Travel Snippets 8 of 9

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We found a large Esso gasoline terminal in Sundsvall, Sweden, where they sold cooking gas. The problem was, the regular pump had the wrong hose connection for our US built Dodge Van. The big delivery truck had the right connection, but no meter or gauge. They put in “some” and waved good-by, no charge, as they didn’t know how much they gave us. It would have been a couple of dollars worth, at most stations. Sundsvall’s campground was closed, the hotel was filled, so with the clerks OK, we spent the night in the RV in the hotel parking lot. People are so nice, everywhere in Europe. (1979)
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We found a grocery store in Florence, Italy, and bought all five jars of Planter’s peanut butter on the shelf. Peanut butter is almost impossible to find in Italy, perhaps the Italians don’t know what it is, or don’t care for it. We can just imagine the market manager is happy the peanut butter sold, he orders more, but we never come back. Later, in Vienna, Austria, when we met a family from Poland, we gave them the first jar of peanut butter they had ever seen. We became friends, so the next year, when they escaped from Poland we helped them move to the USA. After over 25 years, we are still the best of friends. The power of peanut butter. Peanuts were grown in Kenya, peanut butter made in So. Africa, distributed by a London Company, purchased in Florence, Italy, by Americans, given to a Polish family, in Vienna, Austria. International trade at its best. (1980)
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We found a parking garage where we could park our car for the 6 weeks, spent one night in a hotel, then enjoyed sailing on the SS Enna G under the San Francisco/Oakland Bridge, past downtown San Francisco, past Alcatraz Island, then under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean. I had done this when I was 17 years old, but under different circumstances, and without such a delightful Bunkmate. If the crew members on the troopship, the SS Marine Cardinal, were even slightly as delightful as my Bunkmate this trip, maybe I would never have left the Merchant Marine, just like for many years, I never left my beautiful Bunkmate for even a moment, unless absolutely unavoidable. (1980)
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We found an illegal parking space right in the middle of the wide street, along with all the others — curb parking places were all filled — then when we returned (we had just seen da Vinci’s “Last Supper”) for our RV, we saw a Milano, Italy, police car pause at each vehicle. The policeman would reach out the window in the heavy rain, and slap a parking ticket on the windshield of each lawbreaker. We watched him approach our RV, and laughed as he extended his arm, but could not reach the windshield. The Milano policeman refused to get out in the rain just to give us a parking ticket. After a couple of cars in front and back of us left, before the policeman could make a U-turn and return on the other side of the street, we made a many-back-and-forth U-turn and disappeared into the rain, Milan’s maze of streets, and the heavy traffic. (1989)
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We found ourselves almost trapped in a tiny town square in Coinillion, France, with only tiny streets leading in and out. Some one-way streets are one-way for the person who gets there first, the other must back out and take his turn. The young lady who helped us maneuver to get out of there was getting her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology, by studying a nearby town called Vernegues. The original village (now known as Vieux Vernègues — Old Vernègues) was destroyed on 11th of June 1909 by a terrible earthquake. We had a pleasant conversation with the young lady. (1988)
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We found that first and second gear on our rental car made a lot of noise, high gear was smooth and quiet. You haven’t driven until you drive on the Island of Truk — now known as the Republic of Chuuk — in Micronesia. The roads were so bad no one got into high gear long enough to wear it out. We saw no factories or businesses, just food and general merchandise stores. We were told the soil would not grow food crops. Nothing for people to do except spend their welfare money in one of the stores. Years ago, people on these islands spent their time fishing and gathering coconuts. Now it would be considered mean to make them follow that diet, so most everybody is on welfare. They stopped the import of beer, we were told that if anyone on the ship, M/S Enna G, took any alcohol to shore, they could be in a lot of trouble. (1980)
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We found the family dining room table at “Campobello,” President Roosevelt’s summer home, on Campobello Island, located on the Bay of Fundy in the Country of Canada, was set with Apple Pattern dishes, exactly the same pattern Emmy has owned for over 50 years. Could you imagine the fuss people would make these days, if the President, of either party, lived in another country while on vacation? (1986)
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We found the Island of Sardinia to be a land of contrast: there is a Sardinia of large villas, luxury hotels and yacht harbors; a Sardinia of mountains, shepherds and farmers; the archeological Sardinia with four to six thousand year old ruins; there is the Sardinia of women in confining black dresses, with long knitted black shawls; and the Sardinia of sunbathers wearing half of a tiny bikini. (1980)
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We had an interesting conversation with a lady we met in a grocery store. Born and raised in Lübeck, Germany, she described the horror of that Palm Sunday in March 1942 as her town was bombed, and friends were killed. But to illustrate how love can conquer all, she later married a British soldier, lived in England for 35 years, and had only recently returned to live in Lübeck after her husband passed away. Lübeck was the first German city to be bombed, during WW II. (1991)
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We had problems finding the campground in Budapest, Hungary, but finally found a sign and the crowded camp. It’s on the east side of the Danube River, north of downtown. A nice man who spoke German came to greet us and helped us get settled in the Budapest campground. Emmy was impressed when he kissed her hand. Buda is the hilly part on the west side of the Danube, and Pest is the flat industrial area on the east. These two parts (names) were combined in 1873. Near downtown there is a race track and a sports arena, also some nice office buildings and a large RR Station. We drove across the Danube on the Chain Bridge (1849), a magnificent sight when illuminated, and we also crossed on the Margit Bridge (1870s), but only had time to stop at Margaret Island (Margitsziget), one of Budapest's finest spots, for a moment. (1980)
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We have been told by many people that “free” camping (not in a campground) is done all over the country of Greece, and it’s very safe. We looked for a campground near Galaxídi, and when we didn’t find one, we parked on the shore of the Gulf of Corinth, near a Greek couple camping in their trailer. We don’t plan to ever just park somewhere by ourselves. Flocks of sheep, pink oleander, barren mountains, plenty of snow on Mt. Parnassos in the distance beyond Delfi, a beautiful place to camp. I talked to the very friendly man next door. He gave us his business card, said he was a lawyer, and we should call him if we have a problem while we are in Greece. Now that is a nice man. As the days and weeks passed, we found that he is a typical Greek. (1989)
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We have been unable to find records of people being killed in earthquakes, except when objects (buildings, trees, cliffs, boulders) fell on them. And since we live in California, we look for quake information, and maybe we “grasp at straws” in believing it. We have seen extensive earthquake damage in both Italy and Yugoslavia, and have experienced many earthquakes, but no damage, in California. Well, one time a chess piece fell off the game table, landed on the carpet, but it didn’t break. We had no insurance to cover the labor cost to return the chess piece to its place on the table. Ha. Well, I’ve heard of many cases in earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes, where someone was paid a large sum of money, for less damage. (1989)
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We have eaten lunch in our RV right under the Eiffel Tower; within the arms of the Louvre; next to the Brandenburg Gate; just below the Parthenon; within sight of the Coliseum; from across the Tiber River we could look down Via Conciliazione to St. Peter’s; with the Rock of Gibraltar out our window; across the street from Windsor Castle; across the river from Le Pont D’ Avignon; on a Norwegian fjord; and hundreds more. These European lunch spots were carefully selected, just like we carefully parked on the Pacific Ocean Beach many times, and with the best possible view of the New York City skyline, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Crater Lake with Wizard Island, and hundreds more in this country.
