Travel Snippets 4 of 9

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In the little town of Gradara, Italy, we watched some men laying ceramic tile on an outdoor dance floor. Using sign language and pantomime, I “told” the men, and the several people helping or watching, that I had laid a lot of tile, and Emmy was the boss and inspector and told me exactly what to do, and how to do it. They laughed and got a big kick out of that, and wanted both of us to help them. Well, that wasn’t the whole story, during our dozen tile jobs she was also right there on the floor working, and said each 100 square feet of tile we laid, took ten years off her knees. (1989)
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In the local newspaper on the Island of Truk, in the Federated States of Micronesia, it said, “We are caught between the Coca Cola can and the Coconut tree.” That does seem to describe their problem. The little town here is really a mess. The people have nothing to do, and don’t do it well. The road has only a few hundred yards of good road, the rest is potholes galore. We again rented a car to see as much of Truk as we could. A few miles from the town where the ship docked, we found a hotel that looked very nice, but did not see much that might interest a tourist, other than scuba diving among the sunken ships. At the general store Emmy bought some shirts that we wore for many years. During the frequent showers, store clerks ran with plastic sheets to try and protect the merchandise on the shelves, from the leaky ceiling. (1980)
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In the main market place in Warsaw, Poland, in 1991 there were artists who would draw or paint portraits of people while they posed. As one little girl, in a Mickey Mouse hat, was having her portrait painted, I mentioned to Emmy that we’ve seen this in Disneyland. Surprise of all surprises, the mother understood English and said, “We were there last year.” .
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In the medieval town of Kampen, The Netherlands, we were backing into a parking place when an older gentleman saw the USA sign on the bumper of our RV. He smiled and came over to talk to us. With a big smile on his face, the Dutch man said “America, (then pointed to us) Freiheit (freedom, pointed to himself) President (put his hand as if to shake Reagan’s hand, then pointed thumbs up) President Reagan, Moscow (here he placed his fists as if to indicate Reagan protects him from Russia)” and all the time was smiling and letting us know he likes the Americans very much. (1985)
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In the Olympia, Greece, parking lot a man was selling donkey rides for children. We took a picture of a small boy who had the most determined look on his face. This thing was all under his control. (1989)
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In the Panorama Café, nearly 500 feet above ground in the TV tower at Stuttgart, Germany, Emmy’s fluent command of the German language resulted in a cup of coffee with an ice-cube, instead of the dip of coffee-flavored ice-cream she thought she had ordered. Kaffee-Eis or Eis-Kaffee, who knows. Built in 1954-1956, the “Fernsehturm” is the first TV tower in the world to be built of reinforced concrete. It stands 712 feet high, its 4-level “basket” with restaurant and sightseeing platform, is about 500 feet above the ground. We’ve visited the sightseeing floor of TV towers in Stuttgart, Vienna, Berlin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Munich and Rotterdam. From the Munich tower we saw the 1972 Olympics facilities under construction. (1983)
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In the parking lot in front of the Berlin Zoo, I watched as flatbed trucks used self-contained cranes to remove illegally parked cars. (Bet that’s the last time that Italian mis-parks a Japanese car in Germany.) When I remarked to the person who appeared to be in charge that, “We drive an RV and it's too big for your tow trucks.” The “Police-lady” laughed and said, “For you, we would just get a bigger truck.” We didn’t tempt her. In Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, we saw a truck with a crane remove a car that was parked in the left turn lane. The city was so crowded, that was the only parking place he could find. (1991)
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In the Zoll (Customs) office in Merzig, Germany, there were three large desks, each well supplied with long wooden-handled rubber stamps, there was but one official. We had to stifle our laughter as he sat himself behind each desk in turn, came to attention, and applied, with gusto, the needed approvals for our RV’s license plate. (1983)
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In Toledo, Spain, Emmy liked the pendant and the 5 and 1/2 inch plate we bought, that have 22 and 24 carat gold hammered into a design. (The plate was not jewelry.) The Cathedral is truly beautiful. We were lucky, while we were visiting, Spanish school children arrived for a visit, Toledo’s Cathedral lights were turned on and it was even more beautiful. I think that can be called serendipity. We drove into a small plaza, and found the sign said the only exit street is two meters wide, building to building, not curb to curb. The Dodge is two meters plus mirrors. As we were trying to decide what to do, a small truck about our size went through, so we tried it. There were at most two inches between each mirror and the buildings. People stepped into doorways as we passed, no other room for them. (1979)
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In two different years we met a group of 10 to 15 American couples who were traveling in VW Camper Vans. Each tour was directed by a “Wagon Master” who made arrangements for campgrounds, gave directions and instructions where to meet the next night, what to do on the way there, sometimes hosted meals, and was the tour guide for events for the whole tour group. Some people like the regimentation, Emmy and I are so individualistic that when we have been asked to take the job, twice, we said “no” to being “Wagon Masters.” Can you imagine me making arrangements for a restaurant meal for a group? I couldn’t do that, food is not my hobby, only a necessity. A couple of times, after hearing about our travels, someone would say they would like to go with us. We quickly changed the subject, the two of us completely filled our tour group. (1985)
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In Ulm, Germany, the last hundred or so steps (of 768) in the Cathedral steeple are in a narrow circular staircase enclosed in the lacy Gothic tower — I could reach out and touch a cloud. I was in such physical condition that when I reached the top I wasn’t even breathing hard — in fact, I almost wasn’t breathing at all. They laid the cornerstone in 1377, and 513 years later, in 1890, Ulm’s Gothic cathedral was completed. The single spire is the world’s tallest church steeple (528 feet high). Now that the steps to the top of The Washington Monument have been closed, this is supposed to be the most stairs available for a climb anywhere. The Washington Monument’s 898 steps were continuous and boring, I’ve climbed them. That climb does not compare to the thrill of climbing the several different staircase designs to the top of the spire at Ulm. (1980)
