13-16 November 2023 The train from Lausanne takes me through dramatic scenery of beautiful green valleys with a background of snow-capped Alps. The fall colors are spectacular. It is a smooth, punctual train. I have Read more…
10-13 November 2023 In 1990-91, I had the pleasure of hosting a young exchange student from Switzerland. She lived in my home for 10 months. In that time, not only did I gain a daughter, Read more…
9 Nov 2023 As both a college history major and serious genealogist, Brenner Pass is known to me. The pass over the Alps between Italy and Austria was a strategic goal for American soldiers in Read more…
Nein, das ist Italien 8 November 2023 Snow continues to accumulate upon the surrounding peaks, its icy chill is in the morning air. I am thankful the white stuff is up there, not down here Read more…
6-7 November 2023 Trento to Bolzano is a direct, 50-minute train passage through spectacular scenery. This is the gateway to the Dolomites, the Tyrol. Tall escarpments and snow-capped peaks tower overhead while vineyards cover the Read more…
Exploring Trentino-Alto Adige 4-5 November 2023 Castle fortress Beseno Travel in Italy is very different, but so much easier, than my first visit in 1972. Today, I purchase my rail ticket online where I also Read more…
2-3 November 2023 I travel my chosen route mainly for the views. I’ve not explored the northern region of Trentino-Alto Adige. This is the area located north of Venice and bordering Switzerland and Austria. However, Read more…
1 October 2023 It is near impossible to adequately summarize a country. All I can fairly do is highlight my impressions – some good and some bad. Having a professional archaeologist as my guide, I Read more…
Peaceful Boats and Crazy Bazaars 30 September 2023 Emperor Constantine’s most lasting accomplishment was the establishment of Constantinople. This act shifted Roman power eastward making the city a center of Greek culture and Christianity. On Read more…
29 September 2023 It is a short, rather pleasant drive 140 miles north to Safranbolu located not far south of the Black Sea. The temperatures have cooled to below 90° and dark clouds are overhead. Read more…
28 September 2023 I rejoice that I visited Ankara last year. Ankara possesses good museums, a 9th century citadel, old neighborhoods, Roman ruins, peaceful parks, and is home to the Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Read more…
Birthplace of Abraham 27 September 2023 Aurora, goddess of Dawn appears over My Nemrut. Zeus and the other heads witness a new day. After my Mediterranean breakfast and Turkish coffee, I am wired. I board Read more…
Sunset with the Talking Heads 26 September 2023 The windy road to the royal sanctuary atop Mt Nemrut can be a scary experience. The van steers through stunning views of mountains, valleys, rocky gorges and Read more…
Into Earthquake Country 25 September 2023 Another long drive with views improved by the towering Taurus Mountains. Turkey is a mountainous country and the Taurus Mountains curve 350 miles through southern Turkey separating the Mediterranean Read more…
Fairy Chimneys or Penises? 23-24 September 2023 The whole of Asia Minor is built on ancient, fascinating rocks. Those of the Cappadocia region of Turkey are especially so. After a very long day on good Read more…
22 September 2023 Today is “a long scenic drive”. In tour terms, this means prepare for over 300 miles in a van. There can be varying degrees of discomfort. Usually there are stops ever 2 Read more…
20-21 September 2023 Antalya is a charming city sitting above a gorgeous blue bay. It loses some of its charm because of its size and bustle, but once I pass through Hadrian’s Gate into the Read more…
20 September 2023 Aurora was shy this morning, not peeking above the mountains until almost 8. Apollo, as is his want, continues to blast down upon us from a cloudless sky.
18-19 September 2023 Ancient City of Kaunos A relaxing morning finds us sailing south along the Anatolian coast to a strip of beach at Iztuzu. Caretta sea turtles come here to lay their eggs, thus Read more…
My Blue Cruise along the Turkish Rivera 17-19 SEPTEMBER 2023 “Now voyager sail forth to seek and find.” Walt Whitman Did Agamemnon or Achilles pass this way and enjoy such views? I think not. Their Read more…
17 September 2023 Türkiye has a very effective “chamber of commerce” assisting the tourism board. In 2022, I visited an exhibition at the Istanbul International Airport. While having the greedy nerve to charge 10€, it Read more…
16 September 2023 Today, my visit is to a second world-renowned historical site in Turkey – Ephesus. As a novice traveler, I visited this site in 1981. Docking our ship Atlas in Kusadasi, our bus Read more…
At Least What Remains On-site 15 September 2023 As I look over the Aegean and navigate the coastal region of Anatolia, I contemplate: Did my early ancestors pass this way? Did they take note of Read more…
14 September 2023 I spend my day looking at stones. If there is one thing the Turks have a lot of it is stones. These stones reflect their many great architectural and archaeological accomplishments over Read more…
13 September 2023 We ferry from Aceabat across the narrow Dardanelles Strait to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of ancient Troy. In Hollywood, the Trojan War starred Brad Pitt as Achilles, Greece’s great warrior and Read more…
13 September 2023 The reading of Homer’s great epics is a huge genealogical challenge. Characters are Greek gods and demi-gods, immortals and mortals. Often, they are called “son of” rather than by their given names, Read more…
13 September 2023 For this traveler, two important sites are on my itinerary. One is forever linked with Winston Churchill and the other to Brad Pitt. Both are sites of great historic significance.