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We have had the “privilege” of waiting in line behind matrons in a Metzerei (a butcher shop) who each ordered a small piece, or three slices, of a half dozen different items. A typical German breakfast, “supper,” or snack, often consists of a variety of sliced meats and cheeses.
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We have seen hundreds of beautiful scenic locations in Europe and in the US, but for pure outdoor beauty, the Norwegian Fjord coast must be number one.
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We have seen many farm wagons pulled by horses in Poland, and have tried to take pictures. Of course we missed the best one, a wagon piled high and wide with hay, with three young men sprawled on top, just as nonchalant as can be. (1991)
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We have seen many street markets that consist of trucks set up as stores on wheels. The sides of these trucks are unfurled, and there are plenty of shelves on which to display their wares — shoe stores, kitchenware and gadgets, clothing, toys, hardware, the meat market, cheese store, bakery, fruit and vegetable dealers, fishmongers, antiques and “fleas,” and on and on. When the market day is over, the trucks are closed up, the area is swept clean and hosed down, and the space returns to its secondary role as a sidewalk cafe, or a parking lot. We’ve seen this dozens of times in such fascinating places as Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia; Perigueux, and Avignon, France; Cavallino, Italy, and a hundred more.
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We have seen several horse-drawn covered wagons in Ireland, the Irish version of a camper. Don’t know what they have inside, but we see them going slowly down the road with someone leading the horse. Wonder how many miles they wander in a day? (1980)
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We have stopped for a little look-around in Bologna, Italy, three or four times. The streets are lined with miles of red brick arcaded buildings, sidewalks paved with marble mosaic, with the ceiling of the arcade painted with beautiful artwork, or frescos. A most unusual shopping area. In Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, we visited the two old Bologna towers, built side by side at slight angles to each other, in the early 1100s. It’s obvious the foundations were purposely built at an angle. The Torre (Tower) Asinelli, built by the Asinelli family, is about 330 feet high, and leans 7 1/2 feet. Just a few feet away, the other, Torre Garisenda, while never completed, is 165 feet high and tilts 10 feet. The street next to the towers is named Zamboni, like the name of the man who invented the ice-machine used to smooth the ice at ice shows and hockey games. Frank Zamboni was born not far from Bologna.
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We have tried a number of things to overcome jet-lag. On one trip we spent our first night in the Sheraton Hotel at the Frankfurt, Germany, airport, but even that didn’t help too much, we are just overcome by this traveler’s malady each trip. It seems the long airplane ride lowers our resistance, and the change from the California desert climate is so abrupt, we sometimes catch a bad cold within a few days of arrival. Two or three years the airplane was only about half full, so we had four seats to try and use as a bed, but still didn’t get much sleep. Jet-lag gets to us, and we have found no way to solve the problem. Funny thing is, during the nighttime 747 flight from Guam to Hawaii in 1980, we both got some sleep in the half-empty plane, but we almost never got any sleep during the Los Angeles to or from Frankfurt flight. (1985)
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We have used the auto-train several times in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. If the weather had been sunny and pleasant, we planned to drive over the mountain, but since it was raining as we were going from Saltzburg, Austria, to Venice, Italy, we rode the auto-train that cost about $4 in 1970. An auto-train has many flatcars, built so we can drive from flatcar to flatcar, and stop right behind the vehicle in front of us. When all are loaded, the train goes through a very, very dark (like black) tunnel and comes out on the other side, maybe in nice sunny weather. Vehicles are carried through the tunnel below the English Channel on an auto-train. We’ve not tried that yet.
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We have visited 15 Roman Amphitheaters, 20 Greek and Roman theaters, and the Circus Maximus in Rome. The seating capacity ranges from a couple of thousand for some of the theaters, to 10 to 50,000 in the Amphitheaters, and as high as 300,000 in the Circus Maximus. How was the event advertised? Where did all these people came from? What about medical assistance (for spectators and participants alike), food, beverage, sanitation, and crowd control. With no public transportation, how did they get to and from home, and how long did it take them? If you figured Rome with maybe a million inhabitants, many are too young, too old, too ill, did not like to attend, so where did all the crowd come from. A city of a million inhabitants would cover 20 or 30 square miles at least, what a walk. Take a moment and think about the people in attendance. I’ve never seen an answer — this is the first time I’ve ever seen this question.
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We have visited a thousand cities and towns in a host of European countries and found that whole towns, and considerable parts of others, have not only been preserved, many have been freshened and revitalized, and thousands of ancient buildings, bridges, and streets are in everyday use.
