İstanbul, Not Constantınople

That's what the song says anyway, and Istanbul ıs all I hear, so I guess ıt's rıght.

After a wakeful train trip, I arrived here safe and sound on Friday AM. The train stopped at the Bulgarian/Turkish border at around 2:30 AM and left at around 5:30 AM. In the interım, I was awakened 4 times. Once for a Bulgarian passport check. Then for a Turkish passport check. Then for another Turkish check, this time off the train. Stood in line until the clerk at the window said to go to another building to get a Visa. Got the Visa, got the passport stamped, went to sleep. Another wake-up call, customs check.

One good thing, I met an AU couple at the Visa window. We got together again when the train fınally started and talked until we arrived in Istanbul. Surprisingly, the hotel met me as they said they would, Even with the train being almost 2 hours late.

Decent hotel, with a 4 poster bed, cable TV (2 chan. in English, most of the Time) and a shower with real doors. More on showers later. Breakfast is served in a rooftop cafe overlooking the Bosphorous/Maramara Sea. Quite nice.

I looked around the area a bit, then went to the train station to make a reservation for Sofıa, Bulgaria. Clerks aren't very talkative. At informatıon, I asked where to get a ticket to Sofıa. 'Window 4'. At window 4 I told him what I wanted, and he wrote down the date I specified to make certain we were on the same wavelength. We were, so he did all the necessary paperwork and said '13.40'. So I paid him, got the reservation and left. Why waste words?

Had a nice dinner in the area where I'm at. It's a very good area for my touristy purposes. Near the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofıa and Topkapi Palace. Nice little area, with several nice budget hotels and several guesthouses and/or hostels. Best Western is sure well represented. At least 4 within walking distance.

Yesterday I took a tour which included a trip to the Spice Bazaar, but it was closed for the end of Ramadan. So we saw a jewelry store instead. Big Deal. Then a boat trip on the Bosphorous which was pretty nice. That was followed by a decent lunch, then a trip to the Dolmabache Palace, which was the last place the Sultans lived before Ataturk took over and democratized the country. They lived quite well.

Had dinner at a place I chose because it looked crowded, when all others weren't. Usually means good food, right? Wrong. In this case, it meant everyone was drinking. But they dusted off a menu, hired a cook, bought some fixings, and got me a decent meal.

Today was another tour, this Tyne of the Hippodrome, which is just a square with a few monuments now, but had glory days in the far past. Then the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofıa, and the Grand Marketplace, which was closed because it's Sunday. So a carpet salesroom. Great carpets, and they know it. I didn't buy one.

On to lunch, which really revealed that the tour was an international affair. Couple from Holland, lady from Kurdıstan, English, French, Spanish, American couple who spoke fluent Dutch, Philippine, Palestinian, and Italian. Our tour was in English and Spanish, but our guide, who was great, spoke 7 languages.

Then to Topkapı Palace. It was the palace until some sultan decided it was too old, and built Dolmabache Palace. Now it's a museum. Then on to Suleıman Mosque. In the next several days, with free Tyne, I'll visit some of these again, as they appear to be pretty interesting.
At dinner tonite, I met a couple from San Antonio. They could meet all your area realty needs, as one was a mortgage broker, and the other was a Realtor. Nice to talk to. Helene, I'll send you there names for Walt.

Now to the trivia: I guess all the dogs in Romania didn't get passports, because all I see here are cats. I'm not a cat lover, as many of you know, but at least they leave me alone. Here at least.

It wasn't the dreary weather that made Bucharest so bad for me. I've only seen the sun for a few hours on Friday after I got here. In fact, I've used my umbrella more than once. And I'm still enjoying myself.

Really nice guy at the Internet cafe. Last nite I checked my email and a few things. When I left, all I had was 20.00 ytls (yeni turk larasi, I can't help but think Yertle the Turtle). He didn't want to make change, so he just told me to pay him later. So I will. When I came back tonite, he didn't even remember.

Money here is a bit of a problem, as the ATM lists it in the old currency. The new ytl is 100,000 to 1, if I remember correctly. But all the bills and prices are in new ytls. Not so in Romania. They have both old (ROL) and new (RON) and you get either or both in change, plus pretty much worthless coins. The old to new ratio is 10,000 to 1. So a 10 RON bill is worth a 100,000 ROL. If you break a 10 RON you might get a mix of 1's and 10,000 bills back. Glad I'm no longer there.

Bucharest or Butte (MT)

Given the choice between an all expense paid trip to Bucharest, and a one way ticket to Butte, I think I'd choose Butte. Now that's a pretty wild position, isn't it?

Lets go back to Sunday afternoon when I arrived. I failed to mention that on my walk to town, I passed through a square with a bunch of sleeping dogs. In my travels so far, until Romania, nearly every dog I've seen has been on a leash. Not here. I've seen more dogs than anywhere else, and about 5 leashes.

The dogs weren't cute little house dogs. They were, conservatively, mongrels. And one wasn't sleeping. He decided to check me out, decided he didn't like what he found and came snarling at me. Fortunately, he changed his mind. Needless to say, I give dogs a wide berth.

The hotel I moved to is probably the nicest I've stayed at on this trip. near the center of town, secure, OK. Of course, they are all economy class. Bucharest isn't all bad.

The weather on Monday turned dreary, then drizzly and Tue. and Wed. That's not Bucharest's fault, but it still affects my perception.

Getting myself oriented, I took photos of a lot of the interesting locations in town. Tried to find a tour of some sort, but was unsuccessful. I wanted to get tickets to a concert while I was here, so I found the concert hall. Closed. Come back tommorrow for tickets to the only event on while I'm here. OK, I will.

So, it's about time for supper. Remember a while back I said something about things getting humorous some time after they occur? This one still hasn't made it.

Walking around on a relatively busy street, looking for a place to eat, a kid about 10 or so grabs my arm and starts prattling away. I figure he's telling me how he's the sole support of his two or three little sisters, or some such, and try to get him to give it up. But he didn't. So finally I decided I'd have to get physical and push him away. As soon as my hand came out of my pocket to push, he let go and took off. With my camera that was in the pocket!!

Can you imagine how foolish I felt after I yelled "Come back with my camera!!!" to an empty street. He disappeared really, really fast. I wasn't happy. And of course there was no one around. So I went to Pizza hut and had some comfort food. What else could I do?

As I said, the next day the drizzle started. I got out my back-up camera. The one that started acting up and convinced me to buy the one that was stolen. So far, knock on wood, it's been OK. Re-took some of the photos I taken the previous day.

Went to the Historical Museum, which sounded like it would be quite interesting. Turns out it's been closed for two years for renovation. And several other museums I though about are only open Wed, thru Sun. But I did get the tickets for the concert. Seat 31. That confused me, but the seating here starts with seat one, and simply continues until they run out of seats. no row/seat confusion here.

I have a metro pass good for 10 trips, so I decided to use up several of them and take a ride to the train station. I'd rather know the route beforehand than learn it on the day I leave. The metro is all right, once you realize that the color codes on the route maps don't agree with the color code on the text portion of it.

At the train station, I asked a police officer where I could turn in a report. He gave me directions to a station, which I thought I'd followed, but no station. So I asked another officer. Simple directions again, but no station. I give up. This email will have to serve as the report.

