Travel The World

Here are some pictures of my trip to Budapest in '06. I took the train from Presov and enjoyed viewing the countryside on the way down. I spent about three days there touring the city and surrounding area. I found both the scenery and people quite different from what I experienced in Slovakia. Here are the pictures and no, the bullet holes are not from me firing my 9mm. They are evidence of shots fired during the uprising in '56. http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/BudapestHungaryOctober2006 I should have one more series of pictures from this trip posted later this weekend. Russ

Please vote in the new poll above for the next country to be included on this site!!

I am trying to move on from this topic but I find these pictures so unique. I hope you agree. Obviously, the Hungarian royalty were quite the collectors and not shy about displaying these ostentatious items. http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/TravelogueSlovakia12BetliarManorPart6

I thought about moving on to a different subject but these pictures are too beautiful not to show. You will see various types of furniture that reflect how the wealthy lived at that time (19th century). Keep checking in because I plan to post the final ones from this manor in the next few days. http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/TravelogueSlovakia12BetliarManorPart5

And now, even more pictures from the manor. I'm probably boring some people with all these but they're so unique that I feel compelled to post them. One thing you'll notice is that the inhabitants of the manor collected items from throughout the world both directly and as gifts. Here are some more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/TravelogueSlovakia12BetliarManorPart4 Enjoy and let me know what you think. Oh, I'm still looking for village pictures and will post as soon as I can.

These pictures were taken during my last trip to campus in 2004. It's about time for me to return as I always feel energized after visiting my alma mater. I attended the school in the '80s and that was a great time for Notre Dame football. We had a Heismann winner (Tim Brown) and one national championship under Lou Holtz. Great memories! http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/NotreDame I think there are seven pictures, but my favorites are the Golden Dome, the Grotto, and St. Joseph's Lake. I spent a lot of time walking around the lake with my friends and enjoyed sitting in front of the Grotto late at night. It was so relaxing. I really miss those days living the contemplative life.

Here are some more pictures of the interior of Betliar Manor. There's not much I can say about them, I'll let them speak for themselves. http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/TravelogueSlovakia12BetliarManorPart3 Once again, it may take a while for me to add these pictures to the 'Slideshow' link so click the link above to see them.

Google keeps upgrading the options on its blogger sites. Now, you can rate any of the articles you read using a 'star' system at the bottom of the article. I'm not sure if I like this; it will depend on the results!

It's time to make it official. I've known where my next assignment was going to be for a few weeks, but waited until now to announce it. I decided it was time to do my bit for King and Country and volunteered for Afghanistan!! Yes, I will depart for Kabul sometime in mid-June. I think this will be a fascinating tour and should provide some good stories for my site. Don't worry about me going there though. I won't be out on patrol; my job doesn't entail that. Still, I may have to put myself a little at risk to get the best pictures!! Russ

No need to click now unless you want to see the larger pictures . . .

Finally! I've put some more photos of Betliar on my site. All of these photos are from the inside of the manor. Next week, I'll try to include more photos from the outside and surrounding area. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/mccoy4984/TravelogueSlovakia12BetliarManorPart2 PS You'll have to click the link above because, for some reason, I can't capture the new pictures in the slideshow feature. It happens sometimes.

I'll be heading back 'home' today flying out of Charleston WV at 4pm. I had a great flight up and hope the return flight is equal to that. I still have one week of vacation remaining thank goodness. I will be posting much more next week since I'll be back to my own computer with photos, etc.