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We have visited Salzburg, Austria, and Berchtesgaden, Germany, five different years, and each time it has rained and rained. Of course if it wasn’t for all the rain, the countryside wouldn’t look nearly so nice as it will if we ever get there when it isn’t raining.
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We have visited two main Islands on the Atlantic and the Pacific coast of Canada; Vancouver Island in the west, and Prince Edward Island on the east. We rode a ferry from Port Angeles, Washington, to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on Vancouver Island. It is a beautiful city, the provincial capital of British Columbia. The Legislative Buildings are very nice, they look much like State Capital buildings in the US. When we visited Prince Edward Island, I became ill (nothing to do with the Island), so we really don’t remember anything about the Island. That’s a shame. We headed for the USA where our Medical Insurance would be valid, in case it was needed. I did spend a couple of days in the hospital in Boston, but enough of that, it’s not a travel story. (1986)
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We headed for a mountainside across a valley from a volcano that had finally stopped erupting, after several years of activity. The volcano in El Salvador had erupted for several years, and a hotel had been built on an adjoining mountain, so people could watch the activity. Then the volcano stopped erupting about the same time the hotel opened. In Los Angeles, in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, the newspapers said the beautiful sunsets were a result of all the dust put in the air by this volcano located in El Salvador. (1978)
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We keep hoping we will see a product or service that would be nice to have in the US, and is not yet available there. Hasn’t happened so far. So many things we see in Europe are made in the US, and things we can already buy in the US have been made in Europe. It would be nice to make these trips deductible, if not profitable.
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We left Domodossola, Italy, headed north towards the Swiss border and the Simplon Pass, intending to drive to Zermatt, Switzerland, and the Matterhorn. Normally we prefer to drive the scenic route, but the past two days had been tough driving and it was getting late, so we decided to ride the train from Iselle, Italy, to Brig, Switzerland, through the Simplon Tunnel (dug, 1898-1906). It cost $23 and all we did was drive onto the flat cars, turn off the motor and relax until we got to the other end of the tunnel in 20 minutes. It’s really dark in there. (1980)
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We left the SS Odysseus at 8:00 AM to sight see on our own. Outside the port building, a long line of busses were waiting for those who paid for a tour of Istanbul, Turkey, but that did not include us. Before we crossed Galata Koprusu, the bridge over the Golden Horn, we walked past a line of sidewalk vendors selling bread and other kinds of pastry, fishing boats offering fish for sale, and there’s a ferryboat terminal, disgorging crowds of people. Both the Bosporus and the Golden Horn were filled with boats of all kinds and sizes, and many of them appear to be passenger boats. At the Yeni Cami (Mosque), a thousand pigeons were lined up on the steps and on the wires above, as if by a drill sergeant, waiting for tourists to feed them Semit Sesame bread rings, for sale right there, by street vendors. Pigeons remembered that from yesterday. (1989)
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We looked for a place to park and eat lunch. A couple of miles from the death camp in Auschwitz, Poland, we found a wide place in the road, parked and planned to eat lunch in our RV. We then discovered we were across the street from the remains of the concentration camp, Birkenau, built to hold millions of people, waiting to be moved to the Auschwitz death camp. We could not see the end of it, buildings extended beyond where we could see, with a high barbed wire fence and miles of brick buildings. We ate no lunch this day. (1985)
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We missed the chance to take a wonderful photo while we were visiting Martinsburg, PA, where I lived years ago. We were following an Amish family in their horse-drawn buggy, and in the back of the buggy were four blond haired, sleeping children, sitting in an arrangement that can be best described as a “baseball diamond” — home-plate and the three bases. Just beyond were the parents and the horses. The pose could not have been better if it had been planned. Norman Rockwell would have made another Saturday Evening Post cover from that sensational artistic creation. Wouldn’t you know it, our camera was in the trunk. We mentioned this to friends who lived in the area, and they had seen this same tableau. (1990)
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We must agree with these comments: In “Innocents Abroad,” (published 1867), Mark Twain said, “I … … confess that day by day the mass of my memories of the excursion have grown more and more pleasant as the disagreeable incidents of travel which encumbered them flitted one by one out of my mind.” In fact, Emmy and I don’t remember any extensive disagreeable circumstance, or at least any incident that had a lasting negative effect on our travels, for more than an hour or so at best. And I still don’t remember a real, specific unpleasant occurrence of any consequence. Well, someone broke into our RV two different years, and while it was distasteful, it really was just another “story” to remember and tell about our wonderful travels. The Traveler’s Checks were replaced, we still had the negatives for the stolen photos. It was not “trip-destructive” in any wide-ranging, long-lasting nature.
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We often conduct a “Humberd Poll.” After the Berlin Wall fell, the 1991 “German question,” asked in all parts of Germany with hand signals and finger pointing was, “Eins Deutchland besser Zwei Deutschland?” Is one Germany better than two Germanys? After a dozen or so queries, we could see a pattern developing. Usually the answer was an enthusiastic yes. The “nos” made sense after we asked more questions. Young people in the West were not happy with tax increases needed to rebuild the East, young people in the East were excited about their chances for an improved life. The pension of older people in the East, based on the East German Mark, does not buy enough to live well, and they have no way to earn money needed to take advantage of the improved situation. Most older people in the West were excited to see their country returned to “normal.” I think that is still true in 2007. (1991)
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We often find a continuous high wall built right to the edge of the sidewalk in many countries in Europe. Usually the wall is part of a building, and sometimes it’s simply a garden wall. We are always alert for an open gate. We may see just a parking area, but perhaps a lovely garden courtyard, sometimes with an outdoor cafe, will provide that perfect “photo opportunity.”
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We often say, ”Wonder what the baker had for breakfast?” and “Which year did he make the mistake, the year it tasted so good, or the year it tasted normal?” Or is it just our taste buds, or the extent of our hunger.