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In Villa de Andorra, the capital of the country of Andorra, Emmy found a beautiful leather coat she liked. It needed a little alteration, and when we came back an hour later, it was ready to go. They said the coat was made on the Island of Majorca, Spain. We had looked at many coats when we visited that island an earlier year, but found none she liked. In 1991, while parked on a Los Angeles street near a doctor’s office, the window of our Cadillac was broken, and that jacket was stolen. Funny thing was, while we were still a block away and across the street, I saw a bunch of young people standing near the car, but never gave them a thought. It wasn’t until we got on the freeway that we noticed wind blowing in the car, then saw the window was missing. Well, Andorra or Majorca, here we come for a replacement. (1980)
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In Wales we visited the area where Emmy’s childhood friend Alice’s husband Bill was raised. LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH, with a world’s record 58 letters, is the town name. When it is translated, it takes over a dozen words to complete the name. We were told that most residents can pronounce it, but not everyone pronounces it the same. Emmy, as a child, was captivated when Uncle Bill pronounced the strange name of this Wales town. Betws-y-coed is a eye-appealing little Welsh village with a pretty name, that is much easier to pronounce. This is where I bought the first of many packages of a round butter cookie, that were excellent, the best ever. Wish I had kept an empty package, so when a friend visits Wales, they could buy me some. (1980)
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In Warsaw, Poland we were returning to our RV, we thought. We had parked in front of a very distinctive building with a dome, with a cluster of pillars at the entrance, located next to a large parking lot. We now walked back to the RV from a different direction, a different part of the city. We consulted the map to locate the street intersection we had written. We thought we were still a block away, we saw the building, but it shouldn’t be there. We can’t be where we parked, but we must be! We looked and looked in the parking lot and could find no sign of the RV. This just can not be. Turns out it's a round building with an identical entrance with columns and pillars on opposite sides, and we were parked on the other side from where we stood. Really thought we had a problem for a moment. (1985)
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In Yugoslavia, we found that restrooms are often labeled with a picture of a shoe. You can figure it out, can’t you?
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Inside the city wall of Avignon, France, I watched men applying large political posters right on top of other rather new, large political posters printed in another color, with a different picture. I kidded them about “political dirty tricks,” but when I understood the poster they were putting up was for a conservative candidate, and they were covering the poster of someone on the socialist-left, I encouraged them to proceed, amidst much laughter. It seems those new posters were for M. Le Pen, almost unheard of in the USA until the 2002 election in France, a few years later. (1988)
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Instead of a little town with really narrow, steep streets, we found Perugia, Italy, is a large city with narrow, steep streets. We’ve visited here three years. Last time, as we neared the top of the hill, policemen who were to keep traffic out of the town center were distracted, or didn’t care, so we found a parking place near city center. What a fantastic city. The other two trips we turned right, then went down a street with 26% grade. A man standing at the curb pointed and indicated we should turn left, “No problem,” he said, so we did. After driving a different 26% downgrade, that included a left turn through a small arch with inches to spare, we were in no condition to hold the camera still for pictures. Well, we made it OK, but Emmy set a record for shrieking in G above high C, and thank goodness my pants were washable. (1995)
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Intelligent curiosity will lead to the home of a great author or composer or to a scene from a favorite book. It leads to the free band concert in the park, and to the public gardens where the local people gather. Curiosity as to how people live and work is just as intelligent as the curiosity that leads to the study of the contents of an art museum, a cathedral, or an archaeological ruin. You come home with a “feel” for the country.
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Is RV travel worth it, you ask? Can you imagine camping at Chamonix, France at the foot of Mt. Blanc; in Fiesole, Italy, high over the Arno River Valley with the domes and towers of Florence spread out below; on an island in the Rhône River with the floodlit Le Pont D’Avignon and the Popes’ Palace on the far riverbank; with le Mont St. Michel (northern France) out our window one night, the Rock of Gibraltar (southern Spain), or the Parthenon (in Athens) on another; next to the wall of the Crusades city of Aigues-Mortes, and the double wall of Carcassonne, France; on the bank of the River Seine in Paris, the Neckar in Heidelberg, the Vltava in Prague, the Rhine and the Mosel at Koblenz, and the Danube in Budapest; on Lido Island across the lagoon from Venice; along the Adriatic near Dubrovnik; and hundreds more. Visiting these spectacular destinations seems almost a dream.
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It has become a common practice for a tourist to stand with his back to Rome’s Trevi fountain and throw coins over his shoulder into the fountain. The first coin ensures his return to Rome, the second is for a wish he hopes will come true. Well, in 1970 we threw a coin, and we were back in Rome in 1980, 1985, and 1989, so we know that first one works. With the second coin we “wished” the traffic and parking problems to be resolved, but that one didn’t work at all. We haven't the foggiest idea what the third coin, as noted in the song, “Three Coins in the Fountain,” is supposed to accomplish, but it seems to indicate one coin each from the three ladies in the movie of that name.
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It is amazing what we can learn from a German tourist brochure. The one entitled “Rothenburg, Worth seeing, Worth knowing,” says “Year 1400, Period of glory under Lord Mayor Toppler.” The very next line says, “Year 1408, Lord Mayor Toppler dies in the prison of the town hall.” Then Mayor Toppler is not mentioned again. Just the facts, Ma’am. I wonder what Mayor Toppler did, why did he do it, and what happened to him.
