Oreos were a popular request, so between the 4 of us we brought about 10 pounds of them.

Chess anyone? The hotel had some nice grounds to walk and relax

Sopron was a very interesting town; not as showy as Vienna, but some rich history and fascinating architecture

A view of Sopron's downtown square

A great view of one of the side-streets in Sopron

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A very old church in the middle of Sopron - like Vienna, they also had a monument set up to remember God's blessings.

The caption at the base of the column monument, reading: "To the one and three, God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, from ?? ?? of Sopron" (Where is my Medieval Latin dictionary when I need it?)

The colors of some of the buildings in Sopron were spectacular.

I thought Jeanette would like this picture with the fabulous colors.

Again the interesting architecture found in the details around Sopron.

What about this little alley in Sopron to brighten your day!

And of course the color in the phone booth was worth us stopping.

Interesting little shops and open market in Sopron.

There were flowers on the balconies of many buildings in Sopron.

Eric and I had lunch at a great little outdoor dining area in Sopron's town square.

A picture of the restaurant in Sopron

But we didn't know what to think when we saw the bill! Actually, it was a very reasonably priced meal - although I am not sure exactly how much we gave the waiter. :-)

At the Starbucks in Vienna Airport on the way home. I am smiling because the guys were trying to get me to back up enough to walk in the fountain water with the little guy behind me.