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We often see a large red light at the top of the light standard in Italy, then green arrows directing us ahead or left or right or all three at the same time. Never have figured exactly why the red light is almost always on.
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We picked up our RV on the exact day Gorbachev was thrown out of office in the Soviet Union, in 1991. If a war broke out in Moscow, someone would order the 250,000 Soviet Soldiers in Eastern Germany to come home, and we didn’t intend to be in their way. We could just imagine what the former East German and the Polish countryside, the stores, gas stations, streets and highways, would look like, during and soon after the “invasion in reverse” by an Army with little or no food, gasoline, or money. (1991)
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We planned to spend a few days on Sardinia, and since the ferry to Trapani, Sicily, only ran every once in a while, we had to make a reservation. Our usual rule was: (almost) never a reservation, (almost) never a problem. For a day or two the computer that was used to make reservations was not working, but then we bought a one night first-class ticket for us, and a space for the RV, at a cost of $144. We had asked if it was possible to spend the night in the RV, they said no, and when we found a truck filled with smelly sheep parked right next to our RV, we were happy that we had paid for a room. The next morning when we unloaded at Trapani, Sicily, the sheep were even more smelly. We did sleep in the RV while sailing from Italy to Greece in 1989. (1980)
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We recrossed the bridge over the Golden Horn on the way back to SS Odysseus. It was nearing lunch time, the restaurants were becoming crowded, the fishermen were still selling fish, the street stands were still selling pastries, the ferryboat terminal was still disgorging passengers, a thousand pigeons were eating, others waited to be fed. Those same street scenes will continue until we return to Istanbul, Turkey, some day soon. (1989)
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We remarked to Emmy’s German Cousins that in two visits, we had spent more time visiting the Maginot Line on the border with France, than it took the German Army to cross it, all those years ago, during WW II. (1995)
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We remember a young lady in the uniform of the Italian Post Office, who turned off the motor on her little Post Office Vespa motor scooter and coasted down a long, long, street in Siena, Italy. To summarize Siena: the Plaza del Campo — Siena’s civic center — is incredible; the Torre del Mangia — the fairest tower in Italy — is astonishing; the Palio delle Contrade — an exciting bareback horse race — is phenomenal; the Duomo (Cathedral) — built with horizontal dark green and white stripes — is conspicuous; the streets are exhilarating — Siena invites a stroll through its narrow streets, lined with palaces and patrician mansions. (1980)
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We remember Goslar, Germany, with slate-siding shingles, Wolfenbüttel and Celle with beautiful half-timbered buildings, and now Luneburg, mainly built of brick. Many distinct designs have been created with bricks of various colors, such as twisted rows of bricks giving an appearance of a cable-like effect. Other buildings have scrolled or stepped gables and jagged roof-lines with towers and peaks. However, in Luneburg there’s a brick building we couldn’t understand. Was that huge bulge on the building’s wall created by a jokester who was a talented bricklayer; was this the best an untalented bricklayer could do; or maybe it was just a sign of the building’s age. (1985)
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We remember hearing that the buffet lunch at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, on the Island of Hawaii was outstanding (hotel was built by Laurance Rockefeller, and rooms were affordable by people of that type), so we dropped by and found the buffet lunch was indeed excellent. We visited this hotel a few years later for our 30th anniversary dinner, the best food, best ambiance of any of the 54. During one trip to the big Island of Hawaii, we picked up a ten inch piece of volcanic lava and brought it home with us. (1977)
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We remember the Italian soldiers we talked to at the McDonald’s restaurant, near the Spanish Steps in Rome (at that time, the only McDonald’s in Rome). They assured us, “There are no Italian soldiers, only Italian uniforms.” (1989)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - We rented a car on the Island of Majuro, in the Marshall Islands. There are only a very few miles of roads on this island. You can’t imagine the mile after mile of acre after acre of the most beautiful sandy beach with a crystal clear blue ocean, and not a person in sight. We bought several hand-crafted coasters and hot-pads made of fiber or reed, with small shells around the outside edge. One still has the tag that identifies the maker as “Bellita,” a pretty name I have never heard elsewhere. In early December 1979, they had a storm with 25 foot waves, and it looked like it. Much of the housing was completely destroyed. The US Government had erected tent cities for those people, and for people from other nearby islands that were damaged even more than Majuro. The Post Office and the Bank of America were about the most substantial buildings, and they each had some damage. (1980)
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We rode four cable-cars to the top of the Schilthorn in Switzerland, where the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” had been filmed in 1969. We remember the cost as $80 for the four of us round trip, in 1970. After the movie, they finished the building on top of Schlithorn Mountain as a revolving restaurant. The view from the restaurant is reported to be one of the most magnificent anywhere, you can see into Germany, France and Italy on a clear day, during the one hour long 360 degree rotation of the restaurant. But with the cloud cover the day we visited, from the restaurant we could almost see the patio. A few years later, one of these cable cars had a problem, the car filled with passengers dangled in midair for some time. I don’t remember the details about injuries, or worse. (1970)
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We rode the subway from the Campground near the Bredang Station, an “aboveground” station of the Tunnelbana (subway), to downtown Stockholm, Sweden. The city is built on a huge rock, at many places there are boulders sticking out of the ground, and the subway tunnel is often just natural rock. We walked in the rain, then visited the underground shopping center in the downtown area. A lady was singing while she played “How Great Thou Art” on a battery powered organ, so we joined her in singing. She wanted us to take the mike, but we’re not that good. Later Emmy spoke to another woman who had been listening to the music. They cried together as she told Emmy of her very young husband, who died recently. My Angel was so sweet. But she wasn’t here to comfort me at my time of great need. (1985)
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We sailed from Athens, Greece, on the SS Odysseus, and visited the Greek Island of Míkonos; Istanbul, Turkey; Yalta, Crimea; and Odessa, Ukraine. The ship had recently been sailing in the Caribbean. The tour director said those passengers were mainly Americans, and they were so much friendlier, and so much easier to get along with, than the European passengers that sailed from Athens. We were happy to hear that. We noticed most passengers on our cruise tended to congregate with others from their own country. It’s also obvious the English are different from the Germans, who are different from the French, who are different from the Italians, who are different from the Greeks, who are different from — whoever. Viva La Difference! That’s diversity as it is intended to be, from country to country, not the phony diversity of people going to another country, and taking their culture with them, and refusing to assimilate. (1989)
