Vienna was the crown jewel and capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . Much more than that though, Vienna was the home of the House of Habsburg , one of Europe's most important royal houses. How important were they? Well the Holy Roman Emperor (ruler of all the Germanic States) from 1438 to 1740 was a member of the Habsburg Dynasty , and the Family ruled pretty much the whole of Continental Europe at one point, save for the territory of the Kingdom of France. Because of this, Vienna is a city of great cultural, architectural, and historical significance as evidenced by how beautifully well planned everything is. * Most of Vienna's imperial sights can be found along the Ringstrasse , a circular road which was built to replace the city walls, using money paid by the English for the safe release of King Richard the Lionheart (from the Crusades), who was held hostage by the Austrians.

The fourth stop on our Honeymoon Itinerary is the Imperial City of Vienna . The capital and largest city in Austria, Vienna was also the center of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and is known as the "City of Music" due to its enormous musical legacy. A great cultural center in the history of man, Vienna was home to such prodigies as Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert . * One of the bonuses of this trip, was that we got to recreate a scene from one of my favorite movies of all time, Before Sunrise .

Budapest Walking Tour Buda Hill - Matthias Church & Fisherman's Bastion Danube River Cruise & Buda Night Walk

The legendary Danube River is Europe's second longest river, and runs across Central and Eastern Europe. Flowing through Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia and Ukraine, the Danube has been a major historical setting throughout European history, as well as a main source of trade and travel between the ancient Kingdoms. * The dramatic-looking Hungarian Parliament Building is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, but could easily blend in any Lord of the Rings movie.

Modern-day Budapest is actually a combination of two rival medieval cities: Buda and Pest . While flat Pest is located on the eastern bank of the fabled Danube River and has traditionally been Hungarian, Buda , located on the western bank, is hilly, full of trees, and was historically inhabited by Germans, Ottomans, and Serbians before finally being assimilated by the Hungarians.  * Buda was the former capital of the  Kingdom of Hungary  and thus contains  Buda Castle ,  Matthias Church , and the  Fisherman's Bastion .