The concert was a guitar/singer duet doing some older jazz tunes, from Porter, Shearing, Ellington, to Antonio Carlos Jobim and the "Girl from Ipanema". The guitarist was quite good, I thought. The singer wasn't bad, but she tried to imitate Ella Fitzgerald's and put a lot of "scat" into her songs. Not quite there.

Following the concert, I checked my email, and made my hotel reservation for Istanbul. When I left the IC, being more observant for kids and dogs lately, I spotted a kid who looked at me with what I perceived to be more than casual interest. Kept my eye out and he eventually disappeared.

Then as I turned onto the street leading to my hotel, another kid, with a buddy, started yakking at me. I took my umbrella/club out, and waved it at him. He decided to back off. Then, as I turned to go the other way, who comes up behind me, passes me, and joins the other two? You got it. My buddy from 20 minutes ago. Since they were headed the same way I was, I turned around and took another way back to the hotel, trying to stay near someone if at all all possible.

So on to today. Walked around waiting for the drizzle to either turn into rain or give up. It did both, in the above order. The sun even came out for 30 minutes, while I was eating lunch at McD. By the way, I can't get into eating at the local restaurants for some reason. First nite here was Pizza Hut, and that's been supper ever since. They almost know me by name.

There is an Arch de Triumph here, almost an exact copy of the Paris original. So I took the metro out there today and, what else? Took Photos. I walked back part of the way, and it turned out to be Embassy Row. At least I know I passed the Canadian Embassy and the Russian Embassy. Not wanting to get my last camera confiscated, I didn't take any pictures.

I did find a museum I likes, the Museul Taranului Roman, or Peasant's Museum. That was relatively interesting. Lots of artifacts showing how the peasants lived over the centuries, lots of period clothing, and tools, implements, etc. It always amazes me how much work went into just making the tools used to do the things just necessary to survive.

And that's about it for now folks. Time to close off, update the BLOG, have some Pizza, and get ready for the trip to Istanbul. Did I mention it's overnite, so I reserved a sleeper. Not sure what that will be like, but I guess I'll find out.

Who Ever Heard of Sighisoara

Well, it was an uneventful trip on the train from Budapest to Sighisoara (Shig-he-shwa-ra). Had a compartment to myself until the Romanian border, then it started to fill up. An elderly (and what am I?) couple tried to talk to me, but the only common ground we had was that we could both count to 10 in Spanish. But I did understand her when she offered me her home-made pretzels With poppy seeds, and ate them with pleasure.

I arrived about 7:00 PM, and walked right past the hostel I'd made a reservation at. They didn't have a sign that I could see. But I found another just as I was about to turn around and try another pass. This one turned out OK, single room with facilities. Had a good dinner in town, then back to the hostel.

Went to the TV room and started talking with a young man from FL. Turned out he was born in Winterhaven, where I lived for 3 years from age 3. Later he, his girlfriend and I played hearts. I even ran them the first hand. OF course, my game went downhill from there, but it was fun.

Friday morning I took in the town in earnest. Not really a tourist town. I didn't even see any real souvenir shops. I went into a place that advertised tours, and the best they could offer was an unguided 1/2 day tour. Unguided? No thanks. Later, in the walled section of town, I did find a place that put me in touch with a young lady they knew who gave tours. I arranged for one the next day, and spent the rest of the time familiarizing myself with the area.

The current business part of town still looks very "old Europe". It's at the bottom of the hill, and pretty much surrounds the hill. On top if the hill is the old walled city, with the walls and 7 of the towers still intact. It was built originally in the 11th century, by Germans imported by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to guard the eastern borders. The Germans stayed pretty much on the hill, and the Romanians at the bottom for many years. The entire town burned in the late 1600's, and has been rebuilt. Only the original foundations exist.

The population is between 15,000 and 25,000, depending on whom you ask. The streets, with the exception of the few primary ones, are all of stone. Bet it's fun to walk on a hill in rainy/snowy weather. They still use horse drawn wagons quite a bit. Rubber tires, tho. It's strange to see a horse pulling a wagon with a modern appliance, TV, Washing machine, etc., as cargo. Streets are nice and clean. I wondered about this, until I saw the burlap bags strapped across the poles of the wagons right behind the horses.

On Friday, I took the previously mentioned tour, accompanied by a very nice couple from Nova Scotia, Canada. They are living in Romania at present. He is managing the start-up of a Michelin tire plant in a northern Romanian town. The tour turned out to be very enjoyable. The young lady seemed to know her history, and presented it well. Most of what I've said about the town above I learned from her.

We did see a statue of Vlad Tepes (Count Dracula) and the house he was born in. Not really a nice guy. But then he came by it naturally. His father wasn't a model parent. He ransomed Vlad to the Turks when he was a young boy. Maybe he had to, that was implied. He ruled the area three different times. I'm not sure why the breaks, or who took over while he was on the outs. But then, I'm not too interested in finding out, either.

After the tour, the Canadians and I went to the town market. A real farmer's market. Cabbages in piles nearly 5 feet high. I bought myself a hat with pull down ear flaps for the cold weather I know is coming. Forgot to mention in the email that we enjoyed a traditional lunch that was very good.

That evening, I checked the TV room again. 3 of the staff, plus an American from NY and a lady from Ontario, Can. were there. Got talking with the NY and Canadian. The staff were passing around a bottle of vodka, and all but me imbibed. I guess I'm just a beer and pretzels guy. Later, NY brought down several beers, and I helped with that. NY seems to be on a never-ending world tour. He says he finds work when he runs short of money, enough to finance himself for a while, and then on with the tour. I think maybe Mom and Dad help a bit. Who am I to say?

This morning I got to the train station in plenty of time. Turns out they have DST here too, and it ended last nite. Could have slept another hour, but I made it up on the train. Good trip. Again the compartment to myself for half the way. No pretzels today.

Great scenery along the way. Initially farmland, with occasional forested area. The trees are really starting to turn now. We climbed through a pass through the Carpathian mountains, which was really pretty. Some snow capped peaks. It frosted this morning, and the hills and trees often had a coat of white. Very pretty. After the pass, it leveled off into farmland again as we approached Bucharest.

I'm proud of myself for the way I managed to get through the train station here. Found the international ticket window, and reserved myself a sleeper for the trip to Istanbul on the 3rd. Also found and purchased a bus pass for use all the while I'm here, and found the bus that took me to within a block of the hostel. All of that while avoiding 9000 hustlers trying to get my attention for everything from hotels to taxi's to who know what.

I do have to say that I've found my limit in hostels. I checked in, but I'm checking out tomorrow AM. I found a place in the center of town that is much nicer, more convenient, and, of course, more money. But worth it. My room is a single, but I have to go through a dorm to get to it. No one in the dorm, but still. No lock on the door. 2nd floor room, shower in the basement. The throne room is really a throne. Step in, then climb 3 steps to get to the facility. Nuff said about this place.

One con artist at a hotel I looked at tried to get me to pay 3 days in advance, with cash, in order to reserve a room. I offered my credit card, but he said their machine was broken. So what? You've still got the number. Had I taken it, what do you think my chances of getting the room the next day would have been???

That's about it for tonite. One good thing about this place, the Internet is free, and the keyboard speaks English, as does the screen.

Budapest, and Lovin' it.

Before I get into my travels, I thought I'd pass along something I got from my High School friend, Dick Krueger. Sounds like a downer to start, but it gets better.

