Splitting for Split

Although our meeting was in Dubrovnik, we’d been told that one of the most beautiful places in Croatia was a little town named Split, so that was our first stop in the country. But first we had to get there, and that wasn’t

Sunset on the road to Split

easy. Our flight choices gave us several options and none of them great. Barb ended up booking a flight that had two stops before getting to Croatia; I found a more direct route, but had to go through the dreaded Madrid airport.  However, the weather was so unsettled in the northern US that the airline was happy to put Barb on the plane from DFW to Madrid instead of her multi-stop itinerary. I was happy because I was on that plane, as well. We both had bulkhead seats, but not together. The lady who sat next to me had an elbow that resided in my ribs – I really missed sitting with Barb! Overly tight quarters, a completely full plane, and surprisingly bad food did not bode well for this adventure.

Scholar or Colossus?

So very early in the morning we boarded an island hopper to go from

Dolphin sculpture at the harbor

Athens to Rhodes. We were all sad that Constantine and/or Harry were not going to be there to meet us and drive for us, but new adventures awaited. The principal city on the island of Rhodes is Rhodes – not at all confusing. In long ages gone by there was supposed to be a giant statue that guarded the harbor: the Colossus. There is nothing on the island that overtly points to any ruins of this bygone wonder and although I knew we wouldn’t see it, I was vaguely disappointed.

Geology, Hallucinogens, and Lots of Questions

One of the most famous places in Greece, and a tourist destination since

Mountains

as early as 1400 BCE, is Delphi. And being tourists, Barb and I hopped on a bus for a tour of the area. I was anxious to see the grotto down along some river or stream – one again, reality was not what stories of the area had lead me to believe. It’s about a four and a half hour ride through some very pretty mountainous scenery from Athens to Delphi; luckily we had a great guide.

Amsterdam, Again

And I came back to Amsterdam. This is my third trip and Dave’s second. Our first visit was in the 1980s with a tour group; we saw the ‘common sites’, including, after dark, the red light district. Neither of us was impressed. My next trip was with Barb, and we concentrated on museums. This time I came because this is where the cruise ended and stayed since it was a place Dave had never really explored. I was tickled to get to show him some wonderful museums. We weren’t in time to see the tulips, but the weather was lovely and it was fun to be out on the canals in the little boats. Once again, for me the down side was the number of bicycles – they seem to aim right at pedestrians with silent malice. (The video is falling blossoms from the Rijksmuseum.)

Having Basil in Basel, Switzerland

For several weeks I’ve been writing about the history of small towns in

Boy and Fish Fountain

Texas. The next few blogs concern the much older cities we visited on our trip from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Basel is in northwestern Switzerland on the Rhine River. We arrived a couple of days early to allow for jet lag and do some sightseeing on our own. Our first surprise was that the EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg is actually in France, and if you go out the wrong door, you end up with taxis that only go to France. However, the cabbies are used to confused tourists and kindly helped us get to the Swiss transportation. Basel, essentially, is located at the nexus of Switzerland, France and Germany with suburbs in each country. It’s not surprising that although the official language is the Swiss variety of standard German, many people speak French and English as a matter of course.

Around the Island (Γύρω από το νησί)

House in Margarites

On our last day in Crete we hopped on a tour bus for a trip around the island. Again, I saw scenery I hadn’t expected on this island and heard mythology I was completely unfamiliar with – I didn’t know that Hera was the second wife of Zeus. It’s great to learn new things! If I could do this trip, again, I’d do it in reverse order – this tour first, then Knossos, then time spent exploring Chania – I think it would help to put things in a more historical perspective and allow me to more closely investigate this unique part of the world.

Uppåt till Uppsala (Upwards to Uppsala)

Uppsala

On one of our days in Sweden we journeyed to the small town of Uppsala. Because of the excellent public transportation, the less than an hour train trip was comfortable and interesting. The countryside, viewed through the train window, was lovely; the seats were comfortable and there was free WiFi – what could be better?

Slår ut för Stockholm (Striking out for Stockholm)

Sweden has always been one of the places I’ve wanted to see, but have

Ice on the river

been deplorably ignorant about.  It has good food (smorgasbord), a lot of snow, and people who say ‘ya’. I was right about the food, but not about the snow, although we did have a chilly visit, nor did even one person say ‘ya’. Everyone we spoke to had little to no accent and used excellent English. We visited three different towns during our stay, and all were delightful.