CONSTANTINOPLE ON STEROIDS 9-12 September 2023 I visited Istanbul in 1981, the population was 2.7 million, about half of whom were carpet salesmen. Tanks and armed military, machine guns with bayonets fixed, occupied the streets. Read more…
18 July 2023 Mongolia is known for its large, untouched landscapes, including the expansive Gobi Desert, Altai Mountains, and stunning grassy steppes. Jokes about getting lost in its vastness or trying to find a needle Read more…
Part Two 11-18 July 2023 Ulaanbaatar is host to excellent museums They are a mix of modern and out-dated. Entrance is reasonable but taking photos requires substantial fees sometimes as high as 30-50,000 Tugrik. Choices Read more…
Authentic or Glamping? Part Two – 16 July 2023 My travels in Mongolia have enabled me to sample a variety of gers and accommodations. For my final experiences, I travel to Gobi Desert. Once again Read more…
11-12 July 2023 I visit during July when Mongolia hosts the biggest celebration of the year – Naadam or “three manly games.” Likened to Mongolia’s version of the Olympics, the festival takes place every summer Read more…
30 June-10 July 2023 “May the Mongol nation exist by its own right.” This idea is expressed in the Mongolian national symbol of the Soyombo. It is attributed to Zanabazar, the 17th century leader of Read more…
Authentic or Glamping? Part One – 10 July 2023 Sleeping in gers draws many travelers to Mongolia. We hear a lot about this form of camping but just how authentic, or what level of glamping, Read more…
3 July 2023 I know next to nothing about Mongolia. So I visit. Mongolian history dates to the Stone Age, its first recorded empire dating 3rd century BCE. The rise of Chinggis Khan in the Read more…
1 July 2023 When one is in pain, one needs distraction. That was the case while visiting the Third Tunnel of Aggression in the DMZ north of Seoul. Walking down the 11 degree ramp, noting Read more…
26-29 June 2023 I knew little about South Korea. What first came to mind was Psy’s catchy 2012 K-pop song “Wop Wop Gangnam Style.” My second thought was South Korea survives and thrives under the Read more…
23 Feb – 8 March It feels good revisiting London. Historic sights, museums, art galleries, and monuments are never tiresome. While much remains the same since I visited over 30 years ago, there are new Read more…
23 Feb – 8 March 2023 Several years ago, I tested a male sibling for Y-DNA. When one does such things, one needs to prepare for the unexpected. The Unexpected was my sibling didn’t match our male Read more…
December 2022 I recently boarded The Canadian to accomplish a travel goal – to ride the transcontinental scenic route between Toronto and Vancouver. Travel was to be simple: I board the correct train and chug Read more…
December 2022 I think of gophers. They maneuver just below the surface within an elaborate tunnel system. Their tunnels represent a series of underground areas leading to various broad openings such as a main living Read more…
Since my 10-week solo “Grand Tour” of Europe in 1972, traveling has become a passion. To awaken in a new city in some new part of the world, to wander its streets and absorb a Read more…
October 2022 I fly through Frankfurt at least a couple times a year. I like it less and less. Landing Turkish Airways from Istanbul, we deplaned from the rear. Not good when I am seated Read more…
12 October 2022 No Call to Prayer this morning, just my iPhone telling me to get up. My flight boards at 5:30 am. This is pure wonderful. I leave the YOTEL at 5:10. My walk Read more…
11 October 2022 Call to Prayer, Fajr, blasted to the heavens at 5:27 this morning. I briefly contemplate prayer time. And with everything else, there’s an App for that. I check out the times for Read more…
10 October 2022 5:47 am – a cacophony of prayer calls stream over the city battling for the airwaves from every direction. I suspect the large Melike Hatun Mosque just around the corner is winning. Read more…
9 October 2022 Breakfast: the usual wide selection of olives, cheeses, eggs, breads and jellies, a bunch of stuff. No yogurt and no coffee. I’m not wild about tea on the best of days and Read more…
8 October 2022 The Call to Prayer is at 5:36 this morning. It is a recording with a terrible scratch at the end. The wind Is SSW 6mph. When in Cappadocia, these two morning events Read more…
7 October 2022 It’s calm but cloudy. No stars. Wind 1 mph out of north. 46° with rain expected about 2pm. In this arid land I don’t expect much. Vans can be heard zipping about Read more…
6 October 2022 The Call to Prayer woke me at 5:28; the unmistakable roar of burners blasting a flame into balloons got me out of my room before 6:15. Walking outside, I was met with Read more…
5 October 2022 It may be confusing how to spell or pronounce where I am, but there is no confusion as to how spectacular this region of Turkey is. I quick ride past wind-sculptured bluffs Read more…
3-4 October 2022 The next two days will be a mix of flight and fantasy. Some final beautiful views of Khiva’s gates and fortifications as we drive to the airport; experiencing Uzbekistan security and airplanes; Read more…
2 October 2022 Ichan-Qаl’а is the walled inner town of the city of Khiva. In 1990, it was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. A day visiting its sites, wandering its narrow streets Read more…