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

And now to Budapest:

When last I wrote (if that's what we do on a computer) it was Monday morning here. After the update, I tried to take a walking tour of the city. Read the fine print, Dick. That tour only runs from May thru September. Oh Well. I walked out to the city's Art museum area. The first thing I did was get lunch at a hamburger stand. Local hamburger stands are always much better than the Chains, right? Wrong, at least in this case.

But all wasn't lost. Two fellows sitting at the table with me spoke a language I understand, so we started to talk. Turns out they are Dr.s interning in Berlin, and are from Tasmania, AU. The one place I missed, darn it. We had a nice conversation. I've decided that nearly everyone from AU is about as open and friendly as anyone can be. I've met 10 or more on this trip to bear that out. And the Brits are about as hard to get talking as a statue. Sorry, Brits, but that's been my experience trying to converse with your country folk.

From there I explored what I thought were the grounds of an ancient castle. Very nice, even had a moat filled with water. Turns out, I find out, that it was built in the late 1800's as the winning entry in an architectural competition. And it includes a multitude of different styles. So much for my architectural knowledge.

On to the rest of the Museums. Wrong. Again, read the fine print. They close on Mondays. Oh well, it was a nice walk. On to the river area. The river doesn't close, only the tour boats.
So I washed more clothes, ate at Mickie D's, and looked around for some desert to cheer me up. And I found one. If ever in Budapest, don't miss the "Sisi Torte" at the Cafe Mozart! It has 14763 grams of fat, but none of that is saturated. In addition, it has 16764 grams of carbohydrates, all of the above from chocolate and sugar. Sisi, by the was was the wife, Elizabeth, of Franz Josef, if I remember correctly.

Tuesday was another sunny day, good for walking. Went to the two art museums I tried on Monday, open this time. The first was abstract art. Some of it I actually liked, and wouldn't mind having in my home. Others, though, looked like they might have been hung upside down, vert. instead of horiz., etc.

Then on the to museum with the old masters. Some marble sculptures form Greco/Roman days. I learned not to touch. These Hungarian docents can really wave a mean finger at you when you do bad things. Then paintings by 14th thru 16th century or so masters. Most of them were religious in content, and I though all used very dark tones. Maybe the lighting in the museum, but they weren't too enjoyable.

They did have an exhibit on Egyptian gods, primarily Ra, the sun god. My ticket wasn't supposed to give me entrance to that section, but I've perfected the role of the befuddled, confused, apologetic American, so the docent let me in anyway. That part was pretty interesting.

Then on to the train station to make reservations for the next several legs. Strange how things can seem humorous after the fact, but very unsettling as they occur. My train experience in Bratislava, and the following speak to that.

I got schedules for all my needs thru Istanbul, looked them over (not many choices) and decided when and what time I wanted to go. Went to the reservation window, and wrote down all the destinations, dates and times, and gave it to the clerk. She nodded, pushed a few buttons, printed a few things out, asked for money, gave me the reservations, and pulled down the shade on her window before I could look at them.

You guessed it, she got them wrong. I pounded on the window, and fortunately she hadn't left on her break yet, so she looked to see what kind of fool was out there. Finally got it straightened out, at least I'm on the trains I want to be on. I still may try to change the seating between Bucharest and Istanbul, but I didn't want to mess with it any more then.
Went to TGI Friday's for supper. I have to admit, although ethnic food doesn't seem to upset me, I find I just enjoy what I'm used to. I try the local stuff in each area, but after the new wears off, I look for Americanized food.

I watched a sports special while eating. It was on Rugby, which I became addicted to in NZ and AU last year. Seems it's becoming more and more popular around the world, from what I could tell. They showed teams from India, Pakistan, and China in training. It seemed somewhat sacrilegious to be teaching the NZ All Black's Haka to a Chinese team. Like naming a junior high football team "The Fighting Irish".

So on to today, Wednesday. I finally got to the start of the tour at the time it started, and on the day it started. Nice tour, and I learned some things I hadn't been able to find out by myself. The highlight was the tour of the Parliament house, which I hadn't been to. That's a really beautiful building, well worth the time spent waiting to get in. Just too bad we couldn't spend more time there.

Then I went to the castle area, where I'd not spent much time. There are several museums there, but I need a respite from museums every now and then, so I just wandered around the outside. Then walked thru old Buda, and had dinner at the Sisi Cafe. She's really popular here. Had Spaghetti Sisi, which turned out to be pretty good.

Several comments on the countries I've visited so far. They haven't caught on to the free refill for either coffee or soft drinks. With the exception of McD and BK here in Budapest, there is no ice in the soft drinks. De-cafe in unheard of. Graffiti is alive and thriving. All the homeless I've seen so far seem to be here in Budapest. I can't remember any on previous stops. The non-smoking section is usually the table you are at, and nothing more.

And that seems to be about it for tonite. Tomorrow I head for Sighisoara, Romania, the birthplace of Vlad Tepes. No, not someone from NJ I had breakfast with. The original Count Dracula. Two nites there, then on the Bucharest for 4 days, then Istanbul.

I'm going to miss this Internet Cafe. American keyboard and screen. Yippee.

Now In Budapest

Well, here I am in Budapest, Hungary. I realized several says ago that my trip is already 1/3 over. Now for the cliche: time flies when you're having fun.

Back to Bratislava. Don't think I mentioned that the best cup of coffee I've had since the start of my trip was in.... Mickie D's. Yes, that was so good I even ordered a second cup at 9:30 PM, the devil take the sleepless consequences.

On Friday AM I shared my breakfast table with Vladimir Fabrici. He's from .... New Jersey. Middle name is Richard. Both he and his wife are of Slovak decent, and he was there visiting relatives.

Friday turned out to be a rather dismal, drizzly day. I walked down to the Danube, crossed the bridge, and strolled to the next one. It's a huge suspension bridge, with a tower going up a long way. I took the elevator to the top. Decided not to try the 435 (I think) steps. It would have been a great view if it hadn't been so misty. Oh Well, next time.

Then on to Old Town where I climbed the tower over Michael's Gate. Not quite as many steps. Again a nice view, this time more up close and personal with Old Town, but diminished by the mist.

Decided it was time for a Museum experience again, so I went to the (I think) National Museum. They had a big exhibit on Indonesia. Pretty interesting, but it would have been better if there had been English translations. I couldn't figure out what the kangaroos and kiwi birds were doing there. Thought they were unique to AU and NZ. There was also a great display of National Geographic photos. These did have English subtitles. Also the usual Animals, Birds, Rocks, etc. one always finds in museums.

The real highlight was a physics exhibition I almost skipped. It was conducted by a young man who spoke very good English. It had a number of physics experiments, and he explained each of them. If memory serves (and it doesn't with alarming frequency lately) it was a celebration of an anniversary of Einstein winning the Nobel prize.

Had an American supper at Mickie D's, and another good cup of coffee. Then I went to the Opera, Don Giovanni. I think I could get to enjoy opera. Particularly if I didn't have to figure out what the story line was just from the action. Slovak translations above the stage didn't help much. Next time I go, I'll read up on the opera beforehand, although it would have been difficult getting reading material here.

What an adventure getting to the train station, and on the train. The clerk at the hotel told me to catch tram # 1 across from McD. but tram # 1 doesn't stop there. I found out where it did stop, and found a system map that seemed to say it went to the station. I boarded it, but it never turned in the direction I thought it should. I finally asked the driver where the station was. He responded with what sounded like "Next Stop".