Lest we forget…

While World War II and its aftermath were horrible and there were more

Grounds of the Auschwitz-Birkeniu
State Museum

tragic occurrences than have ever been reported, the worst was the Holocaust. This came about because of bigotry and hatred, two characteristics of mankind that the winning of any war or the embracing of any religion has not obliterated from our collective consciences. One of the most interesting stories was told by Jakob, our Free Walking Tour guide, was about his grandmother. For many of the people in Poland the war didn’t end in 1945; his grandmother still overbuys when she goes to the grocery just in case they need the food to flee. When US leaders start talking about ‘registering’ people, the first thing that springs to mind is how the Jews and other minorities were ‘registered’. Let’s hope the population in this country never has to make the choices that the people in Europe had to make.

Walking in Wrocław, Part 1

My friend, Barb, said, ‘The IFLA Annual Conference is in Wrocław,

Wrocław city square

Poland this year. Do you want to go?’ I’d never been in Poland, nor did I know anything about Wrocław so I replied, ‘Of course!’ And off we went on a rather unusual adventure. Wrocław has a history dating back a thousand years and throughout that time has functioned as the capital of Silesia and Lower Silesia; it’s still the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (a governmental region similar to a county).  Currently it’s considered one of the best places in Europe to live because of the high level of art appreciation, education, and international business; this is probably why it is the fourth-largest city in Poland. While the part of the city that we saw was attractive, I particularly liked the historic part. It’s very walkable with plenty of things to see and do as well as good places to eat and shop.

Viewing Vienna

Vienna architecture spans the gamut from Gothic to Baroque to Rococo and for those of us who like all sorts of architecture, it was eye-candy. Some of this architecture dates back to

Examples of different sorts of architecture plus a
rabbit and a man on a clock for whimsy

when Vienna was a Roman military camp during the 1^st century; even today there are streets show evidence of the encampment’s walls and moats. The Romans hung around until the 5^th century when a fire destroyed the encampment but didn’t discourage the settlers who had been steadily arriving from Germany, Slavic and Russian areas. Vienna continued to develop as a gateway to trade routes and a staging area for troops going off to fight wars throughout the Middle Ages. The capture of Richard the Lionhearted at the end of the 12^th century and his subsequent ransom to Duke Leopold V the Virtuous for 10 to 12 tons of silver allowed the creation of a mint and the construction of city walls. Pride of place vacillated between Prague and Vienna with each city competing with the other for the holy seat and the political power that accompanied the honor. The distinction of founder of the city goes to Rudolf IV of Austria. His sensible economic policies raised the level of prosperity as did the establishment of the University of Vienna in 1365 and the construction of the gothic nave in the Stephansdom which was a symbolic substitute for a bishop. Under German King Albert II, Vienna became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, and in about 1441 he tossed out the Jewish population of Vienna supporting the anti-Semitism that has been present ever since. Political upheavals continued through this city’s history with the inevitable destruction and restoration of buildings. In both of the World Wars, Vienna was on the losing side, finally being occupied by allied troops in 1945. Vienna was then divided into five occupation zones among France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and with the city center (first district) being patrolled by all four. Since 1955, the country regained its political independence and sovereignty; it now serves as a political center in Europe with more than 17,000 diplomats. Its city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site making it a tourist hub.

We began our visit at Maria Teresa’s house, the Schönbrunn Palace. Although this was the Imperial Summer Residence, as hot as it was in Vienna when we visited, I wondered

Top L to R: Neptune's Fountain, Janus and Bellona, Gloriette
Bottom: Schönbrunn Palace

whether this shouldn’t have been the winter palace. The building reminded me a great deal of the palaces I’d seen in Russia (see Underground Art) with its numerous bedrooms, ballrooms, dining rooms, waiting rooms and lots of other rooms – in this case 1,441 rooms in total. Built in the early 17^th Century but rebuilt and remodeled by Marie Theresa in the 1740s. She was one of the most prolific monarchs, bearing 16 children, most of them girls who she married off to the princes around Europe. This gave Maria Teresa the unofficial title as ‘mother-in-law to Europe’. Her daughters became the Queen of France, the Queen of Naples and Sicily, the Duchess of Parma, and her five sons, included two Holy Roman Emperors, Joseph II and Leopold II. While the castle was impressive, the gardens were even more so. I particularly liked the Neptune Fountain set into the hillside. This sculptured water feature was designed by Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg. The fountain sits just below a 200 foot hill, which is topped by the Gloriette; this was supposed to be the entrance to the palace at one time, but Maria Theresa wanted it to represent a ‘Just War’ won by the Hapsburgs. There are many other sculptures in the garden, all of them Roman in origin.

