The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair was designed to show us a future built on cheap hydropower. It was the world of the future from the Space Needle to the Monorail. Many old world’s fair sites look like the past’s idea … Continue reading Paul Allen Meets Frank Gehry in Seattle.
The Beaux Arts Lackawanna railway station in Hoboken, New Jersey went up in 1907, built at the site of an old ferry landing. It was designed as an intermodal transportation hub serving trains, ferries, and street cars. Today there are … Continue reading Home of Phoebe Snow
When I was in college I became familiar with St. Paul’s Union Depot. I took Great Northern’s Western Star for spring break skiing in Whitefish, Montana. The Star was Great Northern’s ‘ “second train.” I couldn’t afford the flagship Empire … Continue reading You Have Built It, But Will They Come? St. Paul Union Depot
Twice now I have lost watches at airport security. This is the strange Tale of Two Watches. I arrived in Tbilisi grumpy. I have always worn cheap watches, Timex. And I’ve always wanted a good watch. On the cruise I splurged on a solar powered Citizen with a stopwatch built in. I agonized over buying it and finally, when they cut the price at the end of the cruise I plunked down more than 300 duty free dollars. The watch made me happy. It kept good time, didn’t need new batteries, had a big face and glowed in the dark. … Continue reading A Tale of Two Watches
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
March 9, 2015 St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Not every Holland America officer likes serving on Prinsendam; at least that’s what our American Express representative tells me. It has an old fashioned bridge, different from the other ships. The newer … Continue reading On the Bridge of MS Prinsendam
February 19, 2015, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Carnival is over but in Salvador it ends later than in Rio, and Salvador claims it throws a bigger party than Rio, which bills its carnival as “The biggest party in the world.” In … Continue reading Carnival Just Keeps on Coming, Salvador, Bahia
February 16, 2015 Carnival in Rio. We were on our feet dancing for the entire performance of the Mocidade Samba School at the Sambodormo in Rio for Carnival. This group was clearly a crowd favorite. When they were announced thousands … Continue reading Joyful Apocalypse,
February 16, 2015 Rio Sambodormo is the epicenter of Carnival. It is a street lined by concrete bleachers, 13 grandstands plus reviewing stands, holding 90,000, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, who designed the city of Brasilia and major soccer stadiums. The … Continue reading Carnival in Rio!
February 15, 2015 Rio Dear Friends, Anyone who has traveled in India, North Africa or the Middle East knows the ritual of a visit to Uncle Tonoose’s carpet shop. In South America there is a VERY upscale version of that … Continue reading The Girl in Ipanema
February 15, 2015 Rio I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. Therefore I was rewarded as we sailed past sugar loaf just before sunrise watching the pilot boat drop off the harbor pilot on Prinsendam. We watched the sun behind … Continue reading Manha de Carnaval
February 8, 2015 Montevideo, Uruguay A week from tonight we plan to be at the Sunday night carnival parade in Rio. Today we are in Montevideo, Uruguay. Montevideo’s carnival lasts for 40 days, starting the 40 days before Ash Wednesday. … Continue reading Recycled Carnival
January 30, 2015 Ushuaia, Argentina The train at the end of the world started as a convict work train. It’s a narrow gauge railway that used to run from the Prison in Ushuaia into the forests of Tierra del Fuego. … Continue reading Railway at the End of the World
January 1-3, 2013, Sitka, Seattle and Ft. Lauderdale Dear Friends, I’m starting the adventure around South America sick. We had Liam with us for Christmas and, like every little kid in a daycare, he brings home an assortment of bugs, … Continue reading Anticipation
The Sitka Artisan’s Market & Holiday Craft Party lives in the spirit of the best European Christmas Markets. Allen Hall, on the Sheldon Jackson Campus, has historically been a meeting place for Sitkans. Over the last few years Sitkans volunteered … Continue reading Sitka Artisans’ Market
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
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
When I was a kid I loved to go “Down the Shore.” Well, when I was really young, not too far down– as far as Keansburg, New Jersey to be exact. You have probably seen Keansburg. When movie makers need … Continue reading Keansburg, A Living Museum “Down the Shore”… But Not Too Far.
Growing up we could see the New York Skyline from the back window of both my grandparents’ flat and from our flat, although the best view was from Grandma’s kitchen fire escape. The Empire State and Chrysler buildings dominated the skyline. When I moved to Ridgewood the favorite spot for “parking” was on a ridge overlooking the skyline. Again, those two buildings were the focus of the skyline. The Empire State Building lost its title as the tallest in New York to the World Trade Center twin towers in the early 70’s. When the towers were brought down it was … Continue reading New York’s Deco Towers