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We sailed from the town of Oranjestad, on the Caribbean Island of Aruba, to the city of Cartagena, Columbia, South America, on the M/S Golden Odyssey. After 4 or 5 hours of walking and taxiing around that city, we sailed to the Panama Canal. Admittedly we did not see much of interest in Cartagena, except for the harbor area, and several apartment buildings that were being built, but it was a pleasant few hours. Since Cartagena is in Colombia, South America, that does permit us to say we have visited there. It wasn’t much, but we did touch that country and that continent, and that does permit us add to our count of places we have visited. (1978)
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We sailed on the Princess Line’s first ship, the TSS Carla-C, for our first cruise, sometime in the late 1960s. Many years later, we saw the Carla-C docked in Genoa, Italy, no longer chartered by the Princess Lines. Launched in 1951, named the Flandre, her maiden voyage had been considered a complete disaster, as she experienced mechanical difficulties, then returned to her builders for thorough repairs. A few years later the boilers were replaced with diesel engines. In 1992, the Carla Costa was sold to Greek cruise company Epirotiki, and renamed Pallas Athena, after the Greek goddess. For the Epirotiki Line, she ran seven-day cruises from Athens to the Aegean Isles and Turkey. On March 23, 1994 the Pallas Athena was disembarking passengers at her Athens-dock when a fire started in an empty stateroom. The ship was towed to the outer areas of the harbor and declared a total loss.
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We sat in the lounge of the Grand Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland, acting like we belonged, and enjoying the pianist playing beautiful music. We then went to a grocery store and bought goodies needed to prepare our meal in the RV. Most likely no one in the Grand Hotel would agree, but it’s nice we both agree our way is the best way, the only way for us to travel. (1980)
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We saw a small crowd of people waiting for the arrival of a car bringing the Bride. The Groom met her with a bouquet of flowers, and everything was being recorded by three video cameras. We stayed to the side, out of the way, since we looked out of place in our tourist grungies, while all around us people were dressed in finery, and San Leo's Cathedral was decorated with flowers for the Italian wedding. (1989)
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We saw some RVs on the dock in Gíthio, Greece, and joined them, thinking we had campsite company for the night. We soon found they were in line to catch the 11:00 PM ferryboat to the island of Crete. That would have been fun, but we had already purchased tickets on a cruise ship that will visit Crete, a week or so from now. We then moved to the other end of the pier, where several people were spending the night in their RVs. In an antique store in Gíthio I found the Greek shepherd’s staff I had been looking for. An excellent addition to my collection. Emmy said, “I have an eccentric husband. He’s walking around town trying to look like a Greek shepherd.” A Greek store clerk asked where I had found it. He wanted a Shepherd Staff also, but they are not readily available. (1989)
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We shared a dish of ice-cream at the Häagen-Dazs store in the Piazza della Signoria, with the Palazzo Vecchio (the Florence, Italy, city hall), Loggia della Signoria (an open, but covered, space for public ceremonies), and a replica of Michelangelo's statue of David, in view. (1988)
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We shopped in the tourist stores in Métsovo, Greece, but while there are plenty of nice things, the only thing we bought was an old market scale that I liked. Usually a market scale has a long horizontal bar and a weight is moved along the bar to determine the weight of whatever. This one is different since the bar, which has a heavy lump of brass on one end, is itself moved, rather than moving a weight on the bar. The next day we discovered some “new” thingumajigs quickly become a fad. Yesterday I bought the first scale I had ever seen of a particular design, but already today we find several old women in Tríkala’s marketplace using a similar scale. Their scales have three chains and a pan, while ours has two chains, each with a large hook used to snag bags of something. (1989)
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We slept until 9:00 AM, and saw the campground was nearly empty as we left for downtown Châlons, France, looking for a laundromat. I asked a beautiful lady in a hair salon for her help. (I always look for the beautiful ladies, I am so used to having one nearby for all these many years.) I figured correctly that a lady in a hair salon would know the location of the nearest laundromat. She was thrilled to have a chance to practice her English. We gave her a copy of our book Invitation to France. Over the years we camped in Châlons three times, but until 1989 we hadn’t visited downtown. As is the case in most any town in this part of the world, it’s very pleasing and entertaining. The Cathedral, the market square, parks, monuments, nice shopping areas, all very nice indeed.
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We spent a night at the Hotel Union in Geiranger, Norway. We had a nice room, with an excellent view of the Fjord, and nice meals, very pleasing. It was expensive, I had asked the price of a double room, they thought I could multiply by two, as they did when we paid the bill. This hotel was started in the 1800’s in an old house. They added wings and rooms, then last year they finally tore down the old house. It’s now run by the third generation. Talked with the wife of the second generation. She came to Geiranger Fjord as a worker in 1928, married the boss in 1933. She told how hard it is to get good hotel workers these days, and it’s even harder to get a good day’s work out of them. She suggested the caliber of the guests has also deteriorated. Not us, of course. (1979)
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We spent a night in the campground in Gulpen, The Netherlands. Many times a campground in The Netherlands was filled with long term parkers only, we would have to look for another. Once they let us park just outside the gate, and plug the electric cord in the restroom. Most trailers seemed to be parked forever in Gulpen, so they had a restaurant and a nightclub. The band had a saxophone, drums, and other instruments, and they played an unusual style of music. We recognized “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny” (written in 1917, for WW I), and all the rest sounded just like that. As we traveled throughout Europe, we found Netherlanders in most campgrounds — if you counted the countries represented in the most campground, The Netherlands would win. Many times a dozen or so trailers traveled as a group, and most every time they were from The Netherlands. (1983)
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We spent the night in a campground near Honfleur, France, that was rather new (it looked like it), rather isolated (we thought), the desk clerk was rather crabby (of that we were sure). (1991)
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We stayed in the RV in the campground on the edge of Horbourg, France, and found a delightful small hotel in town, complete with breakfast, for Toni and Hannah (Emmy’s Cousin and Emmy’s sister). When we picked them up the next morning, we found Hannah had missed one of two steps and made a grand entrance into the dining room for breakfast, flat on her face. Neither Hannah nor the floor were damaged. (1980)
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We still have receipt No. 14687, dated Aug. 25, 1970, that shows we paid 2850 lire ($2) for the RV and four people (Emmy, daughter Linda, friend Linda, and me), two nights in Rome — 25¢ per person, per night. Nineteen years later on this same month and day, Linda and Dan’s daughter Christiana was born. Dan’s parents were both born in Italy. Just a couple of coincidences, no other connection.
