Suzi and I are running a workshop in a Hilton Hotel in Istanbul. We’re working with Syrian broadcasters. We could be in any Hilton Hotel in the world. This one is far from the interesting parts of the city, surrounded … Continue reading Istanbul Oddities.
Thursday night was our last night before I took off for Tbilisi. At sundown we were on the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn. It was a beautiful night with the call to prayer melding with tram bells and music … Continue reading Golden Horn at Dusk
One evening, at sunset, we went to the park between Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. We watched the night architectural lights come on at both buildings as the sun set and the evening call to prayer came from three … Continue reading Evening Call to Prayer
Instnbul has a hop on- hop off boat that cruises between Europe and Asia in a two hour round trip. Continue reading Istanbul’s Hop on – Hop off Boat
We took the new light rail to the Spice Market. This week Istanbul is full of the world’s humanitarian aid leaders, at the Humanitarian Summit, but because of terrorism threats tourism overall is way down. One man said “come into … Continue reading Istanbul Spice Market
On Monday we met our friend Andrea Lemieux, a former IREX, colleague for lunch and a visit to one of her favorite places in Istanbul. The Kariye Museum (Chora Church). Constantine built it outside the walls of Constantinople, although this … Continue reading The Kariye Museum (Chora Church)
The last time we were in Istanbul the Suleymaniye Mosque was closed for renovation. This trip I finally got in to see a mosque that has intrigued me since I took a history of architecture class at St. Olaf. I … Continue reading Suleymaniye Mosque
Istanbul (not Constantinople) loves cats. According to Andrea some neighborhoods have free cat clinics where vets care for strays. Some folks take their pet cats to the clinic for free care. People leave bowls of water and people keep kitty kibble … Continue reading Kitties of Constantinople
This trip I decided to spend two jet lag nights in Munich, or rather Freisling, a small town near the airport. This time I decided to take the train from Freisling to Fussen and the onward bus to Hohenschwangu and … Continue reading A Train Trip through Bavaria.
This is the second part of a letter. For the first part see the post posted just after this one. The train pulled into Fussen and everyone ran for the 78 Bus to Hohenschwangu to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss … Continue reading Neuschwanstein
The Lille Christmas Market is the first one I have attended in France. Lille bills itself as the most Flemish town in France. It’s thoroughly French in language but the architecture is more Flemish-Dutch. It is the heart of French Flanders … Continue reading Lille, France Christmas Market
Hasselt “Winterland” Market is, perhaps the most commercial Christmas market we have encountered in Europe. It reminds me of the tables under the grandstand at the Minnesota State Fair. There was a collection of kitchen wares, knives, trinkets, I half … Continue reading Hasselt Winterland, 2014
The last time I was at the Brugge (Bruges) Christmas fair, in 2007, it was a short visit. It was raining and cold. The skating rink in the middle of the main town square was more slush than ice and, … Continue reading Brugge (Bruges) Christmas Market, 2014
Christmas Markets started in Central Europe, Austria and Southern Germany, and have moved up and down the Danube and spread out from that waterway across the continent. London has always had great Christmas decorations and shopping, but the European style … Continue reading Covent Garden, London, 2014
Valkenburg is perhaps the most unique, and possibly the most interesting, Christmas Market in Europe. I have been back to this market in The Netherlands three times now. The first two times with our friends Dave and Carol Lam. (The … Continue reading Valkenburg Christmas Market, 2014
These are two letters from Serbia I wrote about Thanksgiving from 2010 and 2011. 2010 (Suzi is in Egypt, I am in Belgrade, Serbia) Thanksgiving morning was the first cold, clear day of the season. Some of the lights in … Continue reading Thanksgiving in Serbia, 2010 and 2011
1995, Tirana, Albania The Rogner Hotel in Tirana had a big Thanksgiving feed this year. We took our neighbors Vera, Syri and Eda with us. They often express curiosity about this hotel, so we saw our chance. No one understands … Continue reading Thanksgiving in Albania,1995. With Bob Dylan
We have been through Lille before, many times on the train from London to Brussels, but have never seen more than the railway station. This time we went with our friend Dave Lam and his daughter Rachel to visit the … Continue reading Lille “The Most Flemish Town in France”
Hasselt is the chief town of the Belgian commune of Limburg. It is near the Dutch border and there is a similarly named province in the Netherlands. Suzi and I visited Hasselt after Carol Lam’s Funeral with Dave, and their … Continue reading Hasselt, Belgium and the Begijn Movement.
When the St. Pancras railway station opened in 1868 its wrought iron and glass train shed, designed by Henry Barlow, was the largest single structure roof in the world. It was 689 feet long, 240 feet wide and 100 feet … Continue reading St. Pancras International Railway Station
I woke up at the St. Pancras Hotel in London this morning at 5 AM with a great sense of quiet and thankfulness. Normally when I wake up early it is because of some imagined fear or excitement for the day ahead. This was different, a sense of calmness kept me awake. It had been a difficult week at the funeral of a dear friend. We had a layover in London on the way home and opted to go into town rather than stay at the airport. Last night we visited with a friend, strolled through Covent Garden, already festooned … Continue reading Thoughts on the way home.
It’s Throwback Thursday. This is a letter from November, 1993. I edited out the middle of the letter, where I talk about our time in Vlora, for reasons of length. But I remember we went swimming in the Adriatic Sea … Continue reading A 1993 Albanian Bus Adventure, Tirana to Vlora and back
This is a letter from 1993. I pulled it out of my digital files because an Albanian friend posted pictures from this area on Facebook. I got into a Facebook conversation with several Albanian friends about the pictures and this … Continue reading A Trip to Northern Albania, 1993
This coming Tuesday is primary election day in Alaska. I’m beginning my “Throwback Thursday” posts with my family letter about being a municipal election monitor in Albania. Albania was a new democracy and people took their newly won privileges … Continue reading Albanian Municipal Election Day, 1996