1 October 2022 Mosques, madrasas, museums, meals, walks…it is becoming a blur. Don’t ask me where I was two nights ago and expect a quick answer. I drag myself into breakfast at a slower pace. Read more…
30 September 2022 Directly across from our Hotel Asia is the magnificent assemblage of architecture known as Lyab-i-Hauz which has survived unchanged since the 16th century. This area once served as a caravansaray along the Read more…
29 September 2022 We travel by bus for 175 miles west from Samarqand through green agricultural land, quiet sunbaked villages and towns to Bukhara, fifth largest city in Uzbekistan. I am introduced to this major Read more…
27-28 September 2022 We arrive late to the Asia Hotel, our lodging for the next two nights. Traffic and narrow surface roads are challenging, or as our guide says: “Samarqand is very special for the Read more…
26-27 September 2022 Tashkent is a city of very modern buildings interspersed with some ugly Soviet relics, green manicured parks, fountains, and a very organized traffic system. Except for closing down the streets and having Read more…
26 September 2022 I keep reading about colorful straws served with beer. Haven’t been able to confirm this. No straw with beer because no beer. But did get a bright blue flex straw with my Read more…
25 September 2022 It’s hot as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore! We’re on the road again. Today, we drive 50 miles southwest through the foothills to the ancient city of Istarafshan, Read more…
24 September 2022 After breakfast in Kokand, we face the short drive and possibly grueling border crossings from Uzbekistan into the fourth of the Stans: Tajikistan.
23 September 2022 What a difference a border makes. Although it looks chaotic, was a bit slow and bureaucratic, and the temperatures were heating up, it was clear we had entered into a new country Read more…
22 September 2022 This morning I am flown out of Bishkek’s Manas International Airport for Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan. With a population a little over 208,000, Osh is located in the Fergana Read more…
20-21 September 2022 This morning we depart lovely Lake Issyk Kul and retrace some of our route west before turning north to Bishkek. There are not a lot of roads here, basically up and down Read more…
18 – 19 September 2022 It’s Sunday and after a hearty breakfast we board our large and comfortable bus and drive to Issyk-Kul Lake. The road travels west within the valley before rounding the mountains Read more…
17 September 2022 The day begins with a large, delicious breakfast including flaky pastries, potato pancakes filled with cheese, honey and raspberry spreads, bread, quiche and more – homemade and from their gardens. I’m not Read more…
16 September 2022 I am spirited off, by van, to the Kazakhstan border with neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Except for the spelling, how does the history and culture of this country differ? Kyrgyzstan flies a brighter national Read more…
15 September 2022 Last night, we joined ElderTrek. Having previously cancelled this trip twice as per Covid, the third time is the charm and for this trip I invited my adventurous niece along (guess all Read more…
14 September 2022 Almaty – what used to be the capital of Kazakhstan before it picked up its skirts and moved 750 miles north to Nur-Sultan, the second coldest capital city in the world. I Read more…
14 September 2022 I have arrived into the ninth largest country in the world. One would think I might know something about its culture and history. I know little. Its geography situates it in a Read more…
14 September 2022 In Greek mythology, Hermes was the god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves, and travel. What an interesting mix of blessings. This messenger god, also known under the Read more…
11-13 SEPTEMBER 2022 Sometimes it takes a lot of preparation to travel to distant places. And yes, it will take me three days to arrive at my destination of Almaty. In the case of what Read more…
18 May 2022 One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. Henry Miller My adventure to Cinque Terre has topped my expectations. Though I do not believe I will challenge Read more…
15-16 May 2022 Standing in front of the kiosk at the train station, one must remember there are different ways to spell my destination – Genoa or Genova. Genoa is the English spelling and Genova Read more…
13-14 May 2022 Squeezed between the villages of Cinque Terre and jet-set Portofino, Sestri Levante is like a poor cousin one visits in the suburbs. A stroll takes me among the shabby and Art Nouveau Read more…
12 May 2022 On a clear day, there is no panoramic point on the Cinque Terre that equals Punta Mesco, a promontory to the west dividing the village of Monterosso al mare from that of Read more…
11-12 May 2022 Learn from yesterday – Live for today – Hope for tomorrow I depart Vernazza by train destined for my fifth and final official Cinque Terre village of Monterosso al Mare. At over Read more…
10 May 2022 I would not want to disabuse anyone from hiking the national park trails of the Cinque Terre. However, I will be honest and say the trails can be challenging. I witnessed those Read more…
9-10 May 2022 Life on the Cinque Terre is made up of alternating periods of rest, strenuous trekking, and moving from one cafe to the next. Pace yourself.
