Oh, and chocolate.

Final night in Europe

Final night in Europe
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

L to R: Becki, Kurtis, Eric, Ryan, Paola, Julie, and Scott.

Drinking Hungarian wine and smoking Cuban cigars

Some palace in Buda

Some palace in Buda
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

With Ashley starting to laugh in the foreground.

Chain bridge crossing Danube

Chain bridge crossing Danube
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Really cool bridge that crosses over a very large river. It only has two lanes of auto traffic with wide pedestrian lanes on either side.

Ashley with hills in background

Ashley with hills in background
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There are a lot of buildings on the hill in the background - it's hard to tell from this picture.

Parliment from Castle Hill

Parliment from Castle Hill
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Castle Hill

Castle Hill
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This was a really amazing sight. The top of this hill is home to all kinds of historical structures: castles, churches, look-outs, etc. I tried to get a few of them in one frame.

Hungarian Parliment

Parliment
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

One of the first things we saw in Buda. The boat in the foreground is on the Danube.

Near the former waste incenerator

Near the former waste incenerator
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

It looks like this building is bleeding.

Former waste incenerator

Former waste incenerator
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This is the work of an artist called Underwasser (spelling?). We saw it a few times on our journeys through Vienna. It is very near the university.

Apartments on top of old brick structure

Apartments on top of old brick structure
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The brick object below is protected under a sort of landmark ordinance. So the developer built this around it.

Co-housing with smokestack

Co-housing with smokestack
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The smokestack in the center is from an old coffin factory that used to occupy this site.

Gasometer, part deux

Gasometer, part deux
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Another gasometer project. This time there were four towers, they were connected and converted into apartments and a shopping mall.

The City Hall

Poor attempt at night time photography
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Or, another poor attempt at night time photography.

Old church at night

Some old church at night
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I think Claudia's mother remembered the name of this church, but I forgot. Sorry.

Vienna from the hills

Vienna from the hills
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

A little hazy, but a spectacular view nonetheless.

Monument at top of hill

Monument at top of hill
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There is a nice little cafe in the center section.

Schonbrun Park with the city in background

Schonbrun Park with the city in background
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The building in the middle is the summer palace. Claudia's mother works there and promised me a special tour next time I'm in Vienna.

A beautiful day in an enormous park

Ashley and a fountain
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Ashley is sitting in front of this gigantic fountain. There is a very large bird cage in the background

Front of Museum Quarter

Front of Museum Quarter
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There are several museums inside of this complex. There is a large courtyard behind the front structure which contains the Leopold and Museum of Modern Arts.

Street shot, Vienna

Street shot, Vienna
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I got an 8"X10" made of this shot. I really like how the colors and composition turned out.

Outside the Albertina

Outside the Albertina
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This glass and steel structure reminded me of something out of Jules Verne.

Dome on top of Hofburg

Dome on top of Hofburg
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Example of the ornate detail on Vienna's monumental buildings.

Hofburg and your tour guide

Hofburg and your tour guide
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The 'winter palace' and current home to Austria's president. This is only one wing of an enormous structure in the heart of Vienna

Stephansdom

Stephansdom
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The cathedral of St. Stephen was the first really iconic structure we saw in Vienna. It sneaked up on us - the way the streets are aligned to it makes it suprising.

The inside is also magnificent, but my photos were blurry and grainy.

Hard Rock Berlin, 2

Hard Rock Berlin, 2
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Kurtis and your tour guide

Hard Rock Berlin

Hard Rock Berlin
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

L to R: Eric, Becki, and Kurtis

Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

We saw them at Potsdamer Platz. It was an amazing show. Their special effects are some of the most stunning and mind bending things I've witnessed.

Hotel Astor

Hotel Astor
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This was one of the few surviving buildings in this district (near the Brandenburg Gate) after the war. It was promptly turned into a hospital.

Top of the Brandenburg Gate

Top of the Brandenburg Gate
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This monument is really spectacular. It's difficult to capture how well it works with its surroundings in a picture.

Quadriga in B&W

Quadriga in B&W
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Bode Museum

Bode Museum
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I believe it was closed for some reason. In any case we wouldn't have had time to see it.

Reichstag

Reichstag
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

You can walk inside the glass dome on top of the building. However, the German professor who was traveling with us said we would have to get in line very early to do that.

German Technical Institute/Museum

German Technical Institute/Museum
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Yes, that is a DC-3 suspended above the building. No, we didn't see the inside.

Cool graffti on a bridge

Cool grafitti on a bridge
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Like I said earlier, there is a lot of graffiti in Germany. Rarely is it this artistic.

Bridge and TV Tower

Bridge and TV Tower
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This bridge was the only urban rail link between East and West Berlin during the cold war.

Architectural Object?

Architectural Object?
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The new development in Berlin is unlike anything I've witnessed. It's fiercely independent and restrained simultaneously.

The Wall from the Spree

The Wall from the Spree
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

A good sized stretch of it still remains along the river. This would be looking into the former Soviet sector.

Indicative Photo of Berlin's Development

Indicative Photo of Berlin's Development
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Old and new. Sights like this are not hard to find in Berlin.

Two Bratwurst with Saurkraut, Mustard, and Potatoes

Two Bratwurst with Saurkraut, Mustard, and Potatoes
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Eating in Berlin

Eating in Berlin
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

L to R: Becky, Ryan, Ashley, Eric, Paola

Another beach bar on the Spree

Another beach bar on the Spree
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This is a pool in the river. The lighter blue is the pool water.

Beach bar along the Spree

Beach bar along the Spree
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There are a lot of these in Berlin. They're like squatter commercial developments - low cost spots that seem to generate enough revenue to pay the rent.

The Wall

The Wall
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Further along on our bus tour we came to a large remaining section of the Berlin Wall. This part only cuts off access to the river, which is part of the reason it hasn't been torn down. All the graffiti along this side is post 1989 since we are in the former Soviet sector.

Your tour guide

Your tour guide
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Old Soviet-style apartment buildings

Old Soviet apartment buildings
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

From a good vantage point you can see these sorts of massive structures all over East Berlin. The political symbolism is evident in these clusters of identical towers.

Grungy Interior

Interior space once used for club
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This was at the first site we visited on our redevelopment tour of Berlin. According to the guide it was once a real hot spot for the club scene. The new owner wants to lease it out for special events.

Reichstag with cranes in background

Reichstag with construction in background
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The cranes are working on the new central train station project. Seeing as the city was divided for the latter half of the 20th century, there was no true 'center.' This project has serious symbolic importance to the reunification of Berlin

Renovated transformer station

Renovated transformer station
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The first site on our redevelopment tour of Berlin. This will become an office building for a software firm. We went to the top of the building (by a set of winding, steel stairs) and took a bunch of pictures of the city.