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It rained 10 times today, maybe more. We keep going, The Netherlands countryside is attractive in the rain. It had been pouring rain most of the morning, as we were driving toward Utrecht. Later, while we were on the Autobahn to Amsterdam, it rained so hard for about five minutes we almost had to stop right in the middle of the Autobahn — water was standing two or three inches deep, right on the roadway. I tried to get to the shoulder, or to an off-ramp, but by then it had stopped raining. People in other cars and trucks were also concerned. We know it rained hard while we were in Venice, Italy, one year, but at least the flooding of the streets in that city weren’t a problem, like it was on the Dutch Autobahn. (1985)
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It rained often that day, but we enjoyed Dublin, Ireland, people were so friendly. When we stopped on the street corner to consult our map, more than one person would stop and insist on helping us find what we needed. Visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in a beautiful park-like grounds. Many statues in the church, and memorials for people who fought for Ireland’s freedom from England in 1916. That night we had a very bad storm. Emmy thought the wind might tip the RV over. I had no way to know what was going to happen, but I reassured her, so she could get some sleep. I didn’t know it wouldn’t turn over either, but I wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. Emmy thought we were in a hurricane. It may not have been, but it was close. Next day we saw building damage and trees that had been blown over. (1980)
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It seems like traffic lights in Rome, Italy, and in Athens, Greece, are connected to car horns — each time a light turned green, we heard horns blow. At bus stops in Athens, the passengers must go into the street and really wave at the driver, or he won’t stop. That’s funny, there may be dozens of people at the bus stop, and still the bus won’t stop unless waved at, or unless someone is getting off at this stop. Perhaps it’s because several busses travel the same street and no driver wants to stop if the customers are all for a different bus. On each trip to Rome we find it’s cleaner than some large cities, and for the most part we find the people are friendly, helpful, smiling and good natured. We see and “appreciate” the beauty, and never notice the negatives seen by the tourist who comes to “criticize.” (1989)
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It was a beautiful day, brisk, with brilliant sunshine when we arrived in Trondheim, Norway. We had no Norwegian money (we had just driven from Sweden) for the parking meter, so the policeman treated, put in his own coin giving us time to get to the bank. A very interesting city, if not for the cold winter weather, this could be a great place to live. We saw several houses with sod roofs. Stopped at a garage for an oil change for the RV. The large Gothic Cathedral is Lutheran, we think. When they were digging a basement for a new bank building in Trondheim, they found the foundation of an old church or something. They built around it and left it for the tourists to see. We saw a similar thing in the RR Station in Bern, Switzerland, a foundation ruin that remained as a memento of days past. (1979)
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It was a beautiful sunny day as we left Scotland, on our way to England, and at the border there was a man dressed in a “uniform” of kilts with a bagpipe, waiting for tourists to take his picture and give him a tip. We saw a couple of other men wearing kilts, one in a store, another in a restaurant, during the past couple of days. (1980)
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It was during our second trip to Europe before we discovered the real reason we liked to travel, and we talked about the “things” of most interest — “people, geography and the architecture.” Until then, we did not have the experience of enough travel in Europe to know of the fascinating things to see and appreciate. Some people travel from restaurant to restaurant and see hotels in between, others go from scenic spot to scenic spot, and see the towns in between, we travel from town to town and see the scenic spots between. Sure we enjoy the scenery, but the towns, villages, and little cities, and of course Cathedrals anywhere, are what interests us the most. Emmy usually agrees with me in what we see or where we go, but sometimes it appears that agreement is just her easy way out. If she agrees with me, she doesn’t have to present an alternative. (1979)
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It was late, so a young man who spoke English used a flashlight to help us find enough room to park our RV in a Split, Yugoslavia, campground. We had just arrived in this country from Italy on a ferry boat that crossed the Adriatic, Sea, and it was late when we arrived at the campground. Talk about crowded. After some people moved their table we stopped within three inches of one trailer, with our RV extending over someone’s tent pegs, and this was home for the night. We finally found an electrical socket, and all was fine. We are sung as a bug, in our RV, and the campgrounds are always so quiet. In a crowded campsite we are within a few feet of our neighbor, in a hotel room, you are within a few inches of your next door neighbor.(1985)
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It’s a surprise to be walking through the Piazza Sant’Oronzo in Lecce, in Italy’s heel, then suddenly see the remains of the ancient amphitheater, right at our feet, a few ranks of seats, all below street level. The Roman Amphitheater represents the historic and artistic character of the town. Dating from the 1st century B.C., the Amphitheater accommodated 20,000 fans, who came to watch bloody fights between gladiators and wild beasts. Less than one-third of the structure remains, with maybe twelve or fifteen rows of seats leading from street level, down to what remains of the playing field. We bought some fresh pasta that we watched them make, right there in the store. Emmy pronounced the pasta as excellent, as good as it gets, so good that we drove to Lecce a couple of days later to buy some more. (1989)
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It’s funny how a line can be painted in the middle of the street for two lanes, but there will be three or four lanes of traffic. The drivers in Rome, Italy, let us know if there is space for three or four lanes, three or four there will be. Even the huge orange city busses followed those homegrown rules. Italy is crowded with beautiful, friendly, congenial people who welcome us, confuse us, charm us, disturb us, enrapture us, discombobulate us, and ensure that we have a fascinating vacation. (1980)
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It’s hard to believe we can see snow capped mountains in Greece, in May. During the daytime, one day in April, it sleeted enough in Rome, for the ground to be white. A few days later while we were in a campground in Salerno, Italy, the light sprinkle in the campground, resulted in snow in the hills that surrounded us. Of course we saw snow many times in Scandinavia, Switzerland, and Germany. Sometimes we drove while it snowed lightly, we followed a snow plow over the Alps in Austria, and many places the surrounding hills were snow covered when we awoke in the morning. The high Alps are snow capped all year long. While we lived in the desert, near Palm Springs, we could see Mt. San Jacinto 10,834 feet high, and Mt. San Gorgonio 11,500 feet. From our patio, in the desert at 110 degrees, we have seen snow on those mountains as early as August, and as late as July. (1989)
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It’s interesting to note that the amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy, is perhaps the most complete structure of its type to have survived the ages. Since it was buried below the ash of Vesuvius, it did not suffer the destructive power of wind and rain, and stones could not be quarried and stolen for other building projects, as happened everywhere else. We have seen 15 amphitheaters, some were “stone quarries” such as the Colosseum in Rome, whose marble was used to build St. Peter’s; Périgueux, France, by the 1400s had been turned into a quarry. In Nimes, and in Arles, France, they became a walled village for thousands of poverty-stricken people — these days they accommodate Holiday on Ice, and a concert by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The amphitheater in Lucca, Italy is surrounded by apartment buildings, in place of seats for spectators. The amphitheater in Pula, Yugoslavia, is situated for a nice view of the Adriatic Sea.