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We stopped a policeman in Ireland to ask directions. He looked a little puzzled as he came over to us, and he was surprised to hear us speak English. He had seen our German license plate, and expected we would speak German. He was an Irish policeman, right out of Hollywood. His accent, and his syntax were perfect. Wonder where he learned to talk like that, he must go to a lot of movies. We had a pleasant conversation. He was interested in our travels, and our mode of travel. (1980)
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We stopped at a large, new, very nice supermarket in Taranto, Italy. It seemed funny to us, on a Monday morning, the day after a weekend and the day before another holiday, a supermarket is open early, but has so few customers. One man said, with a sheepish grin, “Italians don’t like to get moving after a weekend of rest.” A holiday is coming soon (like tomorrow), and the day after the holiday the stores will be closed half-day (Wednesday). They may not be organized in everything, but the Italians never miss a chance to close the store and take the day off. The lady in front of us received the Italian version of “Green Stamps” for her purchase, and when we gave her ours, she was so thrilled, you would have thought we had given her the moon. (1989)
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We stopped at a roadside rest area in Poland for lunch. There was a snack-bar trailer that was selling lunch, and other travelers had stopped for rest or food. We still had the problem with the RVs water system, the tank is almost empty, and the pump does not work. What next? I then looked and found that when I stored the two pieces of the Berlin Wall that I had hammered a few days ago, I laid it under the seat, in the storage area near the water pump. After crossing a few bumps in the road, it had moved a few inches, and was on top of a switch that controlled the water system. Who would expect trouble with the Berlin Wall after it was demolished? Wish all problems were as easy to fix as that one. (1991)
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We stopped at the beach between Methóni and Giannitsochori, on the west coast of Greece and found tons of smooth stones, worn into almost perfect shapes — balls, egg shape, disks, etc. Never before have we seen miles of beach with stones perfectly shaped like this. (1989)
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We stopped for breakfast along the road somewhere. Emmy usually has “Swiss-Miss” cocoa (brought from the US.) with a little instant coffee, she still has “schinken,” German ham she bought in Luxembourg, that she puts on bread, and usually drinks some orange or apricot juice. I have more of an assortment — nuts, cheese, dates, peanut butter, bread, honey, orange or pineapple juice, and Ovaltine. When we can find it, the cheese is English Cheddar, the Velvetta found mostly in Germany, or the similar Laughing Cow (that really is the name of a cheese). That’s not really roughing it, is it?
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We stopped in a wooded rest area in Poland for lunch. There were two boys, about 10 or 12 years old, who came over to see what we were doing. Emmy gave them each a dollar, a coke with two straws, two sticks of gum, some candy, and gave them two packs of tropical fruit punch powder mix. Wonder if their mother ever figured out how to mix it. (1985)
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We stopped in an area with slate mines, and found miles of piles of debris and rubble, resulting from mining in this part of Wales for hundreds of years. We took a tour down into one of the mines. They had a miner leading our group, but when we arrived at a place of interest he turned on special lights, and a tape recording told the story of working conditions in the slate mines in Wales, all those years ago. Sure would not want to do something like this for a living. Unbelievable how they lived and worked, and the miles of fragments of slate and pieces of rock piled above ground here. Really spoils the countryside, but what can be done with it now? (1980)
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We stopped in Breda, The Netherlands, to get some Dutch money, and the lady at the bank said this is a good time to get money, as there is a sale in town today. In answer to Emmy’s question, yes there is a flea market today also. We looked but did not buy, flea or otherwise. (1983)
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We stopped to buy a Rotterdam city map at an Autobahn rest stop in The Netherlands, and as we approached downtown Rotterdam it sure came in handy. Since we now had a map, we knew without a doubt, we had just missed our turnoff. Without the map we would not have been absolutely sure. (1985)
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We stopped to see Brigitte and Paul, the people we met in Africa last year. Brigitte’s parents own and operate the Coco Chanel shop, and Paul and Brigitte run another shop, a few doors away, on Paradis, the main shopping/walking street in Nice, France. We took them to lunch in Nice one year, and we had dinner in their high-raise condominium, high on the mountain side overlooking the city of Nice and the Mediterranean Sea, another year. (1980)
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We stopped to snap some photos, and saw what looked like several trailers parked on a little point of land, sticking out into the Mare (Sea) Ligure (Italy’s west coast). So up and up we went, then down and down and around we went, and sure enough there were a dozen trailers parked right under the “No Camping” sign at Monterosso, the northmost of Italy’s Cinque Terre (five lands), so we joined them. We walked around the town, then rested and watched a dozen more trailers and RVs come in and park where there really wasn’t room for them. Some people were standing around talking, directing traffic, so we thought they must be friends and members of a club. One man said, “No, camping is free, this area is crowded every weekend.” The Italians are polite and helpful, an attitude not found in all parts of the world. (1988)
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We talked to a driver of a tour bus, parked at a museum in The Netherlands. He had lived in the US for awhile and liked it very much. He had to return to Holland in an emergency (his mother died) and in his haste did not get some official paper taken care of properly, and now he cannot return. When he can get his papers fixed properly, he will go back to the US. He says in Holland, people get paid for working or not working, and how hard he works has nothing to do with his current pay, and his future. In America, if he works hard, he can get ahead. (1979)