7-8 May 2022 Steve woke me this morning. He was rather persistent at 7:20 am, like I was missing breakfast of something. The day was bright and sunny, I could hear the waves splashing against Read more…
Leaving one sole in Corniglia, the other in Vernazza 7 May 2022 The Azure Trail is mostly an easy upper trail connecting Corniglia to Vernazza. It is an easier climb because I start out at Read more…
5 May 2022 The Cinque Terre has a way of distracting you from reality. Emphasized in the brochures about the area are the 377 steps that one must climb from the train station to reach Read more…
4-6 May 2022 My second stop along Italy’s Cinque Terre is small Manarola, a collection of pastel buildings tumbling down a ravine to the sea. Trains depart Riomaggiore three times an hour and the ride Read more…
I won’t let the vertical terrain intimidate me! 3 May 2022 My first trekking day along the Cinque Terre went from Will Wheaton’s “No, no, Hell no!” to “I think I can, I think I Read more…
2-3 May 2022 One can ride a bus, train or ferry; I chose to ride the ferry from La Spezia to Riomaggiore. To say arriving at the Cinque Terre by ferry is spectacular is a Read more…
29 April – 1 May 2022 La Spezia – southernmost entry to the famed Cinque Terre: it has taken me three years and three tries but I have finally arrived. No rush, no stress, no Read more…
26-28 April 2022 I have visited Pisa on several occasions, most often not further than its famed Leaning Tower. It wasn’t until I wandered into some of its smaller, quieter streets that I discovered Pisa’s Read more…
26 September 2021 Travel is muscle memory. At least it was. Much has changed because of Covid. I can’t utilize all the little perks of travel that once made the experience faster, easier and more pleasant. Read more…
22 September 2021 I can’t help it. When eating a delicious slice of pork shoulder, my server thought I was leaving the best part, the layer of crispy fat. “Das ist gut” she points out. Read more…
19 September 2021 “ I may not meet a Brockmann cousin….” I previously wrote. Among my family’s papers were four mysterious envelopes addressed by my grandmother Dora Brockmann to Brockmanns in Germany. One of those Read more…
19 September 2021 Walking Celle is like strolling through a Brothers Grimm folktale. Walk Celle’s streets, ogle its magnificent architecture, enjoy the statues and fountains, and stand in the Markt Plaza when the Glockenspiel rings Read more…
17 September 2021 Two major events explain why I visit Celle. In the winter of 1911, my grandmother Dora left her home and family in Celle to emigrate to the United States. I don’t exactly Read more…
17 September 2021 I have almost had to revise my positive opinion on DB because of dreaded gate changes but with a smattering of German and helpful English speakers, I am able to catch a Read more…
16 September 2021 The Nuremberg Residenz is too groß and grand, Bamburg Residenz too small and simple, but Würzburg Residenz is just right. Würzburg Residenz From its entry foyer where carriages debarked its elite passengers Read more…
15 September 2021 Training through Germany I love the tradition of dining on the sidewalks and in plazas. Weather here is perfect for outside seating. Dining in the fresh air and surrounded by the ongoing Read more…
14 September 2021 I suppose I could say all rail lines lead to Bamberg because my train is transiting southeast to reach the city of Bamberg, some 45 miles north of Nuremberg. The train travels Read more…
12 September 2021 One reason for immediately liking Nuremberg is I love old walled cities. Nuremberg Castle and city walls represent a formidable medieval defensive system. During the Middle Ages, the castle was one of Read more…
11 September 2021 It’s an easy walk to U1, getting a ticket and then figuring direction of travel. About 10 minutes later I arrive at my destination: Memorium Nuremberg and Palace of Justice. It is Read more…
10 September 2021 When traveling, one so often discovers ways we, meaning my own country of the United States, could do better. Certainly when it comes to mass transit and trains, there is a lot Read more…
9 September 2021 Pan’s grimace is indicative of my aching feet after four hours of touring the sprawling Munich Residenz and Museum. Of its more than 150 rooms, a large part is open to visitors Read more…