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Just a block from the Marktplatz in Rothenburg, Germany, there is a restaurant with a very special filigreed, gilded, decorative wrought-iron sign extending over the sidewalk, with small Golden Arches conspicuously displayed. The most proficient McDonald’s sign we’ve seen. (1989)
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Just across the street from the Paris Flea Market at Porte de Montreuil, we found a beautiful, very new multi-storied shopping mall, as modern as any in the US. At the Carrefour grocery, on the second floor, there were over 40 check stands, employees on roller skates, and grocery carts with specially designed wheels that permitted a continuous line of departing customers to easily ride the moving sidewalk that slopes down to street level. (1991)
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Just after the exit at the very end of the Autostrada from Milan, at Mestra, Italy, make two right turns, and there’s the campground — it’s not difficult to find a place to spend the night in our RV. The bus stop (to Venice) is a long walk, about a mile away. Emmy always says she would like to get a hotel room near St. Mark’s, so she can rest awhile then easily get to the city “streets” again. But when she sees the hundreds of dollar prices of hotels and restaurants, versus a few minute bus ride and the $10 cost for a campsite, she just can’t stand to pay what it would cost. I prefer the RV anyway, but her preference would rule the day. We’ve RVed in 7 places near Venice. (1983)
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Just outside Gstaad, Switzerland, Emmy found a 20 inch high pewter coffee pot. The salesgirl said it was maybe 100 years old. In Locarno, Switzerland, we showed it to the lady in an antique store and she said it is old, and is made of ”Antique Zinn,” and that is different from “New Zinn.” Later that year as we crossed from Poland to East Germany, the customs officer tried to determine what we were hiding from him. We had bought several small items, which we had stored in this large pot. He wanted Die Rechnung (the receipt) which we could not find, but the pot was still wrapped in the plastic bag with the name and address of the store in Gstaad. Finally he returned the pot to me, and I replaced the small packages and returned it to its “hiding” place. The RV was to small to hide it. (1985)
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Just to keep the record straight, I am the first to see most of the antique stores we visit, but Emmy wonders how many I see and ignore. Well, I point out the ones that are closed, or with no parking space. That way I look like a good guy, and it’s the cheapest and quickest way to do it. My Mother often said, “If I want to see an antique, I’ll just look in the mirror.” Oh my, I’m now much older than she was, when she first said that.
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Just upstream from Ile de la Cité (an island in the Seine River in Paris, where the Notre Dame Cathedral and the La Sainte-Chapelle are located), and joined by Pont (bridge) St. Louis. Ile St. Louis (another island) is the location of some very expensive homes and famous restaurants in Paris. One year, right in the middle of Pont St. Louis a group of musicians were in great form, complete with various instruments including a full-size piano on wheels. We enjoyed an excellent street-side concert. (1988)
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Klein “little” Matterhorn, with the Matterhorn to your right, is the highest sightseeing point in Europe, accessible by cable way. The first ride is in a gondola, then a cable way continues to station Trockener Steg, where we had a cup of hot chocolate on the restaurant patio, with the Matterhorn mountain in the background. The ride from Zermatt to the summer ski area on Klein Matterhorn, takes four cable cars, then a walk in a tunnel through the mountain top. The 12,740 feet high Klein Matterhorn is overshadowed by the Matterhorn, at 14,691 feet, the seventh highest mountain in the Alps. The Swiss are going to build a pyramid, with restaurant and a few hotel rooms, on top of the Klein Matterhorn. It will be over the magic number of 4,000 meters, 13,123 feet. This will give it more prestige among mountain climbers and they hope the construction will increase the number of visitors. (1985)
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Lake Como is called a “Ballerina” on Italy’s border, and the city of Bellagio is located on the portion of the Lake Como ballerina’s anatomy, where decorum usually calls for a fig leaf. Tourist boats, including ferries and hydrofoils, are available for tourist rides. Three times we have driven our RV onto the ferries that cross a portion of the lake, and from the ferry, the lake views and mountain scenery are exceptional. Bellagio, sometimes called the “Pearl of the Lake,” is a resort area that provides the tourist with luxurious hotels, lake and mountain views, villas, and many points of interest. Long multi-story stair steps lead from stores on one “street” to shops, homes, and hotels at the higher levels. Or if you’re coming down, it leads to stores on a lower level. Really, flights of stairs work that way, just like an escalator. (1985)
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Later Emmy changed her mind and wished she had bought some of the special jewelry (made of lambs skin, decorated with brass), so we looked and looked in other towns, but that store in Split, Yugoslavia, was the only place we saw that style of jewelry. Emmy’s sorry she said no. I think of the few times — not very many — in our married life, when I was sorry she said NO. (1989)
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Le Cite, old Carcassonne, France, is floodlit every night of the year, one of the most outstanding sights we have seen. We say that a lot, but then we see a lot of things that are really the best, the only, the outstanding, the whatever. On a main street, just below la Cité, a Mobil gas station closes early in the evening and provides a large parking space, with an excellent view of the floodlit walled city on the hill. Maybe the best view is from Pont Vieux, the old bridge over the Aude River, between the old la Cité and “new” Carcassonne. As we have found in so many of the well-known tourist sites, crowds of tourists are about to overwhelm the very thing they come to see. It will soon be said that Carcassonne is so crowded, no one goes there any more. (1988)
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Let’s say your neighbors are invited for a showing of some of the photos and video taken during your last trip. It's interesting to hear the comments and see the excitement of someone who last visited Venice 30 years ago, and now has the opportunity to visit again through your photos, video, and description. How do you describe that in 1500 words or less, for a newspaper or magazine article?