One of the other places I particularly wanted to see what the Belvedere Museum. It is housed in part of the Belvedere Palace and although smaller than the Louvre in Paris, still

Top L to R: Belvedere Palace, Cinnabar statue, Belevedere Gardens
Bottom L to R: Baroque sculpture, Three Graces, Entrance hall

takes the better part of a day to see the art in all of the buildings. The Belvedere actually consists of the Upper and Lower palaces, the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The tiered fountains and cascades, Baroque sculptures, and wrought iron gates decorate the gentle gradient on which the complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736) by the famous Baroque architect, Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. It is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The art collection dates from the Middle Ages to the present day, and is complemented by the works of international artists. Of course, being set in rooms of state only enhances the presentation of these works. The collection of Gustav Klimt was what had drawn me to this particular museum and I wasn’t disappointed. Two of his pictures are perhaps his most well-known. The Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I came to the forefront with the popularization of the book and movie, The Woman in Gold. Of course this painting was not in the museum, but ‘The Kiss’ was. I had seen pictures of piece, but I had no idea how large it is nor just how shiny. Painted during his ‘golden phase’ it is quite amazing. There were two other paintings that I really liked. One was ‘Judith’ and the other was ‘Portrait of Fritza Riedler’; both of these emphasize Klimt’s favorite subject, the female body.

Of course, the centerpiece, both literally and figuratively, of Vienna is Saint Stephan’s Cathedral, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. This Romanesque and Gothic monolith dominates the skyline and sits in the center of the old town. Its placement is

Top L to R:Spire, High Alter, Blackened stones
Bottom L to R: Roof tiles, Capistran Chancel, Hapsburg Eagles

particularly nice when you’re trying to find your way through the maze of streets; just look along the housetops and you’ll usually see the steeple of the church. Built of limestone, the cathedral is 351 feet long, 130 feet wide, and 446 feet tall at its highest point; it stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the earliest of which was consecrated in 1147. One of its most striking characteristics is its ornately patterned roof made up of 230,000 glazed tiles. On the south side of the building the tiles form a mosaic of the double-headed eagle symbolizing the rein of the Habsburg dynasty. The north side displays the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and of the Republic of Austria. The roof is so steep that it is cleansed by the rain and is rarely covered by snow. The rest of the building isn’t as clean. Over the centuries, soot and air pollution have accumulated on the exterior walls, giving them a black color. Recently restoration projects have returned some portions to their original white, which is one reason that the area around the cathedral is under construction. However, visitors can still get inside, and the inside is worth seeing. The high alter, is a baroque carving designed by Tobias Pock that tells the story of Saint Stephan’s stoning. Flanking the nave are chapels dedicated to saints that include works of art, and the pulpit, a late Gothic design, sits on one of the main pillars positioned so that the audience can hear the sermon.

Vienna was a wonderful city and the brief time we spent there certainly wasn’t enough. I can’t wait to go back and see all of the things I missed. Next week I’ll write about two of the towns we visited while on a brief, but lovely, cruise down the Danube.

National Library

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Prague, again

View of the Vltava from one of the bridges

Just a few years ago I wouldn’t have believed that I would travel to Prague once. Now I’ve been there three times. This time it was with Triple M Tours and SocialBeadia on a trip called Beading through Bohemia. Our mission was to do some sightseeing, visit cradle of Czech beads, and learn some new beading skills taught by Marcia DeCoster. There are several previous blogs that include information about Prague, so if you’d like to read about other visits there (including reviews), take a look at Art, Time after Time, Weirdness in Bohemia, Peeking in on Prague, Review of Viking Cruise from Prague to Paris.

Saluting in San Diego...and Reviews

Part of the San Diego Bay from the flight deck of the USS Midway

Once again this year I traveled to San Diego to learn from an exceptional group of beaders. There are women here from all walks of life who get together to take lessons from three outstanding people in the field and to share knowledge, techniques, and laughs with each other. This time Heather Kingsley-Heath, Virginia Blaklock, and Beki Haley were our fearless leaders – but more about Beader’s Dream Retreat later.

Back in the Big Apple

Dawn over New York City

The first time I actually went to New York, other than to work from morning to night, or to buzz through the airport, was in 2012. Dave took me to upstate New York for our

Entrance to AMNH

anniversary and then down into Manhattan. I loved it all and was anxious to see everything. We had planned to visit the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). I completely underestimated the size of these two treasure troves thinking we could see them both in one day. So since outrunning the hurricane gave us an extra day to explore New York City, we decided to spend it at the AMNH; I was delighted. The American Museum of Natural History is one of the largest museums in the world. It is just across the street from Central Park and has 27 interconnected buildings with 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. Given that we had an entire day, we still couldn’t see even the small portion of the 32 million specimens of plants, humans, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and cultural artifacts that are on exhibit. We did see one of the founders, however; Teddy Roosevelt not only sits astride his horse to welcome guests as you enter, but there is a statue of him on a bench in one of the rotundas. I was also glad to see the T. rex and the cheeky monkey from Night at the Museum were still in residence, as well. Housed in the oldest part of the museum was a collection of Northwest Coast Indians artifacts; this portion of the museum was begun in 1874, with the Victorian Gothic building opening in 1877. Most of the rest of the museum exterior is in rusticated brownstone neo-Romanesque, except for the entry which is an over-the-top Beaux-Arts monument. The entry hall is a vast Roman basilica design that echoes with the excited voices of children and adults.