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We talked to people at a couple of banks in Geneva, Switzerland, and asked why we should have a Swiss bank account. What it boils down to, but is not said straight out, “If there is money to hide, hide it in a Swiss Bank.” Don't we wish. That includes us out. (1979)
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We think Bern, Switzerland, would be our favorite place to live in Europe. Downtown Bern is situated on a high level place with a sharp drop down to the “U” of the River Aare. There are blocks of arcaded shopping streets, with excellent stores set back under the second floor, protected from the weather. A beautiful clock tower is in the middle of The Marktgasse, the smart and lively main street. We saw nice homes and apartment buildings, parks and open areas, the Bernese Alps not far away. Near the Capitol building there are large game boards (squares three feet on a side) painted on the street. Shoppers stop and play a game, or a few moves of chess. A flat at Kramgasse No. 49, rented by Albert Einstein in 1903, has been restored in the style of that period. By 1995 we had visited here several times, and Bern is still a favorite. (1970)
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We told Emmy’s Cousin Hugo that maybe the Germans did capture Greece. There must be more German tourists there now, than German soldiers when he was there in WW II. One German couple said they were on their 22nd vacation in Greece. They have traveled here by plane, car, train and for the last seven years, they have visited in their RV. In some parts of Greece there were so many German tourists some of the gas stations had signs in German. In one station the man noticed our German license plates and spoke to us in German. On one beach where we spent a night, there were several RVs from Germany. (1989)
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We try to imagine a Gothic cathedral, the cathedral organ, a choir of a thousand voices and the hymns “Amazing Grace,” “Because He Lives,” and “How Great Thou Art.”
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We visited Covent Gardens in London, England, and found the flea market called Jubilee Market, was only open on Monday morning, and by now it was Monday afternoon. Emmy just ain’t got no luck at all on some days. But when we visited on a another Monday morning, we did find a nice heavy brass kettle that she bought. The pot is 7 inches high, 8 inches in diameter at the top, 6 1/2 inches at the bottom, with a bail handle. There is an interesting scar/scratch on one side. Covent Gardens was the location of the fruit and vegetable market in London for many years. After they built a new market place outside London, the charming Covent Gardens was refurbished and is an interesting shopping, restaurant, and entertainment center. No one would dare suggest replacing it with a modern cityscape. (1980)
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We visited da Vinci’s “Last Supper” in Milano, Italy, three times — in 1970 before the most recent 22 year renovation started, and twice while it was being renovated. Newspaper photos are on display, showing the damage when Milano was bombed on Aug. 15, 1943. A little of the top of “The Last Supper,” the side wall, and the roof were destroyed. Only the end walls — da Vinci’s “Last Supper” (15 feet by 29 feet) at one end, and Montorfano’s “Crucifixion” on the opposite end, survived. This is what must be bizarre about fame. Montorfano’s painting, approximately the same size, as detailed and complicated, as beautifully created as de Vinci’s more famous work, painted at about the same time, and still in great shape, is mostly unknown. Our son-in-law’s father lived in Milano at this time, but he remembers nothing special about Aug. 15, It was just another of the many days of bombing during his days as a teenager during WW II. (1989)
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We visited the Hawaiian Island of Kauai for the first time in 1968. About ten years earlier they had filmed the movie “South Pacific” on this island, and the residents were very proud of that fact. We were told how to find the “real” natural water slide that was supposed to have been used in the movie. It was a long difficult hike, but well worth the effort. We didn’t slide down the slide, but there were many others who did. It turns out this real slide was so isolated and it would be so difficult to get all the movie equipment to this location, so they built a copy of this slide, a few miles away, that was used to make the movie.
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We visited the Lego Company’s version of Disneyland, in Billund, Denmark. It’s a miniature city, somewhat like Madurodam at The Hague, Netherlands, and Swissminiatur, the museum of scale-model buildings found in the Swiss town of Melide. At Legoland they have small versions of the Taj Mahal, Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the US Capitol building, and many, many more, all built with Lego blocks. The man who ran the elevator in the observation tower had recently visited San Francisco. He had been offered a job by the Green Peace organization, but since he did not have the needed official immigration papers, they said they would forge any needed documents for him to stay in the USA. Sounds like a nice patriotic organization. Not. (1985)
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We visited the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican, when they were experimenting with a method of cleaning the art, in 1980. We visited again in 1985 while ceiling renovation was being carried on, and yet again in 1989 when the artwork was perhaps 80% renewed. We knew immediately when we had reached the Sistine Chapel — everyone in the room was standing, with eyes turned toward the ceiling. It was closed the day we visited in 1970, therefore our motto, “If we can’t see IT this trip, we’ll see IT next time,” certainly applied to our visits to the Sistine Chapel. After 20 years of painstaking craftsmanship, on December 11, 1999 the Pope presided at the ceremony to celebrate the full restoration of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo’s ceiling, his painting of the Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar, and both Chapel side-walls are now uniformly bright, glittering with vivid blues, rich crimson and gold, and long-forgotten details.