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Liechtenstein is located on the border between Austria and Switzerland. The border was manned by the Swiss, and Liechtenstein uses Swiss money. The border control charged 50¢ to stamp a passport, if we happened to want the Liechtenstein stamp as a souvenir. Liechtenstein has the beauty of the mountain area, but the first time we visited, the weather was so cloudy we couldn’t see much of the reported perfection. One nice thing about a really small country, nothing is difficult to find, especially the campground. Another year we spent a few hours enjoying the mountain scenery we missed the first time we were here. (1980)
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Linda and her friend Margit noticed their scheduled train from Venice, Italy, to Verona, was leaving in one hour and two minutes, and another was leaving in two minutes, so they decided to go for it. (In time for the earlier one. Doesn’t that sound familiar, I’ve done it a hundred times.) While I was lugging their baggage down the train aisle, I heard the door slam, so dropped the luggage, hollered good-by, opened the door and bounded off just as the train started to move toward Verona. Poor Emmy, she was sitting in the mis-parked RV in a bus stop in Plaza Roma. What would she have done if I hadn‘t got off the train in time? Well, what would I have done? We often worried about getting separated during our 1,000 days in Europe, but it never happened, we were very careful, awfully lucky. (1983)
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Lisbon, Portugal, was basically a beautiful city, but we found it cluttered with trash on the streets, graffiti on the buildings, and poverty all around. A young couple we met in a campground told us that many things, including the cleanliness of the towns, became much worse a few years earlier when some Portuguese colony was lost in Africa, and a million people had to move to Portugal. Many of these people had never lived in a regular building, and most of them lacked job skills. They said we must be very careful of the Portuguese drivers, especially the taxi drivers. We spent an hour in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel, just to get over the culture shock. (1979)
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Logos, Portugal, is an interesting tourist town, the campground had 2,000 spaces, they expect 4,000 to 5,000 people each night, in season. Many people in northern Europe leave trailers parked on the Algarve Coast all year. Some are owned by more than one family. We saw several old railroad cars parked in campsites, that had been converted into multiple places to stay. I had my shoes shined by a shoe shine man who had on a hat, coat and tie. I told him he looked like he might be the mayor of Logos. He had no set price for the shine, and said, “Pay what it’s worth.” Bet he gets two or three times the reward he would get if he charged a fixed amount. A very pleasant man, who did a very good job. (1979)
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Looking through a huge clock in a window of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, we could see the Louvre, the Garnier Opera building, with Montmartre and the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in the distance. A barge was sailing down the Seine, and on the clothesline strung from bow to cabin, we could see a couple dozen items hung out to dry. Those unmentionables were the talk of the town. (1988)
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Many of the streets in Langres, France, were under repair, and believe it or not, we could not get out of town. We would be directed here and there, and we would find “here” was under construction and “there” was just too narrow for us to travel, or perhaps one-way the wrong direction. Finally we got to the campground, right on top of the very wide town wall, next to the fortress, with a view of a beautiful sunset over the town and the countryside. (1988)
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Many stores in Italy have a rolling metal shutter like a rusty, dusty, banged-up garage door, covering the front of the store. A street is alive and colorful with bright window displays while the stores are open, but it becomes drab and colorless outside of shopping hours. Whether as a joke, or a precursor of a fashion change, one day a store displayed a mannequin clothed in the most ghastly ensemble.
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Marquetry pictures, created by Charles Spindler (1865-1938), line the walls in the restaurant Chez Jenny, 39 Boulevard du Temple, Paris. His son, the late Paul Spindler, created “The Twelve Stations of the Cross,” in the hilltop abbey, Mont St. Odile, near the Spindler studio. Paul’s wife, born in America, came to France in 1939 to work with Dr. Schweitzer. She worked at the American Hospital in Paris during WW II, later she met Paul Spindler. In 1980 and 1985 during our visits to the Spindler Studio at Saint Léonard, near Obernai, we visited with Mrs. Paul Spindler in her ancient home. They have a record of all owners of this home, since 1450. (Columbus wasn’t even born yet.) The home was an Abbey, the church was destroyed during the French Revolution a couple of hundred years ago. We visited with Jean-Charles (the third generation artist), and his wife Betsy, several years.
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Michelangelo got his hammer, made a few changes, then said, “It’s finished.” But what did he know? Emmy thinks the right hand, and certain other unmentionable parts of Michelangelo’s Statue of David, are still out of proportion to the rest of the body — picky, picky. When I said, “How do you know,” she quickly changed the subject. (1988)
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More than once we have snuck into a Venice, Italy, construction site to see an almost completely new building being built within the ancient walls. Tradition and government rules insist that the exterior not be disturbed. One time while I was taking video of the work being done, the workmen dropped their tools, placed their arms on each other’s shoulders, and sang at the top of their voices. Why didn’t I tape more of that performance? The rooftop daytime view of Venice from the top of the Campanile is very interesting, there are red tiles, towers, and assorted roof shapes. In the evening, from the Campanile, Venice looks like a jewel with the lights of the city and of the islands around it, and all the boats in the water. Walking through Venice, climbing up and down the arched bridges that cross the canals, must be one of the more pleasant things a tourist can do, anytime, any day of the year. (1988)
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Most countries have traffic “Laws and Regulations.” Italy has traffic “Hints and Suggestions.” Three guesses what a red light means, or a left turn lane, or a two lane road, or a Do Not Enter sign, and … … . (1985)
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Most times cable cars go from station to station, one up, one down, passing exactly halfway up, or down. For the first of four cable cars at the Schilthorn in Switzerland, the top station is straight above the lower station, on top of a steep cliff. The halfway point is a concrete ledge used as the transfer point, hung on the edge of the mountain cliff. The two stations and the transfer point create the three points of an arrowhead. Each car leaves its station at the same time, headed in the same direction, towards the transfer point. At the halfway station, everyone gets out of their car onto a small concrete shelf hung on the side of the cliff, transfers to the other car, then the cars return to the station they just left. Maybe you need to draw a picture. (1970)
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Most travelers have photos they think are extraordinary. We do of course, and among them is a sharp-focused hand-held time exposure of the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées, while dodging busy Paris traffic on a rainy Friday evening. Another, with the bright sitting sun hid behind a lamp post, shows Big Ben and Westminster Hall in silhouette across the Thames River, beyond a silhouette of the statue of a lion, and street lamps, in front of London’s City Hall. The lights of Lido Island and the electric advertisement signs on top of the buildings, were reflected in the Venetian waters, as captured by a hand-held time-exposure snapshot from a moving vaporetto.