But the next stop looked nothing like a station, nor did several more. I finally found one that looked familiar from my arrival. I asked a lady and she said yes, so I got off. At a huge fruit and vegetable market. I decided that what sounded like "Next Stop" was really Slovakian for "These Tourists!!!". I gave up and took a cab.

The adventure continues. I bought a reserved seat, and waited patiently for the train to arrive, which it did, on time, as always. Started looking for car 374 in the first class section, and couldn't find it. Decided it would be easier walking along the platform looking than hauling my suitcase thru the train. As I got off, the door closed behind me! Fortunately, I'd learned what the green button was for, and got the door open and on the train as it started up. A very nice conductor looked at my ticket, and found that the clerk had sold me a reserved seat in 2nd class, rather than 1st. But he found me a compartment, and all was well. He probably muttered "Next Stop".
I'm in a hotel/hostel in Budapest. At present I have a room with a choice of 6 beds, as all they had available was a dorm room. They said they didn't think they'd have to put anybody in with me. Let's hope not. I'm OK with hostels, but not quite ready for dorms.

Yesterday was a bit dreary, so I decided to just wander around a bit. I started across the Chain bridge, and realized that something was going on. Turned out that it was the 49th anniversary of the Hungarian student uprising, 1956. The Russian army overcame the revolt with tanks, killing around 25,000 people. All across the bridge there were what initially looked like statues of some of the actions that day. It turned out that they weren't statues, but real people, so still they looked like statues. It was a very impressive and emotional display. I took quite a few photos.

From there I went up to the castle area of Buda. For the few of you who don't know, Budapest is really the cities of Buda and Pest, across the Danube from each other. I believe they are one city now. Buda appears to be the older of the two, perched on a high hill. Once there, I found out that there was a lot more to it on the other side of the hill. Pest seems to be the business center, and is pretty much on level ground.

That's about it for today. It's sunny and reasonably warm out, so I'd best get moving.

Now about Bratislava

Well, I've been in Bratislava for a few days now. I have to say that they are woefully lacking in tourist support here. Or maybe I'm woefully lacking in being a tourist??? I've found no local tours except for several walking tours of the city, and they cover the same ground. There is one mini-bus tour that I may try tomorrow, but I think it again covers the same ground. The Danube river cruises have all shut down for the winter. Two tourist offices have nothing to offer but the aforementioned walking tours. I took things into my own hands today. More on that later.

I have kept myself pretty busy just looking at things in the Old Town part of Bratislava. It has only been Bratislava since 1919. Before then, it had several names, depending on who was in control. Some of the old buildings are really something to look at. I still believe Prague is the best representation of what old Europe once looked like. I think if the cars were gone, one would think they were in the 19Th century there. But then, the cell phones coming out of people's ears might give it away.

Back to Bratislava. While wandering the city, I found the Opera house, and booked myself a ticket, if you can believe that!!! The first one I could get a ticket for is Mozart's Don Giovanni, tomorrow nite. We'll see how culture affects me. Guess being in his birthplace, Salzburg, had an influence on me.

Next door to one of the ineffectual Tourist Centers, I found there was a jazz concert on Tuesday evening, so I went. I really enjoyed it. The banjo player looked like Miles, with a haircut, for those from BVS. At the intermission, I told the leader that the group reminded me of the Preservation Hall Jazz band. He took offense, said they were nothing like them, that they only did 20's music. Still sounded like PHJB tome, so there.

Yesterday I did a bit more walking around. I found the American Embassy, and thought it would be interesting to set foot on American soil in Europe. Didn't happen. They are only open to Americans from14:00 to 15:30 in the PM, and I was too early. So the Slovak guards (where are the Embassy Marines I expected?) told me to come back. They really chastised me for taking a photo. That's not allowed!!!

Then I went to the Bratislava castle. This one is both a Shloss and a Burg, based on my definitions in my last e-mail. Spent about three hours there, until they 86'd me at closing time. Lots to see. Most interesting were the exhibition of 18Th and 19Th century clocks, and the history of weapons and arms. The later wasn't just swords, lances guns and such, but described the evolution of the weapons and armor from the middle ages on.

Meals have been pretty good. The dumplings here, though just aren't what mother used to make. Had some the other nite that could pass as gnocchi, and some that could pass as sliced bread. The one I had for lunch in Rust was the best. If they were all like that, they'd come close to mother's.

By the way, in my last e-mail, I didn't give credit to Johann, Rolf's father. He was with Pamela, Rolf and I on Saturday and acted as our guide. He should do it for a living. He was also my host at the museum I went to in Neutal.

So on to today. Since I couldn't get any tour companies to take me anywhere, I took matters into my own hands. Went to the bus station and looked for a town that was close enough to get to, spend time in, and return in one day. The answer was Trencin. About 2.5 hours from here, if there wasn't road work, which there was. But I made it. With the delay on the bus, and the fine, extended lunch I had in the finest restaurant in Trencin, I didn't have time to visit the local castle, but I did get some great photos, I think. Nice little town, one I wouldn't mind spending a few days in. The old town is quite large, no autos, stone paving, very pleasant. The trip back took less time, as it was apparently the express bus. The morning bus stopped at a number of little towns. Great scenery, lots of farmland, then rolling hills, and almost what could be called foothills to a mountain range. With trees beginningto change color and loose leaves. Guess you pay the price for the scenic tour. Cost 1/3 more than the return trip.

Fashion note. Ladies, if Eastern Europe is a precursor for fashion trends, you'll all be dying your hair shades of red approaching fuchsia soon, and wearing shoes with tips so pointed they'll extend beyond your toes by 1 to 2 inches.

The bad news is that when I got back, I called to find out how Stefan had made out in his surgery. It turns out he had a heart attack on Tuesday, I believe, and they can't operate until he becomes much more stable. Rudi and Traude are going to be with him tomorrow. I'll probably know more when I call them again on Saturday or Sunday. I should be in Budapest by them.

Time to close for now. I wasn't able to post the last e-mail to the blog. The Blogger come up in Slovak, and I can't seem to hit the right buttons to make itwork. I'll try again tonite, but don't anticipate a lot of success. But then, who knows???

And my apologies if soem words run together. I did get this to the Blog. Remains to be seen if it posts OK. When I paste it into the Blog, sometimes it looses the space between words, so I manually edited it. Hope I got them all.

Here goes nothing.

Time in Kleinmutschen

Well, this is the third attempt at starting this.
Third time's the charm? Tell you about that later.

My concerns about arriving in Oberpullendorf, near
Kleinmutschen, with no one to meet me, were resolved
in Vienna. As I was about to board the bus, an
attractive young blond lady asked me if I was Dick.
Since I was, I said yes. Turns out she's Pamela, the
granddaughter of Stefan Meiszburger, the relative I
planned to visit. She works in Vienna, and takes that
bus home every nite. I guess my aborted phone call
the nite before wasn't aborted after all.

Stefan is in the hospital, though. He was transferred
today to another hospital about 200K or more from home
for heart surgery. They specialize in the surgery he
needs there. The surgery was this afternoon, but as
he'll be sedated for nearly two days, I won't know
anything for a while. I'll call his son tomorrow to
find out how the surgery went. (I'm in Bratislava now)


He was up and around while I was there, and we had a
lot of time to get to know each other. He's pretty
sharp. I was trying to remember the name of my
grandfather's club in Indiana, and he popped up with
the answer, St. Anthony's. Hopefully, the surgery
will go well, and he will recover and be fine. Say a
prayer or two.

