On a lark: Vienna

Tired of the Balkans, I decided to throw caution to the wind.  I also wanted to see if I could use my skills to book a free flight and hotel to a city that I want to visit. I was looking forward to a change of pace. I thought about Old World Vienna and that Bratislava is close by side trip.  I decided to do it. The flight and hotel would have cost $1797 but with points I got it for just $112 in taxes.

The flight was smooth, took a cab from the airport to the Grand Hilton Vienna an Art Deco type hotel in the center of the city. 
 Vienna has to big things going for it:
The Food and Architecture. My food I mean deserts which are all so wonderful it is difficult to choose.
A easy to walk city and if you are into music the Opera hose is top shelf.  I spent three days in Vienna. I headed there because I wanted room service and an old world familiar feel. I was not disappointed. One of my days I visited Bratislava.  My main stop every day was at Cafe Central to eat and relax.
The Cafe and its deserts..

Old World Vienna.

Hotel Latiski Most: Review

Pros:
Everything!
"nuff said

Cons:

Nothing

The front desk person Elan was another recipient of the Key Chain Award

Sarajevo III: Cafe Tito

Some street walking until you get to a bar/cafe called Tito. Marshal Tito was the strongman, dictator of Yugoslavia until his death. After he died, was when it all fell apart with war. This place honors his memory with tanks and other war apparatus outside and everything.

 The wall of Tito, They love their Tito!

 The great man himself in bronze

Sarajevo II

Some more of the city...

Sarajevo "Other" photos

Sarajevo has come a long way from being the most "dangerous city in the world" in the 90's to its present chic well-dressed, high heel wearing women sitting carefree sipping a coffee with men.  Great restaurants, bars, some music and wonderful mixture of Muslim and Christan sights.
Here are those photos...
Wonderful place for a meal per Jack's recommendation.

 overlooking the Mosque one evening at a cafe.

War Tour: The Tunnel

Here is the tunnel that we were alble to go inside and actually walk into and through a small part..
The entrance heavily shot up...

 The narrow inside

 Munitions..

Saravejo War Tour

I just finished a few good books about Sarajevo during the war in the 90's and wanted to take a tour of the battle lines.  There was a tour agency across the street from the hotel The tour would take us in the hills surrounding Sarajevo as well as through the streets known as sniper alley and finally to the tunnel build under the airport to smuggle people and food in and out of Sarajevo.

Sniper Alley:

The Holiday Inn where the snipers fired down from the top floors killing women, children. and old people.

 Map showing the city surrounded. The Serbian army held all the high ground and cut off the roads so supplies, food, medicine could not make it into Sarajevo.

The war dead....