Author: Rich McClear

SitkaLeave a comment

A Day in the Life of a Semi-Retired Sitkan (June 5, 2014).

Rich McClear

I started the day telecommuting with places like Tbilisi, Georgia and Washington, DC.  (I am, after all, only semi-retired.)  Mid-morning there was time for a workout on my recumbent bike while listening to Grace play classic rock on Raven Radio.  Suzi, our friend Nan and I, were downtown in time to hear the glorious noontime change bell ringing at St. Michael’s cathedral.  Just after noon we took the few steps into the Centennial Building to enjoy a brown bag concert by artists from the Sitka Summer Music Festival — Bach, Chopin and Dohnanyi.  The glass wall behind the musicians framed … Continue reading A Day in the Life of a Semi-Retired Sitkan (June 5, 2014).

MoroccoLeave a comment

Marrakesh (Charming Cobras in the Square.)

Rich McClear

Marrakesh is a trading center, a vast walled city at the foot of the Atlas Mountains.  For many coming on the caravan trails it was the grandest city they would ever see.  The main attraction of Marrakech, for me, is watching the walls and minaret of the main mosque glow pink in the light just before sunset.  We’ve walked to the gate closest to the hotel to watch the transformation for two nights and can also see it from our hotel window. The main square, the Djemma el Fna makes Marrakesh different from anyplace else.  There really are “charming cobras … Continue reading Marrakesh (Charming Cobras in the Square.)

Morocco, TrainsLeave a comment

Take the Train from Casablanca going south. (The Marrakesh Express)

Rich McClear

I’ve never heard a train song I didn’t want to ride.  I’ve ridden the Rock Island Line and the City of New Orleans.  Some songs I can never ride.  The Super Chief and Phoebe Snow are 30 years gone.  But you can still “take the train from Casablanca going south.”   We rode the Marrakesh Express.  The song is more about anticipation than the ride, but the ride, while crowded, is worth it.  You clickety clack from the coastal flats through rolling hills and dessert.  There are settlements of brown adobe brick, circled by a wall, looking like they grew out … Continue reading Take the Train from Casablanca going south. (The Marrakesh Express)

MoroccoLeave a comment

Rabat Morocco

Rich McClear

From an October 2007 letter:  We’re in Rabat for a Pan-African Community Radio meeting.  In the evenings Suzi and I are free and wander Rabat.  Suzi says “we could live here.”  Rabat is a walkable city, relatively clean, French art deco, relaxed without the hassle (or excitement) of Casablanca.  A teenager grabs Suzi’s hand and starts doing henna artwork before she can protest.  I, of course, have to pay for it, a temporary souvenir of Rabat.  She is the only really aggressive tout we’ve encountered.  It is so unlike Cairo, Casablanca or Marrakech. On Friday we had only morning meetings … Continue reading Rabat Morocco

Austria, Easter Markets, Lent and EasterLeave a comment

Altwiener Ostermarkt, Freyung (Old Vienna Easter market at Freyung)

Rich McClear

Around the perimeter of the Altwiener Ostermarkt, Freyung (Old Vienna Easter market at Freyung Square) booths sell handicrafts, I bought an olive wood egg.  One sold live rabbits.  The food market and the wine tasting booths were across the street.  … Continue reading Altwiener Ostermarkt, Freyung (Old Vienna Easter market at Freyung)

Austria, Trains3 Comments

Railjet, Austria’s High Speed Train.

Rich McClear

Railjet is Austria’s high speed train.  While not as fast as Germany’s ICE (Suzi’s train from Brussels to Munich topped out at 275) or France’s TGV, we clocked a respectable 232 km per hour  (144 MPH) on the route between Munich and Vienna.  The train is comfortable with wi-fi (I took a picture when the speedometer tipped 200 and sent it out on FaceBook), a dining car, a cart that brings food to you and nice seats.  Taking pictures out of the windows at the alpine meadows at that speed was a challenge for my camera.  You don’t really feel … Continue reading Railjet, Austria’s High Speed Train.

Germany1 Comment

Freising, Bavaria, redux

Rich McClear

Freising is a town near the Munich Airport where the airport hotels are located.  But it is an old city.  It had a cathedral before Munich, a brewery too.  It is a place I lay over on trips to and from Tbilisi for jet lagging.  I have posted from this delightful town before, including a post about the oldest continuously operating brewery in the world.  These pictures are from an afternoon stroll around town.  Suzi had never been here and I wanted her to see it. Continue reading Freising, Bavaria, redux

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Domberg, The Cathedral Church in Freising

Rich McClear

Domberg is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  The current structure is a Romanesque building from the 13th century.  When you go in, however, it is a shock, because the interior had been redone in Baroque style in the 17th century.  It almost seems like a disconnect.  I once had an architecture professor who called the Baroque “Eclectic clutter.”  My reaction was “majestically bizarre.”  Elaborate frescoes, pink stucco, gilt and an alter piece originally painted by Rubens (The one there now is a reproduction, the original was carted off somewhere.)  The organ is really a baroque organ, the decoration is so … Continue reading Domberg, The Cathedral Church in Freising

GeorgiaLeave a comment

Georgia Road Trip, April 2014

Rich McClear

These are pictures taken on the back roads from Tbilisi to Gori and back in April with the spring blossoms just coming out and green buds just beginning to tip the limbs of trees and bushes.  The last picture is a housing development for internally displaced people (IDPs, or refugees) from the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008.  The three before that are entering Tbilisi.  The one what looks like a lattice was an award winning Soviet building.  It is now the Bank of Georgia. Continue reading Georgia Road Trip, April 2014

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Uplistskhe Cave City, Georgia

Rich McClear

Uplistsikhe was a town on the Mtkvari River along the Silk Road.  It thrived in pre-Christian times.  It was carved into sandstone with an amphitheater, worship chambers (with pits for animal sacrifices) and apothecary (with stone niches for different herbs.)  Some of the chambers were carved to look like they were wood plank inside.  Portals were carved into the stone to make entering the caves seem like entering a building. The nobility lived up on the hill, the commoners lived on the river flats.  From the top you get a good view of the abandoned stone houses below.  There is … Continue reading Uplistskhe Cave City, Georgia

GeorgiaLeave a comment

Ateni Sioni Monastery and Church

Rich McClear

The road from Gori to Ateni Sioni Church goes past the oval shaped Gori fortress.  The church was not opened and I did not get to see the fabled frescoes.  In fact it is under renovation and is surrounded by piles of stones that look like they will be used in replacing walls around the compound.  There is scaffolding around one side of the main church.  With the state of deconstruction the church does not look actvie.  The Atenis Soni Monastery (actually a convent) is about a mile away.  It is small and lovely.  A nun showed us around.  It … Continue reading Ateni Sioni Monastery and Church