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Much of the drive along Italy’s Amalfi coast is slow and curvy, with big problems when our RV meets large vehicles. Imagine the problems when two really oversize vehicles meet and try to pass on this very narrow, curvy road. Emmy’s gray-hairs aren’t only from being out of touch with her hairdresser for too many weeks. (1989)
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My brother Jesse said the Navy destroyer, USS Roe DD 418, he served on during WW II was fast (35 knots, about 40 MPH), but that doesn’t compare with the M/S Viking Serenade, the Royal Caribbean ship we were on. We left the port in Los Angeles at 6:00 PM, and by 8:00 AM the next morning, just 14 hours later, we had sailed the entire 22 miles to the island of Catalina. That’s a cruise? (1997)
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My brother Paul owned a camper mounted on his pickup, in 1965 we borrowed it and drove to the New York World’s Fair. People in New York City were not familiar with campers, and we caused a lot of excitement. Taxi drivers would almost break their necks, looking at what we drove. We wanted to park near Rockefeller Center, and the policeman said, “If you let me look inside, I’ll let you park right here and I’ll keep my eye on it for you.” One man wrote down the name of the manufacturer, so he could buy one. There was no campground within 50 miles of the Fair, so a nearby restaurant with a huge parking lot tried unsuccessfully to get permission to rent overnight spaces to campers. They wouldn’t let him charge for the camping, but he would let RVs and trailers park overnight, if we would just eat in his restaurant.
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My cane collection includes two hundred year old thrashing flails, one from Doksany, and one from Plzen, Czech Republic. Two Greek shepherd staffs, one from Githio, and one from Kótronas, Greece. My G-daughter Jo-Jo, purchased an African Walking Stick for me, when she visited South Africa, and two very nice canes when she visited the country of Laos. I have a Shooting Stick (a cane with a seat) from the 1977 Bob Hope Desert Classic, his annual golf match, near Palm Springs, in the Coachella Valley, where we lived for nearly 25 years.
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My favorite Canal story, that I am not allowed to repeat, tells about Emmy winning the prize for best performance in the middle of the Panama Canal. But just a hint — I was judge, jury and participant. (1979)
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My Sweetie loved to visit street markets, flea markets, and antique stores. We considered them to be living museums. My one rule was, “If my Sweetie wants it, I will buy it.” That is the reason we collected over 200 items of interest. Of course she never wanted overly expensive, ridiculous items (except me), and many were items I wanted (mostly for her). Most times an “Emmy-spending-delay” was a synonym for “momentary.”
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Near a shopping center just south of Strasbourg, France, we missed the sign that said, “Two Meters Maximum.” At the last moment we saw the contraption, meant to let us know if our RV vehicle was too tall. It was too late to stop, so we heard a loud whack and a rumble as the RV hit the hanging barrier. We found a place to stop at the side of the road so I could climb the ladder to the roof, look all over the top, the front, and the high front window, and assess all the damage. I found not one scratch, not one speck of damage. The hanging barrier was made to be kind to the vehicle, but very damaging to our ears, nerves, and minds. And boy, did it ever do it’s job, we didn’t crash into the underpass. (1995)
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Near Bordeaux, France, something flew off a truck, hit the Renault, suddenly a flat tire. Blowout was on the left front, I had to be in the narrow road to mount the spare, so Emmy waved a pair of red sweat pants at oncoming traffic. At a tire store nearby, a new tire cost about $100. Near Agrínio, Greece, heard a noise, we stopped to see the left rear tire go flat. Bought a new tire and the man “told” me the tires we had were not strong enough for the weight, so we bought a “better” Goodyear tire ($90). Later when we sold the Renault to a RV dealer in Saarbrücken, the German government vehicle inspector said the new tire was not strong enough for the weight of the vehicle, so they had to replace it with a tire exactly like the one on there in the first place. Who knows. (1988)
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Near Nafplio, Greece, we stopped and offered a Greek shepherd too much money for his very special staff. He wouldn’t permit himself to sell it, although he was tempted. He told us the Greek equivalent of, “No way, Jose.” We did buy a staff just like this one at an antique store in Githio, and a shepherd in Kótronas, Greece, sold me his staff, with a different design than the one I bought in Githio . (1989)
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Near some expensive hotels on the Greek Island of Rhodes, there were a dozen bathing-beauties, some so poor they could only afford half of a bathing suit, so were barefoot from the waist up. As our cruise ship, SS City of Rhodes, left The City of Rhodes on the Island of Rhodes and headed along the northwest shoreline, we could see dozens of hotels extending for mile after mile. We sure wouldn’t want to vacation there, but we hear that Scandinavians and Germans love it, anything for some sunshine. (1989)
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Near the bottom of Italy’s “heel” there were vegetable farms, and in several fields a dozen older women were gathering freshly dug potatoes. When we stopped to buy some at one field, the ladies insisted we take more and more potatoes, but there was just no way they would accept any money. I tried to just lay the money down somewhere, but the ladies would not permit it, so for a few minutes I helped them gather potatoes. I had done that many times, years ago on the farm in Penna. I remember that something to do with the moon and the seasons, or maybe it’s just an old-wives-tale, potatoes were supposed to be planted on Good Friday. I’ve seen snow on the already planted potato field, but it didn’t hurt anything.(1989)
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Near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, street vendors by the dozens offered hats, coats, and brass emblems of Soviet Army uniforms, and small pieces of the Berlin Wall (they said), for sale. We wondered if all the little shards of concrete, complete with graffiti paint, were really authentic, or were they the result of entrepreneurial and artistic skill. The ten-inch pieces of the Wall that I have are for real. I have video of me hammering, and hammering to break the Wall. (1991)
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Near the end of WW II the US Army requisitioned Emmy’s German Cousins home, in Mettlach, Germany, and soldiers lived there for a few months. We were pleased to learn that when the Army finally left town, a note was written to the family thanking them for the use of their house. We hope no one got into trouble for leaving a couple of “GI shovels” in the attic. One is now in my cane collection. Soon after the war, French officials went door to door, collecting things like kitchen utensils, plates, tableware, and other such things, to distribute to French people who lost everything in the war that was, after all, started by the Germans, and won by the French, with help from the rest of us. (1945)
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Near the harbor in Ponape, Micronesia, (and on other South Pacific islands) there are huge piles of anchor chain, old ships, war machines of many kinds, thousands of tons of it, just rusting away. On a shallow reef way out in the middle of the ocean, a ship had been sitting on the reef, rusting away for decades. I wanted some anchor chain as a collectable, but could not find a short length of chain to take home with me. I found a man with an acetylene cutting torch, but he would not cut me a link or two of chain from the huge pile of anchor chain on the dock. He said that each tank of acetylene gas had to be imported from the US, and he wasn’t going to waste any of it on a tourist. (1980)