His family treated me like royalty while I was there,
his son, Rudi, Rudi's wife Traude, their daughter,
Pamela, and even the golden retriever, Memphis. I had
a wonderful time.

Pamela was the only one who spoke much English, so she
acted as my guide. The others, including her
boyfriend Rolf all spoke better English than I do
German. Rolf spoke rather well, but was too shy to
try much.

I saw a lot of the center of Burgenland while I was
there. The birthplace of pianist Franz Liszt, the
burial place of composer Josef Hayden, the geographic
center of Burgenland, the Esterhazy Palace in
Eisendstadt, on and on. We took a boat ride on the
Neuseidler See, both walked and drove into Hungary.
On the drive, we went to Sopron, Hungary which would
be a nice place to spend more time in.

The highlight was a trip to a castle (sorry, my notes
are in the hotel, I don't remember the name). It was
what I expected a castle to be. Turns out there are
two German words that translate into Castle, Schloss
and Burg. We decided that Schloss's are castles for
royalty, with all the fine things, and Burgs are for
the knights and other fighting types who defend the
villages. This one was a Burg. The Esterhazy Palace,
mentioned earlier was a Schloss.

For the Schreiner relatives on my mailing list, I got
the entire family tree for the Schreiner's from my
grandfather down. This came from Fredi Czizmazia,
grandson of my grandfather's sister. I'll make copies
for anyone who wants when I get home, particularly
Brandie. Someone please forward this to her, as the
last two I sent her didn't go through. Earlier ones
did.

I learned that what my grandparents spoke wasn't
Austrian as I thought. Not Hungarian, either, although
Kleinmutschen was part of Hungary when they came to
the US. They spoke Croatian. It seems a lot of
Croatians settled in that area. It's still spoken by
many of the people.

The trip to Vienna on the train was pleasant. I
talked to a couple from Hillsboro, CA. (LaRita,
didn't you live there?) They also had an experience
with a pickpocket in Prague. Fortunately, he realized
it in time, and didn't' loose anything. They were on
the way back to the US after a three week trip.

Pamela and I rode the bus back to Vienna this morning.
She headed off to work, and I to the train station
for the trip here. Uneventful, except for a delay of
1/2 hour at the border. Don't know why. A couple in
the compartment with me were more travel naive than I
am, if you can believe that. They didn't't know
they'd need passports to cross the border. They
weren't the cause of the delay, though.

I learned three more lessons in the first 3 hours
here. First was in language. Found the WC, but there
were no pictures, so I had to wait until someone went
in or came out. The men's starts with W and the
women's with Z. The second is to save a draft of your
e-mail frequently. I was about to hit SEND on a
previous version of this when the computer re-booted.
That is how I was informed that my hour was up. And
no refunds. The third is that there is yet another
keyboard to contend with in Europe. I hope the
apostrophes come through.

SALZBURG AND THE Sound of Music

I've been here in Salzburg for two days now, and have had a really nice time. Train trip here was fine, on time, as expected. I think I mentioned that I took a picture of the only late train, 'cause it was such a novelty.

I haven't said much about the scenery on this trip. I guess that's because it's been so consistently green and pleasant. It is beginning to turn fall, with red and gold beginning to show in the trees, and lots of leaves on the ground. Most of the train trips (and bus tours) have been thru some pretty nice country, rolling hills, along rivers, and farmlands. Farms sure spread the crops around. Corn for 2-3 acres, then row crops, then sunflowers. No huge sections of one crop.

I checked into the hostel on Monday afternoon, then wandeered around town to get my bearings. Ate super at a beer hall, with one liter ceramic beer mugs. Food was only available at stands in the hall outside the main hall. I was a bit disapointed in the atmosphere.

Back at the hostel, they were showing "Sound of Music" (what else in Salzburg?). Thy show it every every nite. Following the movie, I listened to an impromptu sing-along. Bunch of Austrian (German?) kyds singing 60's and 70's rock tunes. I made a request or two,and finally joined in. They were very gracious, considering my singing ability.

The next day, I took the City Tour which was nice, but mainly narrative, with few stops. The best stop, the last, was Hohenzolern castle, which sits on top of a hill overlooking the entire area. Really worth the trip. No hop on/Hop off, it seems. There were 5 Aussies on the tour, 4 from Wollongong, which I hadn't been to, and one from Melbourne. Some trading of stories there. Then two more AU ladies while waiting for the next tour to start.

In the PM, I took the lakes tour, which was really nice. Saw some rally nice scenery, and took an hour or so long boat trip in Lake Wolfgang, (for St. Wolfgang, not Mozart). Stopped in St. Wolfgang and Mondsee for unescorted wanderings. Both villages enjoyable. Talked to a Japanese girl while on the boat. A Non-European day.

Tday, I took the "Sound of Music" tour. (What else, when in Salzburg?) It was nice, in that it provided a lot of info on the making of the movie here. I'm an expert now, if my guide, Roman, was as accurate as he seemed. Again, not enough time at the stops. We did stop for a tobbagan run which was fun and exciting. Then stopped n Mondsee again. Since I'd been there, I just drank coffe and had a really delicious strudel. Yum!!! Four more Aussies today, Perth and Melbourne.

Back to town and mundane things like making a reservation for Viena for tomorrow, and laundry. Fun story there, getting teh right change for the machines. The office is supposed to have the change needed to operate the machines. Supposed to!! You guessed it, no change. Nearest business is about two blocks from here.

So, putting on my best "Poor Me" look, I started asking people if they could help me out. Of course, they spoke little English, and my German is limited to "Bitte" and D"anke." Those seemed to work. (Now who of you did I learn that technique from?) Not many seem to carry €.50 coins, or if they do, ony one, so it took a while accompish the deed, but it finally worked. Ah, clean laundry.

Trivia time. DWK, did you know that Von Trapp's 1st wife's maiden name was Whitehead? CE, wasn't it on the Salzburg tour that you met Loretta?

Into each day a little rain must fall, or maybe into each trip a little rain must fall. I've had more than enough figurativerain this trip. First the wallet problem, which stil continues, to a degree. Can't access some of my bank accounts on-line, and I can't get a collect call to go through. At least, even if I can't pay bills, I can sure run them up. Then I found that my mail wasn't being forwarded. Don't know where it's going. Maybe that's solved by now, I hope???

And the serious part. I've been trying to contact a relative near Vienna to follow up on a promise to visit them. Haven't been able to get through by phone and I found out why today. He's been in the hospital. I don't know what the story is, as the son I finally reached spoke about as much English as I do German. Haven't beem able to get in touch again. We'll see wwaht happens.
Time is running out, and I have to go.

What Happened in Wein

No, I haven't learned the language, just showing off a little.

So what's happened since the last episode. Nothing calamitous (sp?), thank heaven. A small part of my fantasy did come true. Just a small part. I fantasized that when I get home, I'll find my wallet in the accumulated mail, with the contents intact.

Mark & Brenda, my first emergency contact (and bail-out specialists) got a call from someone in the Czech Rep. He had found my wallet, no money, but with credit cards. He's mailing it to my home address. Someone also charged about 200 Euros to one of the cards, but that charge was voided. At least I won't have to get a replacement license, etc.

