Early November brings darkening days and what are now rather melancholy memories. Today marks the fall of the Berlin Wall, a strike for freedom; tomorrow the birthday of the US Marine Corps, and 11 Nov is Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in the US), honoring those who served in the cause of freedom. As a teenager […]
To those who have servedin the reaches of the north,the sands of the desert,the heat of the jungle,and on the swells of the sea… To those who have walked through the valley,heard the scream of the rockets,smelled the smoke and seen the wreckage,and comforted those who have… To those who have watched the screens for […]
Continue reading about Happy Veterans Day to all who have served
After a long hiatus, I’ve decided to revive my travel blog. Though Facebook has become the primary way to share our adventures with my family, I find that when I’m traveling somewhere, I like to seek out opinions, thoughts, and advice from others who have been there. Plus, I need to shake the rust off my […]
In Flanders fields, few poppies grow,but crosses still stand, row on row,to mark the place where young men liebeneath trimmed grass and sunny sky,so different from that long ago. 100 years have now passed by;some carry still the torch held high.Though troubled, still we love our land,so serve in ice or hills or sand,to keep […]
We took a day trip to the “Romantic Rhine” – specifically the area more prosaically known as the Upper Middle Rhine. This UNESCO World Heritage site features about 40 castles in a 65 kilometer stretch between Bingen and Koblenz. Related Images:
Every autumn, numerous villages in the Alpine regions of Austria and Germany celebrate the Almatrieb, the return of the cows and their herders from the Alps, where they have spent the summer. This tradition is marked with festivals including food, music, and topped with the cattle parades and Viehscheid, where the cattle are separated and […]
We got into Budapest in the late afternoon. Traffic was snarled up and parking, of course, was a pain, as in most cities in Europe. However, even though there was a miscommunication in the parking, the hotel people let us park in the one of the taxi spots right in front of the hotel, and […]
The Beautiful Blue Danube…isn’t. At least not the part we’ve seen. It’s brown, just like the muddy Mississippi. Still, it’s an impressive sight, especially seen from the mountain where Devin Castle stands. Related Images:
Well, the first tale I have to tell rather overshadowed a fairly nice day in Vienna–on the way back to the hotel, a (presumably drunk) older man slapped me on the tail in the subway station! I mean, really! Fortunately, he was moving pretty fast and apparently never skipped a beat, since he was halfway […]
I have wanted to visit Vienna for a long time; I have leave I have to burn, so was lucky enough to get some time off for one last summer trip before school started. (Side note–Rebecca is starting high school–AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!) I got home late Wednesday night, so we got a bit of a late start […]