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Near the Tiber River in Rome, Italy, we made an illegal U-turn across a divider in the street, and found a nice shady parking place for the RV near Ponte Cavour, with St. Peter’s in sight across the River, just down Via Conciliazione. We walked to the shopping area, and before we had gone a block Emmy had disappeared into a Rome dress store. She soon returned with a two piece cool, cotton outfit that cost all of $16. (1980)
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Near the Trevi Fountain in Rome (the “Three Coins in the Fountain” fountain), Emmy wanted to buy a painting from an artist displaying his paintings in a street market. His price started at 40,000 Lire and Emmy got her offer up to 25,000L, but the best he would do was 35,000L. The Romans sitting at the sidewalk cafe commented loudly that was too much to pay for that picture. We thanked them for their advice, and since it was mounted in a large frame, we couldn’t figure how we could get something that large to our home, so no sale. (1980)
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Near Via Del Corso, on Via Della Vite, in Rome, Italy, we shopped in one of Rome’s outdoor street markets, where food, “fleas,” clothing, and artwork were for sale. For $16 the artist Ernesto Lupino sold us an excellent “oil on copper” painting, in a nice frame 7 inches by 8 inches, so it was easy to carry home. He signed his name on the back, dated it “23-6-1980,” and noted the city and street name, “Roma, Via Della Vite.” Another man had a pushcart filled with brass and copper pots, pans, and other objects. We bought three interesting 20 inch high brass oil lamps that had been used in church ceremonies of some kind. We later found the same lamps in three or four other places in Italy, with a price at least twice what we paid the street vendor in Rome. (1980)
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Near Wroclaw, Poland, we saw a truck blocking one lane of a two lane road, and we could see engine parts all over the place — a major overhaul. By the looks of things he may have been there for a couple of days already, and could be there for several more. There was no shoulder on the side of the road where he could have parked. In Wroclaw, we saw a wheel break off of a truck, and the truck just collapsed to the street with a clatter. On the highway near Skopje, Yugoslavia, we passed a big truck sitting mostly in the right lane of the highway, partially on the almost nonexistent shoulder, with the transmission removed, and spread around the road in many little pieces. In Sarajevo, pieces of two trucks that had been welded together, collapsed when the weld failed. Terrible disasters for the owner, in each case. (1985)
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Next door in the campground was a student group (one of dozens we have seen in many cities and countries, on both sides of the Iron Curtain) traveling in a “Top Deck” bus, an old double decked London bus outfitted with bunks (including a secluded “passion pit”), kitchen, toilet, and all of the facilities needed to accommodate a hardy bunch for a tour of Europe. One time we saw a huge, elderly, renovated city-bus from Stockholm that served the same function for a group of Swedish students. (1991)
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Next door to the campground in St. Leon, Germany, there were water-skiers, pulled by a high-speed cable that goes clear around the little lake. There were ramps for them to ski up, then fly through the air, and other obstacles for them to dodge. There was space for a dozen or more skiers on the cable, and skiers could be added or disconnected, while the main cable and the other skiers continued at high speed. We’ve never seen that elsewhere, in any country. (1991)
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Of all the roads we’ve driven, we would not recommend the road along Italy’s Amalfi Coast for beginners. Not just because the extremely narrow, twisty, sometimes water level, sometimes cliff hanging road might be difficult to drive, but the unbelievably gorgeous scenery makes it almost impossible for the driver to keep his mind and eyes on the job at hand. If possible, we recommend that you drive in the Western direction in the morning, and in the Eastern direction in the afternoon, otherwise the bright sunshine just adds to the driver’s challenge. (1980)
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Of great importance to travel agents and tour guides, the location of the Rhine River facilitates the movement of hordes of tourists from London and Amsterdam to mid-Germany, and on to Austria, Switzerland and Italy. The hundreds of passenger boats are a handy place to deposit trainloads and busloads of tourists, then a few hours or days later, the tour groups continue their vacation using surface transportation.
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Of much interest was our discussion with the young man who ran the antique store, located in a farmer’s barn a few miles east of Lübeck, Germany, in former East Germany. He appeared to be complaining that people in the West are too overbearing where people from the East are concerned. He said that for 40 years they were occupied by the Socialists from the East, and now they are being invaded by the Capitalist from the West. Then we found that he has always lived in the West, and had been hired to run this store, because for 40 years people in the East had little experience in commercial management of a store, or anything else of much value. He was careful that his employees from the East did not hear his comments to us, on their work ethic, or rather their lack of what the West considered a work ethic. (1991)
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Of special interest is the Stadtkirche in Freudenstadt, Germany, a unique, narrow, corner church, unlike any corner church we have seen elsewhere. It is formed like a “carpenter’s square” extending in two directions from the corner, with two matching steeples at the ends of the church. The congregation at the back of each end of the church can’t see each other, but the pastor can see them all, and they can see him. Almost the whole town of Freudenstadt was burned in 1944 during the war. They did a quick job of rebuilding. The town square is at least four times as big as the main square in most towns. (1985)
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Often I conducted a Humberd Poll. One year the Swedish question was, “Since people who don’t work are provided all of the necessities and many of the frivolities of life by the Government, when are the people who work and pay taxes, going to get tired of paying to support that way of life?” I asked about 32 people this question, on the subway, in the sauna I had a “heated” discussion with several men, at the edge of political rallies, and at a street corner. I would ask anyone who might want to talk. About 25 answers were, “We are already sick of this mess and want to change it, a little.” The people at the Communist party rally thought they deserved even more free goodies from the working class. All agreed that even if the most conservative political party in Sweden wins the election, not much will change. (1985)
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Often the picnic lunches, in many countries, are elaborate affairs with folding chairs, a folding table with a tablecloth, napkins, wine glasses and silver candlesticks — just a couple of feet from the speeding cars driving by. The tablecloth, and even the table, often wobbles in the breeze from passing vehicles. Lunch at the exhaust pipes. We always parked some distance from the traffic, when we stopped for lunch.