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We walked along the outside of the U shape of the River Lot, to the six-arched, three towered stone Valentré Bridge, in Cahors, France. The bridge is a fine example of mediaeval military architecture, built 700 years ago as part of the city’s fortification. All over Europe, rivers large and small have been engineered into canals, with locks and dams to facilitate boat traffic. Right next to the Valentré Bridge, I pointed and told Emmy, “There’s the locks.” Her response, “Wonderful, where are the cream-cheese and bagels?” Her favorite breakfast was “lox, cream-cheese and bagels.” (1988)
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We walked around for much of the afternoon, a very easy and entertaining pastime in Venice, Italy. As we neared the dock to catch the vaporetto to our campground on Punta Sabbioni, (north of Venice) it started to rain. And boy did it rain! And boy did we run! A vaporetto has mainly open decks and very little inside space. All those Italians and Tourists became very friendly, crowded together. It rained so hard there was an inch or more of fresh rain water standing on top of the water in the lagoon, it couldn’t mix in as fast as the rain fell. The Ship Captains (or whatever they call them) couldn’t see very far, so they just blew their horn, and the boats just sat there and didn’t move during the worst of the storm. However, the flooded “streets” were of no inconvenience to the Venetians. (1980)
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We walked around Parma, Italy, and when we stopped for an ice cream cone the storekeeper joked with us (sign language, pointing, and laughter) about the exchange rate of lire for a dollar. He indicated that since the number of lire we received for each dollar had just increased, he should be able to charge us more for an ice cream cone, than he charged his Italian customers. (1985)
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We walked down the steps in back of Rome’s city hall toward the Roman Forum, and saw some people going down some steps to a basement, so we followed them. We found it was the Mamertine Prison (since before 105 BC), where the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul were supposedly imprisoned a couple of millennium ago. There are two levels to the prison, and it’s an inspiring but depressing sight. As we went out the exit, we found the exit door led to the steps where we had been resting, when we visited Rome a few years earlier. We had to move from our resting place because a tour group came out that door. The exit door was unmarked, we didn’t know about the prison then. (1985)
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We walked through crowded Taormina, Sicily, for a few hours, including another visit to the old Greek Theater, with a view of Mt. Etna in the distance, and the Sea far below. Both the town of Taormina, and the ancient Greek theater, are genuinely stimulating destinations. With its location high on the edge of a 700 foot cliff overlooking the Mar Ionio (Ionian Sea), we don’t remember any of the nearly 20 Roman and Greek theaters we have seen in several countries, that is situated with such a fabulous view, and whose perspective compares. With the Sea far below, with snow capped Mt. Etna silently smoking in the distance high above the stage, this is a genuinely exhilarating site. (1989)
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We watched as a wedding party left the Metropolitana Basilica, an exceptional church built of white marble, in Urbino, Italy. A crowd of mostly high-school aged kids were cheering and throwing rice at the mid-to-late 60’s bride and groom. We got the impression they were cheering for a favorite school teacher, or some other well-liked public figure. (1989)
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We watched as umbrella-sheltered tourists clutching wind-blown coats, crowded aboard the tour boats that disappeared into the dark and gloomy distance, to visit the three Borromean Islands, in Lake Maggiore, Italy, — Isola Bella (Beautiful Island), Isola dei Pescatori (Fishermen’s Island), and Isola Madre (Mother Island). Despite reports that Lake Maggiore has a warm, mild climate, the time we were there, it was raining so hard and the weather was so bad, we decided these islands would have to wait for our next visit. We could faintly see building skylines in the distance, but it was too foggy to tell if we saw one island or two or three. The weather is not always thus. During their trip in 1994, my brother Paul and his wife noted in their journal, “This tiny island (Isola Bella) is one of Italy’s showplaces. With the mild climate & sun filled days, flowers were everywhere, magnolias, camellias & azaleas were the most common.” (1989)
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We watched the Dodge RV Van swing at the end of a cable, as they loaded it into the hold of the TSS Stefan Batory. Then on October 21, 1985 we left Rotterdam and sailed to London. From there we continued across the Atlantic Ocean (nine nights) to Montreal, Canada. I’m sure you will understand why it wasn’t boring for me. Well, I love to travel on a ship, and in addition to Sweetie as my fascinating special Bunkmate, there was the tall, slender German lady who visited the Sauna almost as often as I did. Well Sweetie thought I was just making up this part of the story, so just guess how she was dressed, or rather … … . Rules were unambiguous, look but don’t touch. Never once recognized her on the ship when she was dressed. In Montreal we again watched the Dodge RV Van swing at the end of a cable, as they unloaded it onto the dock. Then we drove home to California. (1985)
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We were admitted to a dress rehearsal of the operetta, “The Student Prince,” on the grounds of the Heidelberg Castle, the scene of the original operetta. Singers would appear on this balcony and that, flood lights appeared as if by magic, and the orchestra filled the old castle grounds with glorious music. What a contrast from the last time we had seen this operetta, at the High School Auditorium in Palm Springs. (1979)
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We were asked this question several times in former East Germany, “Did people in America know there were two Germanys?” They were shocked to hear we knew about their country, and even more shocked to hear how happy the people in the US were when the Berlin Wall fell. All they were taught about the USA was that we hated the people in East Germany, and that we were hungry and poor. One time, as we spoke with several young people, a young man from Munich arrived and confirmed what we had said. His company had sent groups of people to the US for three months at a time, and when they returned they regaled their friends with stories about “low” prices and “great” service in the US. It made us proud to hear, but sad to think other countries have yet to reach our standard of living. (1991)
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We were camped a few yards from Lake Maggiore, and 25 feet above the water. I convinced Emmy this land has been here for a million years, so don’t be concerned about the heavy rain and lightening storm, we aren’t going to slide into Lake Maggiore. Now if I had only convinced myself, perhaps I could have slept better that stormy, stormy, night. (1989)
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We were in Vienna, Austria, on August 15 one year, perhaps a holiday of some unknown name. A Catholic priest walked through the campground with a portable loud speaker announcing he was going to hold a service. They sang “Amazing Grace,” and other hymns that we almost recognized. (1985)
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We were on our way from the French Riviera to Italy, and were in a traffic jam inside the tunnel at the border, near the Italian end of the tunnel. In the mirror I could see people making U-turns and going back to France. Suddenly the traffic jam in Italy was cleared, a car entered the tunnel at high speed, and as it came from the bright sunlight the driver was unable to see the next car start a U-turn