How time flies when you are having fun

The past three weeks flew by so fast, that I barely had any time to realize it's 2016 already! I think in these few weeks Ryan and I visited more Christmas markets and more countries than I ever thought was possible. All that kept me so busy I barely had any time to go through my pictures. After the long posts about visiting the North Sea and it's nearby countries, we got a chance to travel to Vienna and Budapest for New Years and then I flew home for Russian orthodox Christmas.

St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna, Austria

St. Peter's church ceiling in Vienna, Austria

One of the halls in the Opera House, Vienna, Austria

Parliament and the Chain Bridge, Budapest, Hungary

We have a family tradition of getting together with my god mothers family that day. We eat, drink, play, and the next day we go on long walks. As tradition would have it, we often end up walking either in the woods or by the Novoerysalimskiy Monastery - a New Jerusalem Cathedral that finally was restored. This year was the first time I see it without any construction on site. And even though it was around -20C outside, it was a breathtaking experience, just to be able to see this monstrous beauty with my own eyes.

Novoerysalimskiy Monastery, Istra, Russia

Spending time with family usually means that's all you have time to do - so many people to see, so much to do. But in between seeing everyone I got a chance to visit another beautiful cathedral on the way to my aunts house. This beauty was built in 1327 and still stands to this day.

Getting back home to a quiet life in Vilseck was almost a culture shock, but it is definitely nice to relax and unwind from a great Christmas vacation.