Replacement cards showed up on Friday, so I'm flush again. With two cards stashed in my secret hideaway under my shirt, along with emergency cash. The only trouble now is getting into the new accounts on the Internet, so I can see what I owe and pay my bills. Hopefully that will work out before it becomes a problem.

Personal stuff: J & J, I haven't had any trouble finding places to eat, or fast food. And haven't tripped over any curbs either. Wish me luck. T, there is a Karlin Theater of Music in Prague. Related? BW, I just bought "The Fall of Hyperion". Needed something to read late at nite besides Bill Bryson. After "Hyperion", I think Simmons has me hooked on his brand of sci-fi. KB, other old time Hi-Fi nuts, they still sell brand new vacuum tube amplifiers here.

And what have I been doing, you ask. At least I hope you do. Thursday was spent wandering around town to get familiar with it. I did go to the Albertina art museum, and really enjoyed it. Three exhibitions, Joseph Fuhrich, life size 14 stations of the cross, in browns and grays. Included some of his initial sketches.

Then a great caricaturist/satirist, Gerhard Haderer. All the captions were in German, but I got the point on nearly all of them. Laughed out loud a few times, and I wasn't alone.
The last was the watercolors of Jacob and Rudolph Alt, father and son. Mostly Rudolph. He really did some fine work, in my uneducated opinion.

Friday was more of the same, just wandered the town, and used up the batteries on my camera taking pictures of museums, churches, civic buildings, things in general.

Saturday was busy. Took a tour which consisted of an hour + bus ride, an hour + river cruise on the Danau (Danube) to the little town of Melk. Saw castles, little villages, all those old Europe things. Melk was a nice, small, old town, with outdoor cafes, cobbled streets, etc. It also had a Benedictine Abbey, which was part of the tour. So it was a full day of touring.

I got back just in time to change into respectable clothes for my Evening With Mozart concert. That was a pleasure, as well. Full hall, orchestra in period costumes, including wigs, all the things that make it seem realistic. It included several opera arias (is that the right term, you in the audience with culture?) by a soprano and a tenor. And it closed with a tribute to Strauss, with a medley of his works. Person next to me was from Vancouver, BC, so we had a nice talk before the performance and during intermission.

This morning, I walked out to the Danau and strolled along the banks of an island in the middle of the river. You have to use your imagination to make it the Blue Danube, but it is relatively clear.

Then had lunch at a sidewalk cafe near the Museum Quarter. I decided to close the day with a visit to the Art Museum. On exhibit were late 19th and early 20th century impressionists. I really have to say that the 19th century artists did more for me than the 20th.
And then I logged on and composed this.

Tomorrow, I head for Salzburg for three days. I'll return through Wein (show-off) on Thursday, and go on to Kleinstmuchen, in eastern Austria to visit relatives for a few days.

That's it for now. Time to move on.

Shopping for Souveniers

All of you know, or probably do, that I buy souveniers only when absolutely necessary. This time it really is. I need a wallet. Some $%&/§() in Prague managed to lift mine while in the train station waiting to leave for Vienna, which is another story. You thought I was headed for Salzburg, didn't you.

Moral of the story is:
1. Men, carry your wallet in a front pocket, it's a litte harder to get at.

2. Put your backup credit/debit cards somewhere other than where you carry the primary ones.

3. Carry enough cash at all times (somewhere other than your wallet) to take care of a hotel and food, etc. for several days.

4. Make sure you have the card numbers and phone numbers stored safely away so you can cancel them.

I, dummy that I am, only did number 4, even though I knew better. This time. And there better not be a next time.

Fortunately, the guard at the US Consulate at 1 PM(only open from 8 to 11 AM in Vienna) suggested calling someone and having them send money via Western Union. That works, once you figure out how to get an international call through when you don't have any credit cards. A few problems making that work, but why bore you?

Cards are now cancelled, and replacements on the way, I hope. We'll see on Thursday or Friday. And when the CC company says they will call back within two hours to confirm your information, don't wait around for the call. They call at 06:30 the next morning.

Filing a police report is an experience. He spent a good 5 minutes trying to convince me that I had lost th wallet, that it couldn't have been stolen. I won out, he took the report, over an hour's time span. I had to explain to him what CitiBank was, what Western Union was, and what a Debit card was, among other things.

So all is fine now, or at least as fine as it can be, considering the circumstances.

Back to Prague.

Sunday was pretty gloomy all day. Walked around a lot to get familiar with the downtown area, and that was pleasurable.

Had dinner in a crowded restaurant, and ordered a "traditional" Czech dinner; duck, ham, pork, white and red cabbage, and dumplings. The dumplings looked like sliced white bread, just a bit thicker texture. Crowded restaurants beget shared tables, so I joined a young German girl who was visiting friends in Prague. Very interesting, and well travelled. Been all over Europe, of course. Also the US, and had lived in China for, I think, 18 months.

After dinner, I saw there was a "Black Light Theatre" (4 or 5, in fact) so I decided to see if that was what I thought it was. It was, black background so you can't see the folks behind the actors who make the special effects special. Show was a take-off on Faust. Rather funny, a lot of pantomine, so I could understand it.

And that's it for now. I'm going to save this, I HOPE, and continue with the rest of Prague at a later date.

Next day, and I now have a wallet. Thought about a biker style, with chain, but couldn't find one.

Now for Prague on Monday and Tuesday. Turns out all the attractions are closed on Mondays, so I just wandered the town. Took the Metro south, and started wandering back toward the center. The area appeared to be the University, or a University.

Stopped for lunch and ordered a "big" beer, which I'd come to believe was the .51 liter glass. Not in every case. This place it was the liter mug!! That was a challenge for lunch. At the table next to me, I heard a familiar accent. Right, Wisconsin. So I had a pleasant lunchtime conversation with two ladies. One now lives and teaches in Germany, and the other once did, but is now back in the states, and here for a visit.

When I got back to town center, it was near time for dinner. I found a really nice restaurant, Marco Polo IV. The pepper steak is really good. My 1000 batting average at striking up conversations ended. The couple at the table next to me would answer only "Yes", "Yes", "Hum" to my three atempts, so I figured three strikes is out, and gave up.

Then on Tuesday, the weather cleared up, it got somewhat sunny, and very enjoyable to wander. I first went to the train station to change my plans for Salzburg. Initially I'd planned on going there direct (one train change in Linz) but I got antsy. One scedule said I could do it, with the change after 23:00. But another schedule didn't have a train from Linz to Salzburg after about 22:00, and I would have arrived in Linz at 22:44. I chickened out, and made reservations from Prague to Vienna (6 trains daily) and Vienna to Salzburg (29 trains daily) I liked those odds better.

Then went to the town square for lunch. Sat at an open air restaurant facing the square, and really felt relaxed. In my best broken English, I asked the couple next to me if they would mind taking my picture. He replied, in a mild Irish brogue, that it wouldn't be a bit of a problem. They were from Dublin. So I got the picture, and my conversation striking average moved up a bit.

Then went to see the Prague Castle. The biggest attraction is St. Vitus Cathedral. I really enjoyed that. Lots of pictures of stained glass, organ pipes, etc. The castle portion wasn't too impressive, but not a waste of time either. Lastly, there was the Golden Path, where the goldsmiths used to work, I think. Now the smithie's shops are filled with souveniers, a new way to make gold.