St John’s, eh

Entering St John's harbor

We didn’t arrive in this pretty city until noon, but we stayed until 8:00PM. Getting into the harbor is fun in that we came through the narrows where you could see the eyes of the birds nesting on the banks. St. John's is an interesting town with most everything built up the hills from the harbor, which is quite small; it is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. St. John's is also one of North America's oldest settlements. However, people didn’t begin living here year-round until sometime after 1630 but seasonal habitation can be traced back to between 1494 and 1545 (depending on whose records you read). The English fishermen who had seasonal camps in Newfoundland in the 16^th Century were forbidden by the British government from creating permanent homes along the English controlled coast, which is the reason that St. John's was late in becoming a town.

At gå ind I Greenland

Sunrise on the North Atlantic Ocean, looking astern

Without a doubt my favorite day on board was when we cruised through Prins Christian Sund. The Sund is a 60 mile (100 km) long, sometimes only 1,600 foot (500 m) wide passage that connects the Irminger Sea with the Labrador Sea. This shortcut through the tip of Greenland is one of the most scenic places I’ve been. We awoke to a beautiful sunrise at about 5:30AM; at 6:30 the first foghorn sounded. I hoped that the fog would be gone by the time we got into the fjord at about 7:30 – 8:00. Sigh…supposedly there were whales we should be able to see at the mouth of the fjord. The fog in this area is fairly common because we have moved from over the relatively warm Gulf Stream to over the cold arctic current. At just about 7:30 the fog lifted and we had a gorgeous day of cruising. What greeted us were sheer cliffs of rocks that had been deformed by volcanic activity, erosion and intense metamorphism, during and after which they had been unceremoniously pushed down by the weight of a huge ice sheet that covers most of Greenland. The land is slowly rising because the ice sheet is shrinking due to global climate change. This long fjord system is mostly surrounded by steep

Går rundt Copenhagen del to

Our second day in Copenhagen found us on our way to the National Museum of Denmark

A tight fit!

and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket. If we hadn’t run out of time and energy, we’d have visited the Royal Stables. These have been turned into little museums and there is always a chance of seeing the royal horses. Since we missed these, as well as a plethora of other sites, we’ll have to go back! We only visited two museums this day, but they were good ones.

Går rundt Copenhagen del en

We left Dallas at about 5:00 PM and arrived in Copenhagen at about 1:00 PM the next day.

Absalon on horseback

Since we’d spent 13+ hours traveling, the first thing we did after getting settled in our hotel was to go exploring. And we found that Copenhagen is the most confusing city to get around in. Dave is usually really good about map-reading and finding what we're looking for, but we were lost more than we were found. This is because the streets start and stop, then begin again in unrelated places – or at least that was our reasoning for our confusion. We did finally find the Tourist Information center and got our Copenhagen Card (museum passes), along with a better map; it was more detailed and prettier (okay, maybe not actually a better map). Thank goodness there were lots of folks around who spoke English and didn’t mind tourists asking for directions, or at least to point out our current location on our map.

Warming up in Hot Springs

Hot Springs, Arkansas was once the go-to place for restoring health and vitality through

Hot Springs from Hot Springs Mountain

bathing in the healing waters of the many hot springs. While we didn’t partake of the baths, we did get a bit damp as we strolled along Bath House Row admiring the architecture. This city gets its name from the 47 natural springs of thermal water on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain. These springs produce about a million gallons of 143 °F water each day. National Park Service scientists found, through radiocarbon dating, that the water coming to the surface today fell as rain some 4,400 years earlier. The water oozes very slowly down through the earth’s surface finally reaching superheated areas deep within the crust, then rushes to the surface to appear in the hot springs.

Looking at Lakes and Seeing Old Friends

Lake Ouachita Vista

The Ouachita Mountains are home to such wonderful folks as Charlie Weaver and Lum and Abner. These characters would probably not be at all surprised if they visited the Mount Ida and Pine Ridge areas since nothing much has changed in the 80 some-odd years since they inhabited the Ozarks. However, if they ventured into the surrounding areas, they would be astounded at the population growth. Another, now quite so famous, former resident of the area is Near-Normal Traveler, Dave. His misspent youth consisted of running amok around the Lakes Hamilton, Catherine and Ouachita fishing, hunting and learning to drive in an old 1950 Dodge. It was a good thing that the car had a high clearance and plenty of spare tires to deal with some of the back roads – one of which we visited on this trip.