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Often we are asked, “What is your favorite town?” We always have an immediate answer, but rarely is it ever the same. Our favorite town is the last one we visited, the last one we talked about, or maybe the first name that comes to mind. Usually one village, town, or city is not better than the next, just different, but if we make a list, Dinan and Honfleur, France; Siena and Venice, Italy; Trier and Mettlach, Germany; Métsovo and Githio, Greece; Dubrovnik and Budva, Yugoslavia, and a thousand more, can be enumerated.
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On a day before a holiday, I asked, “What war are you celebrating?” A policeman said it was the birthday of the Prince. He told me (in a few words of German/English), “Luxembourg has neither won nor lost a war, we just seem to be in the way when other people are fighting their war.” I told him the following story, and he was quite impressed. After the Battle of the Bulge, Brother Paul drove his Army truck into Luxembourg on the day it was liberated, with a member of the ruling family riding with him, possibly the current ruling Prince. I asked Paul to contact the ruling family. Paul said, “No thanks.” He was awarded the Bronze Star for his heroics in that terrible battle, and didn’t care to revisit, or be reminded of anything, anywhere near the horrible Battle of the Bulge. One time when they had enough food for 10 people for one meal, Paul says, “We all picked out the best things, and let the Prince of Luxembourg have what was left.” (1989)
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On both ferry boat trips from Sicily to the mainland, I bought Emmy some breakfast — a ball of pasta, deep fried and coated with fine bread crumbs. Inside was rice with a spoonful of tomato-based stew. On the ferry from Sicily to the mainland, is the only place we have seen this food item. Not that we have often looked for prepared food, the best cook in the world is right here, in our RV. (1980)
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On more than one morning we have meandered through the narrow cobblestone streets of the ancient walled city of Sarlat, France. The city’s tone is set by the warm, cream colored, perhaps straw colored stone used for everything from paving stones, to flat roof tiles. We enjoyed the cathedral and the old stone buildings, as we walked through the gas-lamp lit (gas lamps at night, a pilot light during the day) narrow streets and lanes in this attractive venerable town. Sarlat has changed little since the 1600s, but we were told the stone buildings were cleaned for the umpteenth time in 1964. Once while we were stopped in a traffic jam on the edge of Sarlat, we discovered the first and only bread vending machine we have seen, but all the loaves were baked too brown for our taste. The traffic jam evaporated, and a bakery appeared in time. (1988)
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On more than one year Emmy was on a “Venetian glass bead” hunt. She often bought several necklaces and bracelets. She didn’t have several necks, wrists, etc., but she did have a lot of friends. Many of the beads look gaudy, but when she finds the right ones, they are very attractive, but sometimes it was difficult to find the Venetian beads in the length and color she likes. Beads, table cloths, and glass vases, etc., vary in price depending on where she buys them. There is usually a difference between the price in stores near the Rialto Bridge, and those near St. Mark’s, and yet more difference at the stores between those major tourist sights. Not many people have seen as many of Venice’s 117 islands, 150 canals, and 400 bridges, as we did, during our seven visits. (1988)
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On most ships, this Royal Caribbean ship included, people would walk around and around the deck, for their exercise. But this time, I found an alternative to the “round and round” stuff. Near each end of the MS Golden Odyssey, a seven-story staircase permitted a loop of up one set of stairs, walk the deck to the other set of stairs, then down, then back to the other stairs, etc., etc. The ship, the food, the service, the stateroom, and the passengers and crew on the MS Golden Odyssey were all excellent, as good as we have ever had on any ship. As you may well imagine, we could/would never eat this much of such good food, anywhere except on a cruise ship. (1978)
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On numerous occasions we have visited the impressive department store, Galeries Lafayette, which covers a couple of square blocks of Boulevard Haussmann, just behind the Opera in Paris, France. It must be considered one of the world’s ultimate department stores where one can buy “… the latest in fashions, perfumes, and frivolous things.” The huge four-story rotunda with its beautiful glass dome and three-floors of wrought-iron balconies, is certainly a landmark in Paris. One time, after walking through floor after floor of this magnificent store, we decided to have lunch in their cafeteria. It was so crowded it was almost impossible to get to the food counters, and it seemed the only way to get a table was to just stand and stare at people who were about finished eating, until they were embarrassed enough to leave. We then ignored the stares of the newcomers. It’s a really nice place for lunch, and we can’t imagine it’s always that crowded. (1985)
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On one trip to Hawaii, when we got to the room in the hotel in Hilo (on the big Island of Hawaii’s east coast), a big pineapple was waiting for us, a gift from the Travel Agent who arranged our trip. Emmy still says it was the best one she ever ate. When we looked around Hilo, we saw the damage that a tidal wave in 1960 had done. It really cleared off a large area, just removed everything that was in the way. The tsunami, caused by an earthquake in Chile, wiped out the waterfront of Hilo, killed 61 people, caused damage estimated at $20,000,000. We talked with a fisherman who had been in Hilo, when that happened. Then we drove to the Kona (west) coast, and stayed our first of several stays at the Kona Hilton Hotel. (