I wanted to visit the ghetto again, but as my trip coincided with a Jewish holiday, the museum and all the tourist spots were closed.

So back to pack. Then leave for the unfortunate events of my trip to Vienna. Maybe I'd have been better off missing the train in Linz, Ya think?

Guess I'll close for now, and leave my experiences here in Vienna for the next update.

Short Summary of Prague

Well, folks, I had a really long write-up of my time in Prague since Sunday. I leave here for Salzburg tomorrow AM. And If I'm lucky, when I'm there, I'll find a keyboard that doesn't have a sticky Enter key.

Seems as I was about to close it off, the enter key stuck, and, without going into detail, I lost everything I'd entered. And I'm not about to re-type it all now. I'm hungry.

One thing, if you're ever in Prague, and only have an hour, go the Karuv Most, or for those of you not as fluent in Czech as I am, Charles Bridge. It's a continual street fair, always lively, always exciting.

Prague on a Rainy Day

Well, here I am in Prague, a really wonderful place when it´s not raining, and not too bad when it is, like now. And Iˇm having to learn a new keyboard once again. Some of it like Germany, and some new features. Punctuation will not be good, I fear. So far, it has been easier to communicate in English here than it was in either Berlin or Dresden. Thatś a surprise. I expected English to be widley spoken in Germany, and not as much here. Seems the reverse is true, at least in my experience.

I arrived here after a nice two hour plus train ride from Dresden. The trains, at least so far, a have been reallÿ nice, and on time, with the one exception I think I mentioned. Today I have to make my reservation from here to Salzburg. I think I´ll have to change trains during that run.
Expanding on Prague, itś a really nice city, very photogenic, and really what I guess you could call vibrant.

I arrived in mid afternoon on Friday, and checked ïnto the hotel. The hostels were all booked, except for dormitory rooms, and Iˇm not quite ready for that. Hotel is supposed to be a 3 star, but I think they really stretched to get the 3rd one. The bathroom is interesting. About 3 by 8 feet, and includes a sink, commode and flexible shower wand. Close the door and you can take care of all your needs.

Walked around the downtown area, and found an Irish Pub, where I had a Budvar or Budweiser. I can´t figure out the parens on this keyboard. Then I had a pizza and a local beer. Pretty international meal, what. I can´t figure out the question mark either. This is becoming a real language barrier. Use your imaginations. Downtown was really busy on Friday nite. I found the same thing in AU. last year.

On Saturday, I took a 6 hour walking tour. Part of it was a cruise down the river, and another was a long lunch, so, no, I didn´t walk for 6 straight hours. As it was an English speaking tour, everyone on it seemed to be from England or one of the colonies. On the river part, I talked to an AU couple on their way to Dubai for a job, oil, I guess. Then at lunch, there were an English couple, 2 Canadians, a lady from S. Africa, and me, the yank. Later, the S. African and I had dinner.

I didn´t take as many photos on the tour as I usually do, as the pace was pretty fast, and it would have been easy to get separated. But I plan on retracing our steps, and make up for it. The Prague castle is really something to see, particularly St. Vitusś cathedral. Have to buy an extra ticket if you want to take photos inside.

Prague was unique in WWII, in that it was rarely, if ever bombed, as were many of the other major European cities. Having been in Berlin and Dresden, which really suffered, Itś easy to see the difference it made. Prague has a much more pronounced old world look to it, at least my view of the old world. It had itś ghetto, as well. And it was a ghetto for centuries before Hitler came around, which surprised me. I guess I need to study up on my European history.

Forgot to mention thät there was a political demonstration, brass band and all, in Dresden the nite before I left, follow on to recent election. Looked pretty peaceful to me, but the square it was held in was pretty well surrounded bz the Polizie, many of whom had on riot gear.
Those of you who were included in my reports from AU last year may remember my comments on AUś White Australia policy. I met one of the benificiaries of that policy at breakfäst today. An Aussie who had just arived in Europe after a trip from Vladivostok Russia all the way across Russia. He was German born, and had emigrated to AU in 1949. It was pretty clear that he wished the White Australia policy was still in effect.

The rain hasn´t stopped, but I need to get out and about anÿway, so this will be it for now.

Here I am in Dresden

Well, I made it through Berlin, and arrived in Dresden on Tuesday PM. Found a hostel near the train station and downtown, so that's where I'm camped. Only problem is no laundry facilities and none nearby. Hope Prague has some.

Back to Berlin. On Monday, I did the museum thing. First the Alte (Old) Museum, with an exhibition on one floor of Grecian artifacts. The second floor had an Egxptian exhibit.

There were several other museums on "Museum Island" but they were undergoing some reconstruction/refurbishment. So I went to the historical museum nearbye. Their theme was postwar Germany, with a fine film (unfortunately narrated in German only) about the times from the end of the war to reunification. Even without dialog, it was very interesting.

Two floors of exhibits were filled with photos covering the same time period. The individual captions were only in German, but each section had a general description in English. It gave a good cultutal, political, and basic view of life and attitudes on both sides of the East/West line.

From there I walked to the Brandenburg gate and over to the Reichstag, or parliament building. Burned and bombed to a shell, but reconstructed. It has a glass dome on the roof, and a circular path to near the peak of the dome. Great views.

Then on to a really good dinner on Unter Den Linden Strasse. I'm told it means "Under the lime trees", but they didn't look like any lime trees I've seen. Who am I to complain?

Wandered around the area near the hotel on Tuesday AM before the train to Dresden. Not much exciting. Mostly business buildings, no residential that I could find.

When I got to Dresden, I wandered around town to get my bearings. Huge number of really old buildings here. Dresden was nearly leveled close to the end of WWII. Most buildings have been rebuilt. What I don't understand is the varied colors of the buildings. Many are close to black, from age and smoke. Some have mixtures of black and light brown to yellow shading, with no rhyme or reason to the pattern. Looks like thyey rebuilt with some old material and some new. And some look brand new. Tis a puzzelment!!! But still beautiful to see.

Yesterday I took the Hop-on/Hop-off bus tour, as there is too much territory to cover when walking. Went to several Schloss's (Castles), but they looked more like what I#c call mansions, not castles. Couldn't get inside, so I was a bit disappointed. Also saw soem interesting parts of town. Found teh Botanical Garden, but not many flowers.

VW has a factory here. It's referred to as the "Glass Factory". No, It doesn' make glass for VW's. It makes VW's- Its a glass building. At least all teh outside is glass. I'm sure there's a lot of steel supporting it. Quite impressive, though.

Had dinner in a restaurant in a cellar. How can you go wrong eating in a cellar in Germany. Not possible. I did have a good dinner. They seated me at a table with a visitor from Japan, so we had a great time trying to talk. He spoke more English than I do anything. Reminds me od a joke I heard, in Geramy years ago.

What is a person who is bi-lingual? A person who speaks two languages.

What is a person who is tri-lingual? A person who speaks three languages.

What is a person who is mono-lingual?

ready for this?

An American.

How true.

Moving on. I got my ticket to Prague, and I leave tomorrow just after noon, 2 hour trip. Tains are really nice, by the way.

This afternoon, I walked to the Neustadt (New Town) part of Dresden over the Elbe river. Wasn't the Elbe where the allied armies had to stop advancing and wait for the Russians to take Berlin? Anyway, I had a nice walk, and a quick lunch, then back to Dresden proper.

Went to the (you guessed it) museum complex. This time the art museum. Many of the old master's, whose names I've heard, but know nothing about. Included were El Greco, Goya, Rubens, and Raphael's painting, the "Sistine Madonna". Anyone remeber the photo I forwarded from Mexico of cherubs smoking? Same cherubs at the bottom of this painting, but sans cigarettes.

Then to the armory. Lots of swords, flintlocks, and suits of armor. The detailed engraving and inlay work was more interesting than the primary exhibits. I got busted twice today taking photos. I turned my flash off, as I am supossed to do, but I found out I also have to have a special ticket to take photos.

I wanted to see teh porcelain exhibit, but my ticket wans't good for that, and there wasn't much time left, so I decided to pass. Two ladies who were leaving overheard my predicament, and gave me an extra ticket they had. Said 45 minutes would be enough time. So I went. Thanks, ladies.

Glad I did. It cleared up something I've been puzzling about since I've been here. I've always heard of "Dresden China" but have seen no mention of it since arriving. Turns out (it appears) that Dresden China is the porcelain collection in Dresden started by Agustus the Strong in the early 1700's. Porcelain is actually manufactured near here, in Meissen, but the copllection is Chinese, Japanese and also some from Meissen.

It's way past my supper time, and I think I'll head back to the cellar one more time. I#ll try my hand at posting this on the blog. Wish me luck.

Addition, I Hope

Looks like only part of my first posting from Berlin made it to the BLOG. So I just tried pasting the missing stuff in. We'll see what happens.

Also, seems to take a while from the time I tell it to post, and it actually makes it. Modern Science!!!!!!

In Dresden now. I'll tell you more once I know more.

I did learn something in Berlin yesterday. Anyone remember Droughtbuster Dick from last year? He still has his powers. And has learned a new way to make it stop raining. First, leave the rain hat in the hotel, 'cause you know it won't rain. Then when it starts to rain, buy a souvenier hat. Since you paid good Euro's for it, it won't rain for the rest of the day.

That's all for now

Once again from Berlin

Since my BLOG page comes up in German instead of English, I can't seem to find the "PUBLISH" button, no matter how many different buttons I try. You blog afficionados will just have to wait until my linguistic skills improve.

I'm beginnning to age again. Slept the whole nite through last nite. For once it's good to grow older.

Just an aside. For those of you who might come here, and have concerns about all the walking on the walking tours, don't worry. There are no hills to worry about. Berlin was built on a swanp, and who ever heard of a hilly swamp?

Trains live up to their reputation. I took a photo of one arriving the day before yesterday. So what's so unique about that? It was 10 minutes late!! I could probably blackmail DB (rail system) with that photo.

Reason I'm writing this, is because I had extra minutes on the terminal, and I hated to see them go to waste.

Update from Berlin

Well, I made it. I read recently that jet lag is less noticable as one ages. I must be getting younger, because it' getting to me a lot more after the 9 hour flight here than the 12 hour flight home from NZ did last year.

On arrival I took a cab to the hotel I'd reserved. Near the airport, and public trasportation. Right, except I flew into Tegel Apt, north west of Berlin, and the hotel was next to Schonefeld Apt, SE end of Berlin. Needless to say, a big fare. No tip, as he was not very knowledgable about Berlin. Hotel is nice, so that's some consolation.

Took a bus tour of Berlin to get oriented. Narrated in German, then English, then Italian. Not bad, but it was easy to get distracted and miss the transition to English. I did see the remnants of the Wall and Checkpoint Charlie among other interesting sites.

Walked around a while, and found a boat tour on the Spree river. Took that mainly to relax. The guide was really good, animated, witty, knowledgable, everything you could ask for. She even sang. Only problem was that she did the narration only in German. She did forwarn me, and I was OK with it.

Then took the train to Potsdam, site of the conference that split Germany up. Didn' find the location during my walk while there, but did eat a good meal at an outdoor restaurant. Very dull looking town, with the exception of one small, vibrant shopping area. On Friday (if zou see a z where a y should be, thez are interchanged on these kezboards, and that's not the only disconcerting thing).

I took a walking tour I'd found out about at the Brandenburg Gate the day before. Much better than the bus. There are at least two free tours, and I recomend them highly. Guides I spoke to were American, Irish (2) and Australian. All easier for me to understand than the Germans who narrate in English. And the one on my tour really knew his stuff. The girl from AU (competing tour company) and I had a nice time discussing my visit to her homeland. She was from Adelaide.

After the walking tour, I went up the Berlin version of the space needle, for lack of a better description. Good views of Berlin, but go up early in the day, to avoid the haze.

There was an open market near the train staion, , so I bought several good sandwiches,

more sweet rolls than
I should have, and several beers, and enjoyed people
watching.  There was entertainment as well.  A drum
and bugle corps, great one (aren't they all???)

Today was the day for the Berlin Marathon.  Before I
got to the area where I could see the runners, I did a
bit of walking through a park, and general
site-seeing.  Then watched the marathon for a while
from various vantage points. Saw some of the leaders
as they whizzed by.  They run faster while runnning a
marathon than I do when running 10 yards (as do nearly
all the marathoners).  Walked to the finish line and
watched herds of runners finish, amidst great applause
from the fans, and (saw these everywhere I stopped to
watch) groups of exhuberant drummers.

On a more sober note, I visited the Jewish Museum.  It
really made the holocast a personal thing.  The first
half, at least, was simply photos and letters of/from
victims.  It really is moving to read their personal
thoughts.  The design of the building really enhances
the experience, as well.  If here, make it a point to
see it.

That about covers the first three days here.  I leave
for Dresden on Tuesday, so that's probably where the
next update will come from.

Last day at home

Well, I'm about to leave on my adventure. Hopefully, I'll have everything I need packed when I finally close the doors and head out. If not, so be it. I do have my outside Christmas lites up. My kind neighbors will turn them on about Thanksgiving. No inside decorations up yet. They're all waiting patiently in their boxes for my return. Don't tell them, but this year, except for a choice few, they may spend Christmas in the boxes.

Weather here today is cool and windy, with a bit of rain last nite. Some send-off, right?

I did accomplish one thing I had hoped to before I left. My picture is now permanently displayed on the Blog. At least I think it is. It was on the test page. Is that, and even having a BLOG, just another form of self-aggrandizement? (I'll miss my dictionary while I'm gone, unless I can stick to words of less than 6 letters.)

Next one will be from Germany.

Well, I finally published a photo to the BLOG. Wasn't able to put it over in the "About Me" section, where it would be permanent, but at least it's on the BLOG. Very few of you have known me long enough to remember me with this style haircut. I doubt if Doug or Lynda even remember this. Probably too young.

I think I'm pretty well set for the trip. I've practiced packing and it looks like everything I need will fit. Of course, a decision was made that there were a few things I didn't need. Hope I'll be able to find the laundromats. And based on last year's experience in the rain, several cans of waterproofing have been used. So there, Member's Only and your so-called weatherproof windbreakers.

Heading for Tucson tomorrow for a football reunion. No, T, > 50, it's been 54 years since I last played, at least in something more than a pickup game. Back home Sunday nite, then off on the big bird on Wed.

Have Fun, Everyone

How about that haircut? No worries for the next few months!